Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz | Dr. Praetorius spent several years in a rural town not as an ordinary butcher pretending to be a healer, but as a healer pretending to be an ordinary butcher. He worked not only with scientific skill but with the human soul and its capacity for hope against hope.
I first saw this wonderful film many years ago, and was aware of its great beauty and power halfway through it. Seventy-plus years on, its main themes are at least as germane now as they were then: it rails against a cold and technological approach to medicine, it is unabashedly prolife, and it resists enforced social conformity. Bernard Dick's biography of Mankiewicz suggests that one of the things that drew him to this project was its relevance concerning McCarthyism. I loved this movie so much that I long ago acquired an early copy of Curt Goetz' German play "Dr. med. Hiob Prätorius," originally written in German, and I don't speak a word of German! Shunderson's backstory is, as you have written, captivating. And is there anything more beautiful and full of Christological love than the "calendar" revelation towards the end of the film? Finally, the film's use of "The Academic Festival Overture" has led me to a lifetime love for Brahms. Great essay!
What a good movie. Perfectly cast, too. At first I thought it was a fantasy film—both Praetorius and Shunderson are mysterious and seemed otherworldly to me. One aspect reminded me of an Italian comedy called “Bread and Tulips” about a woman whose accidental arrival in a neighborhood of lonely misfits changes everything for the good. There is nothing special about her—she’s an average, middle-aged housewife who simply misses a bus — but she changes the dynamic, causing connections that bring hope and joy. She was like Praetorius in that way—minus the tan and the physical perfection (sigh).
A very deep and dark story but as you say, filled with hope. I saw it first as a teenager and it left quite an impression on me..plus a huge crush on Cary Grant !
In some ways, I think that this film shares a message with "It's a Wonderful Life," but in a more .. demanding? .. way. Without the doctor, at least four lives would have been lost or ruined .. and likely more. But he does his healing work without fanfare .. and makes what most people would feel to be great sacrifices into sources of joy not only for those he helps, but for himself. It's really quite an amazing film.
I first saw this wonderful film many years ago, and was aware of its great beauty and power halfway through it. Seventy-plus years on, its main themes are at least as germane now as they were then: it rails against a cold and technological approach to medicine, it is unabashedly prolife, and it resists enforced social conformity. Bernard Dick's biography of Mankiewicz suggests that one of the things that drew him to this project was its relevance concerning McCarthyism. I loved this movie so much that I long ago acquired an early copy of Curt Goetz' German play "Dr. med. Hiob Prätorius," originally written in German, and I don't speak a word of German! Shunderson's backstory is, as you have written, captivating. And is there anything more beautiful and full of Christological love than the "calendar" revelation towards the end of the film? Finally, the film's use of "The Academic Festival Overture" has led me to a lifetime love for Brahms. Great essay!
What a good movie. Perfectly cast, too. At first I thought it was a fantasy film—both Praetorius and Shunderson are mysterious and seemed otherworldly to me. One aspect reminded me of an Italian comedy called “Bread and Tulips” about a woman whose accidental arrival in a neighborhood of lonely misfits changes everything for the good. There is nothing special about her—she’s an average, middle-aged housewife who simply misses a bus — but she changes the dynamic, causing connections that bring hope and joy. She was like Praetorius in that way—minus the tan and the physical perfection (sigh).
Ordered the DVD - sounds like a great movie!
A very deep and dark story but as you say, filled with hope. I saw it first as a teenager and it left quite an impression on me..plus a huge crush on Cary Grant !
In some ways, I think that this film shares a message with "It's a Wonderful Life," but in a more .. demanding? .. way. Without the doctor, at least four lives would have been lost or ruined .. and likely more. But he does his healing work without fanfare .. and makes what most people would feel to be great sacrifices into sources of joy not only for those he helps, but for himself. It's really quite an amazing film.