The Story of Louis Pasteur
Encyclopedia
The Story of Louis Pasteur is a 1936 American biographical film. It starred Paul Muni
as the renowned scientist
. It was written by Toni Pollastre and Sheridan Gibney, and Edward Chodorov
(uncredited), and directed by William Dieterle
.
The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture
and won the Oscars for Best Screenplay
and for Muni as Best Actor in a Leading Role
.
(Paul Muni
) are dismissed by most doctors, particularly his most vocal critic, Dr. Charbonnet (Fritz Leiber, Sr.
). Nonetheless, Pasteur carries on, with the assistance of a small group of loyal researchers, and finds a cure for anthrax
. He also campaigns to have doctors wash their hands and sterilize their instruments before operating. When a frantic mother (Ruth Robinson) brings him her son (Dickie Moore), who has been bitten by a rabid
dog, Pasteur is persuaded to try out his untested treatment on the child. In the end, he is vindicated and honored.
and the April 13, 1946 episode of Academy Award Theater
.
Paul Muni
Paul Muni was an Austrian-Hungarian-born American stage and film actor...
as the renowned scientist
Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist born in Dole. He is remembered for his remarkable breakthroughs in the causes and preventions of diseases. His discoveries reduced mortality from puerperal fever, and he created the first vaccine for rabies and anthrax. His experiments...
. It was written by Toni Pollastre and Sheridan Gibney, and Edward Chodorov
Edward Chodorov
Edward Chodorov , was a Broadway playwright. As well, he was the author or the producer of over 50 motion pictures...
(uncredited), and directed by William Dieterle
William Dieterle
William Dieterle was a German actor and film director, who worked in Hollywood for much of his career. His best known films include The Devil and Daniel Webster, The Story of Louis Pasteur and The Hunchback of Notre Dame...
.
The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
and won the Oscars for Best Screenplay
Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay
The Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...
and for Muni as Best Actor in a Leading Role
Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
.
Plot
In nineteenth century France, the radical theories of Louis PasteurLouis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist born in Dole. He is remembered for his remarkable breakthroughs in the causes and preventions of diseases. His discoveries reduced mortality from puerperal fever, and he created the first vaccine for rabies and anthrax. His experiments...
(Paul Muni
Paul Muni
Paul Muni was an Austrian-Hungarian-born American stage and film actor...
) are dismissed by most doctors, particularly his most vocal critic, Dr. Charbonnet (Fritz Leiber, Sr.
Fritz Leiber, Sr.
Fritz Reuter Leiber Sr. , was an was a American actor . Highly respected as a Shakespearean actor on stage, he also had a successful career in film...
). Nonetheless, Pasteur carries on, with the assistance of a small group of loyal researchers, and finds a cure for anthrax
Anthrax
Anthrax is an acute disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Most forms of the disease are lethal, and it affects both humans and other animals...
. He also campaigns to have doctors wash their hands and sterilize their instruments before operating. When a frantic mother (Ruth Robinson) brings him her son (Dickie Moore), who has been bitten by a rabid
Rabies
Rabies is a viral disease that causes acute encephalitis in warm-blooded animals. It is zoonotic , most commonly by a bite from an infected animal. For a human, rabies is almost invariably fatal if post-exposure prophylaxis is not administered prior to the onset of severe symptoms...
dog, Pasteur is persuaded to try out his untested treatment on the child. In the end, he is vindicated and honored.
Cast
- Paul MuniPaul MuniPaul Muni was an Austrian-Hungarian-born American stage and film actor...
as Louis PasteurLouis PasteurLouis Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist born in Dole. He is remembered for his remarkable breakthroughs in the causes and preventions of diseases. His discoveries reduced mortality from puerperal fever, and he created the first vaccine for rabies and anthrax. His experiments... - Josephine HutchinsonJosephine HutchinsonJosephine Hutchinson was an American actress.She was born in Seattle, Washington. Her mother, Leona Roberts, was an actress best-known for her role as "Mrs. Meade" in Gone with the Wind. Through her mother's connections, Hutchinson made her film debut at the age of thirteen in The Little Princess,...
as Marie PasteurMarie PasteurMarie Laurent,a.k.a. Madame Marie Pasteur', , one of the daughters of the Rector of the Strasbourg Academy was the wife of famous French chemist and bacteriologist Louis Pasteur.Marie worked as a secretary and... - Anita LouiseAnita Louise-Life and career:Born Anita Louise Fremault in New York, New York, she made her acting debut on Broadway at the age of six, and within a year was appearing regularly in Hollywood films...
as Annette Pasteur - Donald WoodsDonald Woods (actor)Donald Woods was a Canadian-born American film and television actor whose career spanned six decades....
as Dr. Jean Martel - Fritz LeiberFritz Leiber, Sr.Fritz Reuter Leiber Sr. , was an was a American actor . Highly respected as a Shakespearean actor on stage, he also had a successful career in film...
as Dr. Charbonnet - Henry O'NeillHenry O'NeillHenry O'Neill was a film actor known for playing gray-haired fathers, lawyers, and similarly dignified roles during the 1930s and 1940s.-Life and career:...
as Dr. Emile Roux - Porter HallPorter HallPorter Hall was an American character actor known for appearing in a number of films in the 1930s and 1940s...
as Dr. Rossignol - Raymond Brown as Dr. Radisse
- Akim TamiroffAkim TamiroffAkim Mikhailovich Tamiroff was an Armenian actor. He won the first Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor.Tamiroff was born in Tiflis, Russian Empire , of Armenian ethnicity. He trained at the Moscow Art Theatre drama school. He arrived in the U.S. in 1923 on a tour with a troupe of actors...
as Dr. Zaranoff - Halliwell HobbesHalliwell HobbesHalliwell Hobbes was an English actor.-Life:His stage debut was in Sir Frank Benson's company in 1898, playing in Shakespearean rep alongside actors such as Ellen Terry and Mrs Patrick Campbell...
as Dr. ListerJoseph Lister, 1st Baron ListerJoseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister OM, FRS, PC , known as Sir Joseph Lister, Bt., between 1883 and 1897, was a British surgeon and a pioneer of antiseptic surgery, who promoted the idea of sterile surgery while working at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary... - Frank ReicherFrank ReicherFrank Reicher , was a German-born American stage and film actor, director and producer.-Early life:Frank Reicher was born in Munich, Germany, the son of actor Emanuel Reicher and Hedwig Kindermann, a popular German prima donna who was a daughter of the famous baritone August Kindermann...
as Dr. Pfeiffer - Dickie Moore as Joseph Meister
- Ruth Robinson as Mrs. Meister
- Walter KingsfordWalter KingsfordWalter Kingsford was a British stage, film and television actor born in Redhill, Surrey, England. He was born Walter Pearce and had several sisters...
as Napoleon IIINapoleon III of FranceLouis-Napoléon Bonaparte was the President of the French Second Republic and as Napoleon III, the ruler of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I, christened as Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte... - Iphigenie Castiglione as Empress EugénieEugénie de MontijoDoña María Eugenia Ignacia Augustina de Palafox-Portocarrero de Guzmán y Kirkpatrick, 16th Countess of Teba and 15th Marquise of Ardales; 5 May 1826 – 11 July 1920), known as Eugénie de Montijo , was the last Empress consort of the French from 1853 to 1871 as the wife of Napoleon III, Emperor of...
Adaptations to Other Media
Paul Muni reprised his role in two radio play versions of the film: the November 23, 1936 episode of Lux Radio TheaterLux Radio Theater
Lux Radio Theater, a long-run classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network ; CBS and NBC . Initially, the series adapted Broadway plays during its first two seasons before it began adapting films. These hour-long radio programs were performed live before studio audiences...
and the April 13, 1946 episode of Academy Award Theater
Academy Award Theater
Academy Award was a CBS radio anthology series which presented 30-minute adaptations of plays, novels or films.Rather than adaptations of Oscar-winning films, as the title implied, the series offered "Hollywood's finest, the great picture plays, the great actors and actresses, techniques and...
.
External links
- The Internet Archive holds a radio adaptation of the film, originally broadcast on November 23, 1936 by Lux Radio Theater.