Dementia Praecox is an out of use term that can cover a variety of illnesses that describe a gradual and early onset degeneration of cognitive abilities. Because it's rather broad, it could include Schizophrenia, Alzheimer's and various dementias. This film is about these disorders--so I tried to explain them as best I could before discussing the film.
The film begins with a noted doctor (Sig Ruman) being asked if the rumors are true--that his newly published paper was actually 'borrowed' (i.e., stolen) from one of the younger doctors at his clinic in Budapest. Ruman next goes to the doctor (James Stephenson) to apologize for this 'mistake'. However, in the very next scene, the police show up--forcing Stephenson to leave the country and all his research notes! Obviously, Ruman has friends in very high places! Stephenson then shows up in Scotland and is almost immediately hired by a clinic that will allow him to continue his research. Soon, he's given an assistant, Dr. Murray (Geraldine FItzgerald)--an assistant he doesn't at all want, as she's untrained and inexperienced. Unfortunately, it turns out that Stephenson has the social skills of Attila the Hun and he treats his new assistant and his patients rather poorly. As he puts it "...all I care about is scientific truth..."--and he sees his patients as specimens, not people. Yet, oddly, through all this nastiness, it appears as if Fitzgerald has grown to care for him quite a bit--I would have just punched the jerk in the nose! Will the cranky doctor find his cure? Will he recognize the incredibly wonderfulness of his new assistant? Will she even want him after all this?! Or, will the movie end on a truly bizarre note that I certainly never would have anticipated?! Overall, this is an extremely well-acted but odd film. I don't mean that it's bad--it just has a very non-formulaic plot--one that is impossible to completely anticipate. I actually appreciate that and enjoyed the film--though I am pretty sure it was not an audience favorite due to its oddness.
It's ironic that Geraldine Fitzgerald later died of complications due to Alzheimer's in real life. Sadly, Stephenson died of a heart attack just after finishing this movie--his first starring feature. He was only 52.
The film begins with a noted doctor (Sig Ruman) being asked if the rumors are true--that his newly published paper was actually 'borrowed' (i.e., stolen) from one of the younger doctors at his clinic in Budapest. Ruman next goes to the doctor (James Stephenson) to apologize for this 'mistake'. However, in the very next scene, the police show up--forcing Stephenson to leave the country and all his research notes! Obviously, Ruman has friends in very high places! Stephenson then shows up in Scotland and is almost immediately hired by a clinic that will allow him to continue his research. Soon, he's given an assistant, Dr. Murray (Geraldine FItzgerald)--an assistant he doesn't at all want, as she's untrained and inexperienced. Unfortunately, it turns out that Stephenson has the social skills of Attila the Hun and he treats his new assistant and his patients rather poorly. As he puts it "...all I care about is scientific truth..."--and he sees his patients as specimens, not people. Yet, oddly, through all this nastiness, it appears as if Fitzgerald has grown to care for him quite a bit--I would have just punched the jerk in the nose! Will the cranky doctor find his cure? Will he recognize the incredibly wonderfulness of his new assistant? Will she even want him after all this?! Or, will the movie end on a truly bizarre note that I certainly never would have anticipated?! Overall, this is an extremely well-acted but odd film. I don't mean that it's bad--it just has a very non-formulaic plot--one that is impossible to completely anticipate. I actually appreciate that and enjoyed the film--though I am pretty sure it was not an audience favorite due to its oddness.
It's ironic that Geraldine Fitzgerald later died of complications due to Alzheimer's in real life. Sadly, Stephenson died of a heart attack just after finishing this movie--his first starring feature. He was only 52.