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The Great Moment (1944 film)
Encyclopedia
The Great Moment is a 1944 biographical film
written and directed by Preston Sturges
. Based on the book The Triumph Over Pain (1940
) by René Fülöp-Miller
, it tells the story of Dr. William Thomas Green Morton
, a 19th century Boston dentist who discovered the use of ether
as an anesthetic. The film stars Joel McCrea
and Betty Field
, and features Harry Carey, William Demarest
, Franklin Pangborn
and Porter Hall
.
The movie was filmed in 1942 but not released for over two years, and the released version was not what Preston Sturges had envisioned. Paramount Pictures
disliked the film Sturges had made, and pulled it from Sturges' control, re-titled and re-edited it, in the process making it more confusing for the audience to understand. This version of the film was released, and marketed in a way that made it appear to be one of Sturges' comedies. The film was not well-received by the critics or the public, and marked the end of a sustained run of success for Sturges, who had already left Paramount by the time the film was released.
Although rarely seen today, the film is worth viewing for its flashback structure – comparable in some ways to Citizen Kane
, which was influenced by the earlier film The Power and the Glory, for which Sturges wrote the screenplay – and for its irreverent and subtly satirical tone, unusual for a time when most Hollywood biopics were over-inflated and sentimental.
) is a young oral surgeon in Boston in the 1800s who is determined to find a way to extract teeth without pain. When he discovers the answer almost by accident, it turns out to be cleaning fluid, sulphuric ether
, highly purified and delivered through a glass inhaler invented and patented by Morton. Morton tests his discovery both on himself, and on a music teacher, Eben Frost (William Demarest
), who is in excruciating pain from a bad tooth. Only Morton and his devoted wife Elizabeth (Betty Field
) know the secret of "letheon" (as they call it), which has enabled Morton's "painless" dental practice, with a staff of dentists, to thrive. Keeping the discovery a secret could make Morton rich.
Morton wishes to spread the word about letheon, and demonstrates the use of it as a surgical anesthetic to Dr. John C. Warren (Harry Carey) of Harvard Medical School
. The surgeons are amazed that the patient feels no pain under the influence of letheon, but protest that the Hippocratic Oath
doesn't allow them to use patent medicines, the ingredients of which are unknown. Moved by the plight of a girl about to undergo surgery which she thinks will be painless, Morton reveals his secret.
Morton is hailed as "The Benefactor of Mankind", but when his patent for the glass inhaler is infringed by the American military, he and his family fall into virtual poverty while they wait to see if President Franklin Pierce
(Porter Hall
) will sign a bill passed by Congress which will restore the patent and give Morton a $100,000 reward for his contributions to humanity. But Pierce is being pressured by newspapers inflamed by jealous medical rivals of Morton, and he refuses to sign the bill unless Morton files an infringement lawsuit against an Army or Navy doctor, which he does, even though he knows it will look as if he is capitalizing on the pain of wounded soldiers. For this, Morton is condemned by the medical community and, after he loses the lawsuit, expelled from the American Medical Association
.
When Morton's former medical school professor, Dr. Charles T. Jackson (Julius Tannen
), claims that Morton stole his discovery, Morton's health declines and he dies, mourned only by his wife Elizabeth and Eben Frost
Cast notes:
about the life of W.T.G. Morton written by Preston Sturges
, Irwin Shaw
, Les River, Charles Brackett
and Waldo Twitchell. The film was to be directed by Henry Hathaway
, produced by Arthur Hornblow Jr. and William LeBaron
, with Gary Cooper
and Walter Brennan
to star as Morton and Eben Frost. When Cooper left Paramount, production on the film was delayed, although there may have been other reasons as well. It's unlikely that any film was actually shot at that time, but Paramount did go so far as to check with historians and dental organizations to confirm the screenplay's depiction of Morton, finding that opinion was divided on his character and on his claim to have discovered the first practical anesthesia. In fact, when Rene Fulop-Miller's book Triumph over Pain was published in 1940
, it caused a storm of controversy, as many disputed its claims regarding Morton.
In 1942, production moved ahead when Paramount hired Preston Sturges to direct the film, and bought the rights to an MGM short film Life of William Morton, Discoverer of Anesthesia, which is not credited in the released film as a source. Sturges then revised the 1939 screenplay with Ernst Laemmle, whose work was uncredited. At that time, Walter Huston
was being considered to play the lead.
The film went into production on 8 April 1942 and wrapped on 5 June, on budget and a day under schedule. (In the sequence of Sturges' films, that's after the filming of The Palm Beach Story
but before its release, and before both The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
and Hail the Conquering Hero
began shooting.) Joel McCrea, who had just starred in The Palm Beach Story played Morton – McCrea told Sturges that he only got good roles when Gary Cooper wasn't available – and William Demarest, that stalwart of Sturges' "stock company" played Eben Frost, giving a "gem of a performance" in one of his "strongest and most important roles".
Sturges shot this foreword to open the film:
Paramount did not immediately release the film, because they disliked the non-sequential arrangement of the scenes, the tone of some of the acting, and the original forward, which they deemed was inappropriate for wartime. The film was taken away from Sturges by executive producer Buddy G. DeSylva, who never quite trusted him and resented the control Sturges had over his projects, and found the Morton story to be repulsive and unsuitable for mainstream audiences. The film was heavily recut, to the point that the film became almost incomprehensible, and the title changed over Sturges' strong objections. (Because of the re-editing, the film is listed with various runtimes of 80, 83, 87, and 90 minutes, and some of the actors listed in official cast lists may not actually appear in the film.) At some point in this process, Sturges' contract with Paramount ran out, and he left the studio (although he came back to do some unpaid re-shooting and re-editing of Hail the Conquering Hero) Sturges later wrote about his departure "I guess Paramount was glad to be rid of me eventually, as no one there ever understood a word I said."
The film as released now opens with this forward:
The Great Moment premiered in Los Angeles
on 24 August 1944, more than two years after filming had wrapped, and went into general release on 6 September of that year. The film was not well-received, either by the critics or at the box office, becoming the only film directed by Sturges for Paramount not to turn a profit. Sturges' reputation never quite recovered from its failure, and his post-Paramount career is the record of a sad decline.
The Great Moment was released on video in the U.S. on 11 November 1990 and re-released on 30 June 1993. It was released on Laserdisc on 26 October 1994.
Biographical film
A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...
written and directed by Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges , originally Edmund Preston Biden, was a celebrated playwright, screenwriter and film director born in Chicago, Illinois...
. Based on the book The Triumph Over Pain (1940
1940 in literature
The year 1940 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Aldous Huxley is a screenwriter for the movie adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.*Jean-Paul Sartre is taken prisoner by the Germans....
) by René Fülöp-Miller
René Fülöp-Miller
René Fülöp-Miller, born Philip Müller was an Austrian cultural historian and writer.-Works:* Rasputin : the holy devil, 1927...
, it tells the story of Dr. William Thomas Green Morton
William T.G. Morton
William Thomas Green Morton was an American dentist who first publicly demonstrated the use of inhaled ether as a surgical anesthetic in 1846. The promotion of his questionable claim to have been the discoverer of anesthesia became an obsession for the rest of his life.- Life and work :Born in...
, a 19th century Boston dentist who discovered the use of ether
Ether
Ethers are a class of organic compounds that contain an ether group — an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups — of general formula R–O–R'. A typical example is the solvent and anesthetic diethyl ether, commonly referred to simply as "ether"...
as an anesthetic. The film stars Joel McCrea
Joel McCrea
Joel Albert McCrea was an American actor whose career spanned 50 years and appearances in over 90 films.-Early life:...
and Betty Field
Betty Field
Betty Field was an American film and stage actress. Through her father, she was a direct descendant of the Pilgrims John Alden and Priscilla Mullins....
, and features Harry Carey, William Demarest
William Demarest
Carl William Demarest was an American character actor. He frequently played crusty but good-hearted roles.-Early life and career:...
, Franklin Pangborn
Franklin Pangborn
Franklin Pangborn was an American comedic character actor. Pangborn was famous for small, but memorable roles, with a comic flair. He appeared in many Preston Sturges movies as well as the W.C. Fields films International House, The Bank Dick, and Never Give a Sucker an Even Break...
and Porter Hall
Porter Hall
Porter Hall was an American character actor known for appearing in a number of films in the 1930s and 1940s...
.
The movie was filmed in 1942 but not released for over two years, and the released version was not what Preston Sturges had envisioned. Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
disliked the film Sturges had made, and pulled it from Sturges' control, re-titled and re-edited it, in the process making it more confusing for the audience to understand. This version of the film was released, and marketed in a way that made it appear to be one of Sturges' comedies. The film was not well-received by the critics or the public, and marked the end of a sustained run of success for Sturges, who had already left Paramount by the time the film was released.
Although rarely seen today, the film is worth viewing for its flashback structure – comparable in some ways to Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film, directed by and starring Orson Welles. Many critics consider it the greatest American film of all time, especially for its innovative cinematography, music and narrative structure. Citizen Kane was Welles' first feature film...
, which was influenced by the earlier film The Power and the Glory, for which Sturges wrote the screenplay – and for its irreverent and subtly satirical tone, unusual for a time when most Hollywood biopics were over-inflated and sentimental.
Plot
William Thomas Green Morton (Joel McCreaJoel McCrea
Joel Albert McCrea was an American actor whose career spanned 50 years and appearances in over 90 films.-Early life:...
) is a young oral surgeon in Boston in the 1800s who is determined to find a way to extract teeth without pain. When he discovers the answer almost by accident, it turns out to be cleaning fluid, sulphuric ether
Ether
Ethers are a class of organic compounds that contain an ether group — an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups — of general formula R–O–R'. A typical example is the solvent and anesthetic diethyl ether, commonly referred to simply as "ether"...
, highly purified and delivered through a glass inhaler invented and patented by Morton. Morton tests his discovery both on himself, and on a music teacher, Eben Frost (William Demarest
William Demarest
Carl William Demarest was an American character actor. He frequently played crusty but good-hearted roles.-Early life and career:...
), who is in excruciating pain from a bad tooth. Only Morton and his devoted wife Elizabeth (Betty Field
Betty Field
Betty Field was an American film and stage actress. Through her father, she was a direct descendant of the Pilgrims John Alden and Priscilla Mullins....
) know the secret of "letheon" (as they call it), which has enabled Morton's "painless" dental practice, with a staff of dentists, to thrive. Keeping the discovery a secret could make Morton rich.
Morton wishes to spread the word about letheon, and demonstrates the use of it as a surgical anesthetic to Dr. John C. Warren (Harry Carey) of Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
. The surgeons are amazed that the patient feels no pain under the influence of letheon, but protest that the Hippocratic Oath
Hippocratic Oath
The Hippocratic Oath is an oath historically taken by physicians and other healthcare professionals swearing to practice medicine ethically. It is widely believed to have been written by Hippocrates, often regarded as the father of western medicine, or by one of his students. The oath is written in...
doesn't allow them to use patent medicines, the ingredients of which are unknown. Moved by the plight of a girl about to undergo surgery which she thinks will be painless, Morton reveals his secret.
Morton is hailed as "The Benefactor of Mankind", but when his patent for the glass inhaler is infringed by the American military, he and his family fall into virtual poverty while they wait to see if President Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce was the 14th President of the United States and is the only President from New Hampshire. Pierce was a Democrat and a "doughface" who served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Pierce took part in the Mexican-American War and became a brigadier general in the Army...
(Porter Hall
Porter Hall
Porter Hall was an American character actor known for appearing in a number of films in the 1930s and 1940s...
) will sign a bill passed by Congress which will restore the patent and give Morton a $100,000 reward for his contributions to humanity. But Pierce is being pressured by newspapers inflamed by jealous medical rivals of Morton, and he refuses to sign the bill unless Morton files an infringement lawsuit against an Army or Navy doctor, which he does, even though he knows it will look as if he is capitalizing on the pain of wounded soldiers. For this, Morton is condemned by the medical community and, after he loses the lawsuit, expelled from the American Medical Association
American Medical Association
The American Medical Association , founded in 1847 and incorporated in 1897, is the largest association of medical doctors and medical students in the United States.-Scope and operations:...
.
When Morton's former medical school professor, Dr. Charles T. Jackson (Julius Tannen
Julius Tannen
Julius Tannen was a comedian – or monologist, as those of his era were known – who had a long and successful career in vaudeville. He was known to stage audiences for his witty improvisations and creative word games...
), claims that Morton stole his discovery, Morton's health declines and he dies, mourned only by his wife Elizabeth and Eben Frost
Cast
- Joel McCreaJoel McCreaJoel Albert McCrea was an American actor whose career spanned 50 years and appearances in over 90 films.-Early life:...
- William Thomas Green Morton - Betty FieldBetty FieldBetty Field was an American film and stage actress. Through her father, she was a direct descendant of the Pilgrims John Alden and Priscilla Mullins....
- Elizabeth Morton - Harry Carey - Prof. Warren
- William DemarestWilliam DemarestCarl William Demarest was an American character actor. He frequently played crusty but good-hearted roles.-Early life and career:...
- Eben Frost - Louis Jean Heydt - Dr. Horace Wells
- Julius TannenJulius TannenJulius Tannen was a comedian – or monologist, as those of his era were known – who had a long and successful career in vaudeville. He was known to stage audiences for his witty improvisations and creative word games...
- Dr. Charles Jackson - Edwin MaxwellEdwin MaxwellEdwin Maxwell was an Irish character actor in Hollywood movies of the 1930s and 1940s, frequently cast as shady businessmen and shysters, though often ones with a dignified bearing....
- Vice-President of Medical Society - Porter HallPorter HallPorter Hall was an American character actor known for appearing in a number of films in the 1930s and 1940s...
- President Franklin Pierce - Franklin PangbornFranklin PangbornFranklin Pangborn was an American comedic character actor. Pangborn was famous for small, but memorable roles, with a comic flair. He appeared in many Preston Sturges movies as well as the W.C. Fields films International House, The Bank Dick, and Never Give a Sucker an Even Break...
- Dr. Heywood - Grady SuttonGrady SuttonGrady Harwell Sutton was an American film and television actor from the 1920s to the 1970s.-Biography:Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Sutton was raised in Florida where he attended St. Petersburg High School. He began his career during the silent film era and made the transition to sound films...
- Homer Quimby - Donivee Lee - Betty Morton
- Harry Hayden - Judge Shipman
- Torben MeyerTorben MeyerTorben Emil Meyer was a Danish character actor who appeared in over 190 films in a 55-year career.-Early career:...
- Dr. Dahlmeyer - Victor PotelVictor PotelVictor Potel was an American film character actor who began in the silent era and appeared in over 430 films in his 38 year career.-Career:...
- First Dental Patient - Thurston HallThurston HallThurston Hall was an American film actor. He appeared in 250 films between 1915 and 1957 and is probably best remembered for his portrayal, during the later stages of his career, of often pompous or blustering authority figures.Hall's best-known television role was as Mr. Schuyler, the boss of...
- Senator Borland - J. Farrell MacDonaldJ. Farrell MacDonaldJoseph Farrell MacDonald was an American character actor and director. He played supporting roles and occasional leads. MacDonald, who was sometimes billed as "John Farrell Macdonald", "J.F...
- The Priest
Cast notes:
- Members of Sturges' unofficial "stock company" of character actors who appear in The Great Moment include: George AndersonGeorge Anderson (actor)George Anderson was an American stage and film actor who appeared in 74 films and 25 Broadway productions in his 34 year career.-Career:...
, Al BridgeAl BridgeAl Bridge was an American character actor who played mostly small roles in over 270 films between 1931 and 1954...
, Georgia CaineGeorgia CaineGeorgia Caine was an American actress who performed both on Broadway and in over 80 films in her 51 year career.-Early career:...
, Chester ConklinChester ConklinChester Cooper Conklin was an American comedian and actor. He appeared in over 280 films, about half of them in the silent era.-Early life:...
, Jimmy ConlinJimmy ConlinJimmy Conlin was an American character actor who appeared in almost 150 films in his 32 year career.-Career:...
, William Demarest, Robert DudleyRobert Dudley (actor)Robert Dudley , born Robert Y. Dudley in Cincinnati, Ohio, was a dentist turned film character actor who, in his 35-year career, appeared in over 115 films.-Career:...
, Byron Foulger, Robert GreigRobert Greig (actor)Robert Greig was an Australian-American actor who appeared in over 100 films between 1930 and 1949, usually as the dutiful butler.-Career:...
, Harry Hayden, Esther HowardEsther HowardEsther Howard was a film character actress who played a wide range of supporting roles, from man-hungry spinsters to amoral criminals, appearing in over 100 movies in her 23-year film career.-Career:...
, Arthur HoytArthur HoytArthur Hoyt was an American film character actor who appeared in more than 275 films in his 34 year film career, about a third of them silent films. He was a brother of Harry O...
, J. Farrell MacDonald, Torben Meyer, Frank MoranFrank MoranCharles Francis "Frank" Moran was an American boxer and film actor who fought twice for the Heavyweight Championship of the World, and appeared in over 135 movies in a 25 year film career.-Sports career:...
, Franklin Pangborn, Emory ParnellEmory ParnellEmory Parnell was an American vaudevillian and actor who appeared in over 250 films in his 36 year career...
, Victor Potel, Dewey Robinson, Harry RosenthalHarry RosenthalHarry Rosenthal was an orchestra leader, composer, pianist and actor.- Biography :Rosenthal was born in Belfast in 1893, and by the 1920s he was in London where he had a thriving musical career as a composer, bandleader and pianist, including composing five operettas which met with great success...
, Julius Tannen, and Max WagnerMax WagnerMax Wagner was a Mexican-born American film actor who specialized in playing small parts such as thugs, gangsters, sailors, henchmen, bodyguards, cab drivers and moving men, appearing in over 300 films in his career, most without receiving screen credit...
. Paramount wanted Sturges to stop using the same actors over and over again, but he felt that "these little players who had contributed so much to my first hits had a moral right to work in my subsequent pictures." - Porter Hall would appear in four films Sturges wrote and directed: Sullivan's TravelsSullivan's TravelsSullivan's Travels is a 1941 American comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges. It is a satire about a movie director, played by Joel McCrea, who longs to make a socially relevant drama, but eventually learns that comedies are his more valuable contribution to society. The film features...
, The Miracle of Morgan's CreekThe Miracle of Morgan's CreekThe Miracle of Morgan's Creek is a 1944 screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, starring Eddie Bracken and Betty Hutton, and featuring Diana Lynn, William Demarest and Porter Hall...
, The Great Moment, and The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful BendThe Beautiful Blonde from Bashful BendThe Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend is a 1949 romantic comedy Western film starring Betty Grable and featuring Cesar Romero and Rudy Vallee...
, Sturges' last American film. He also appeared in Hotel HaywireHotel HaywireHotel Haywire is a 1937 comedy film written by Preston Sturges with uncredited rewrites by Lillie Hayward. It was directed by Arthur Archainbaud and stars Leo Carillo, Lynne Overman, Spring Byington, Benny Baker and Colette Lyons.-Plot:...
, which Sturges wrote but did not direct. - This was the last released of the ten films written by Preston Sturges that William Demarest appeared in (see note).
- Because The Great Moment was heavily re-editing by studio executives before it was released, some of the actors listed in the cast list may not be in the final version of the film.
Production
The saga of The Great Moment – which during various stages of its development was called "Immortal Secret", "Great Without Glory", "Morton the Magnificent", and "Triumph Over Pain" – begins in 1939, with a screenplay for Paramount PicturesParamount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
about the life of W.T.G. Morton written by Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges , originally Edmund Preston Biden, was a celebrated playwright, screenwriter and film director born in Chicago, Illinois...
, Irwin Shaw
Irwin Shaw
Irwin Shaw was a prolific American playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and short-story author whose written works have sold more than 14 million copies. He is best-known for his novel, The Young Lions about the fate of three soldiers during World War II that was made into a film starring Marlon...
, Les River, Charles Brackett
Charles Brackett
Charles William Brackett was an American novelist, screenwriter, and film producer.-Biography:Born on November 26, 1892 in Saratoga Springs, New York, Charles William Brackett was the son of New York State Senator, lawyer, and banker Edgar Truman Brackett...
and Waldo Twitchell. The film was to be directed by Henry Hathaway
Henry Hathaway
Henry Hathaway was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Westerns, especially starring John Wayne.-Background:...
, produced by Arthur Hornblow Jr. and William LeBaron
William LeBaron
William LeBaron was an American film producer. His credits included Cimarron, the film that won the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 4th Academy Awards ceremony for 1930/1931....
, with Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper
Frank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
and Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan was an American actor. Brennan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on three separate occasions, which is currently the record for most wins.-Early life:...
to star as Morton and Eben Frost. When Cooper left Paramount, production on the film was delayed, although there may have been other reasons as well. It's unlikely that any film was actually shot at that time, but Paramount did go so far as to check with historians and dental organizations to confirm the screenplay's depiction of Morton, finding that opinion was divided on his character and on his claim to have discovered the first practical anesthesia. In fact, when Rene Fulop-Miller's book Triumph over Pain was published in 1940
1940 in literature
The year 1940 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Aldous Huxley is a screenwriter for the movie adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.*Jean-Paul Sartre is taken prisoner by the Germans....
, it caused a storm of controversy, as many disputed its claims regarding Morton.
In 1942, production moved ahead when Paramount hired Preston Sturges to direct the film, and bought the rights to an MGM short film Life of William Morton, Discoverer of Anesthesia, which is not credited in the released film as a source. Sturges then revised the 1939 screenplay with Ernst Laemmle, whose work was uncredited. At that time, Walter Huston
Walter Huston
Walter Thomas Huston was a Canadian-born American actor. He was the father of actor and director John Huston and the grandfather of actress Anjelica Huston and actor Danny Huston.-Life and career:...
was being considered to play the lead.
The film went into production on 8 April 1942 and wrapped on 5 June, on budget and a day under schedule. (In the sequence of Sturges' films, that's after the filming of The Palm Beach Story
The Palm Beach Story
The Palm Beach Story is a 1942 romantic screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, and starring Claudette Colbert, Joel McCrea, Mary Astor and Rudy Vallée. Victor Young contributed the lively musical score, including a fast-paced variation of William Tell Overture for the...
but before its release, and before both The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek is a 1944 screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, starring Eddie Bracken and Betty Hutton, and featuring Diana Lynn, William Demarest and Porter Hall...
and Hail the Conquering Hero
Hail the Conquering Hero
Hail the Conquering Hero is a satirical comedy/drama written and directed by Preston Sturges, starring Eddie Bracken, Ella Raines and William Demarest, and featuring Raymond Walburn, Franklin Pangborn, Elizabeth Patterson and Bill Edwards....
began shooting.) Joel McCrea, who had just starred in The Palm Beach Story played Morton – McCrea told Sturges that he only got good roles when Gary Cooper wasn't available – and William Demarest, that stalwart of Sturges' "stock company" played Eben Frost, giving a "gem of a performance" in one of his "strongest and most important roles".
Sturges shot this foreword to open the film:
One of the most charming characteristics of Homo sapiens, the wise guy on your right, is the consistency with which he has stoned, crucified, hanged, flayed, boiled in oil and otherwise rid himself of those who consecrated their lives to further his comfort and well-being, so that all his strength and cunning might be preserved for the erection of ever larger monuments, memorial shafts, triumphal arches, pyramids and obelisks to the eternal glory of generals on horseback, tyrants, usurpers, dictators, politicians, and other heroes who led him, from the rear, to dismemberment and death. This is the story of the Boston dentist who gave you ether-before whom in all time surgery was agony, since whom science has control of pain. It should be almost unnecessary then to tell you that this man, whose contribution to human mercy is unparalleled in the history of the world, was ridiculed, reviled, burned in effigy and eventually driven to despair and death by the beneficiaries of his revelation. Paramount Pictures, Incorporated, has the honor of bringing you, at long last, the true story of an American of supreme achievement – W.T.G. Morton of Boston, Massachusetts, in a motion picture called Triumph Over Pain.Sturges structured the film in much the same way he had the screenplay for The Power and the Glory, with the story being told in multiple flashbacks.
Paramount did not immediately release the film, because they disliked the non-sequential arrangement of the scenes, the tone of some of the acting, and the original forward, which they deemed was inappropriate for wartime. The film was taken away from Sturges by executive producer Buddy G. DeSylva, who never quite trusted him and resented the control Sturges had over his projects, and found the Morton story to be repulsive and unsuitable for mainstream audiences. The film was heavily recut, to the point that the film became almost incomprehensible, and the title changed over Sturges' strong objections. (Because of the re-editing, the film is listed with various runtimes of 80, 83, 87, and 90 minutes, and some of the actors listed in official cast lists may not actually appear in the film.) At some point in this process, Sturges' contract with Paramount ran out, and he left the studio (although he came back to do some unpaid re-shooting and re-editing of Hail the Conquering Hero) Sturges later wrote about his departure "I guess Paramount was glad to be rid of me eventually, as no one there ever understood a word I said."
The film as released now opens with this forward:
It does not seem to be generally understood that before ether there was nothing. The patient was strapped down...that is all. This is the story of W. T. G. Morton of Boston, Mass., before whom in all time surgery was agony, since whom science has control of pain. Of all things in nature great men alone reverse the laws of perspective and grow smaller as one approaches them. Dwarfed by the magnitude of his revelation, reviled, hated by his fellow men, forgotten before he was remembered, Morton seems very small indeed until the incandescent moment he ruined himself for a servant girl and gained immortality.
The Great Moment premiered in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
on 24 August 1944, more than two years after filming had wrapped, and went into general release on 6 September of that year. The film was not well-received, either by the critics or at the box office, becoming the only film directed by Sturges for Paramount not to turn a profit. Sturges' reputation never quite recovered from its failure, and his post-Paramount career is the record of a sad decline.
The Great Moment was released on video in the U.S. on 11 November 1990 and re-released on 30 June 1993. It was released on Laserdisc on 26 October 1994.