After Captain Blood and The Charge of the light brigade, Errol Flynn wanted a change of pace. This film, the story of a young doctor seemed to fill the bill. It also gave Flynn the chance, in his view to 'act' since this was a drama instead of an adventure. In truth, he did more acting in his previous films, playing more complex characters.
Here he's a sort of Aussie Dr. Kildare, (although the hospital is in Boston). He covers for a respected mentor when the older doctor makes a mistake in surgery at the expense of his own reputation. He then travels to Montana to help a colleague do battle with Rocky mountain spotted fever. We then get a clinical analysis of that disease followed by a second selfless act by Flynn as he injects himself with a potential vaccine and develops the fever. When he recovers, they have a vaccine. (We could use him now!) There's also a love triangle as Flynn is loved by his loyal nurse, (the under-rated Margaret Lindsay), and the daughter of the woman who didn't survive the surgery (the not underrated Anita Louise), who starts hating Flynn but comes to love him. Floating over the proceedings is a stone-faced Cedric Hardwick whose every line is a speech about self-sacrifice. He keeps talking about God's green light showing us the way. Why green?
I think I would have liked the story better if Flynn had actually been responsible for the botched surgery and was seeking to redeem himself instead of just his reputation. That would have placed this story more on the level of the same author's 'Magnificent Obsession'. I was left wondering how selfless it is to allow the doctor who actually made the mistake to continue his career and operate on others. Shouldn't we selflessly care about his future patients?
There was some pleasure in seeing a Flynn film I'd never seen before. The great stars made many movies like this when they weren't making the films they are famous for. They may be 2 star films instead of 3 or 4 star films but they are still solid A-level pictures and worth the time to check them out if you are a fan of the star. When I watch them, it's almost like the people in these films came alive and made another film just for me.
Here he's a sort of Aussie Dr. Kildare, (although the hospital is in Boston). He covers for a respected mentor when the older doctor makes a mistake in surgery at the expense of his own reputation. He then travels to Montana to help a colleague do battle with Rocky mountain spotted fever. We then get a clinical analysis of that disease followed by a second selfless act by Flynn as he injects himself with a potential vaccine and develops the fever. When he recovers, they have a vaccine. (We could use him now!) There's also a love triangle as Flynn is loved by his loyal nurse, (the under-rated Margaret Lindsay), and the daughter of the woman who didn't survive the surgery (the not underrated Anita Louise), who starts hating Flynn but comes to love him. Floating over the proceedings is a stone-faced Cedric Hardwick whose every line is a speech about self-sacrifice. He keeps talking about God's green light showing us the way. Why green?
I think I would have liked the story better if Flynn had actually been responsible for the botched surgery and was seeking to redeem himself instead of just his reputation. That would have placed this story more on the level of the same author's 'Magnificent Obsession'. I was left wondering how selfless it is to allow the doctor who actually made the mistake to continue his career and operate on others. Shouldn't we selflessly care about his future patients?
There was some pleasure in seeing a Flynn film I'd never seen before. The great stars made many movies like this when they weren't making the films they are famous for. They may be 2 star films instead of 3 or 4 star films but they are still solid A-level pictures and worth the time to check them out if you are a fan of the star. When I watch them, it's almost like the people in these films came alive and made another film just for me.