Year of Release: 1951Country of Origin: USA
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Cast: Cary Grant, Jeanne Crain, Hume Cronyn, Walter Slezak
Plot outline: While being subjected to a McCarthy-style investigation by a jealous colleague over his unorthodox medical views, Dr. Noah Praetorius befriends and ultimately marries a young woman who has become suicidal at the prospect of having a baby by a lover who has left her (IMDb).
Based on the German play by Curt Goetz and made during the hype of McCarthyism, this movie is a satirical comedy about bigotry. On one side we have a conservative doctor, Prof. Rodney Elwell (played convincingly by Hume Cronyn), who thinks caring for the human soul is a malpractice as doctors should only look at the cold facts of the human body, and a pregnant unwed young woman, Deborah Higgins (played by Jeanne Crain), who thinks her world has just ended. On the other side we have a loyal, trustworthy man, Shunderson (played by Finlay Currie), whose background is mysterious and a failed father, Arthur Higgins (played by Sidney Blackmer), who seeks redemption. While in the middle we have an unorthodox, yet pragmatic doctor, Dr. Praetorious (played charmingly by Cary Grant) and his hilarious sidekick , Prof. Barker (played brilliantly by Walter Slezak). The mix creates an unusual feeling of strangeness ... I was especially taken aback by the Shunderson mystery. This movie offers amusing dialogue, social insight, women's issues, enlightened views of science and ultimately the urge to destroy what we cannot understand.
My judgement: **1/2 out of 4 stars
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