Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet
Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet is a 1940 American biographical film starring Edward G. Robinson and directed by William Dieterle, based on the true story of the German doctor and scientist Dr. Paul Ehrlich. The film was released by Warner Bros., with some controversy over raising the subject of syphilis in a major studio release. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay (by Norman Burnstine, Heinz Herald and John Huston), but lost to The Great McGinty.
Plot
Paul Ehrlich is a physician working in a German hospital. He is dismissed for his constant disregard for hospital rules, which are bound by bureaucratic red tape. The reason for his conflict is his steadily rising interest in research for selective color staining, the marking of cells and microorganisms using certain dyes and marking agents which have a certain 'affinity' for their target and nothing else. Emil von Behring, whom Dr. Ehrlich meets and befriends while experimenting with his staining techniques, is impressed with Dr. Ehrlich's staining methods and refers to it as 'specific staining,' adding that this optical microscopy diagnostic technique is one of the greatest achievements in science.
Cast
- Albert Bassermann
- Charles Halton
- Donald Crisp
- Donald Meek
- Douglas Wood
- Edward G. Robinson
- Edward Norris
- Harry Davenport
- Henry O'Neill
- Herbert Anderson
- Hermine Sterler
- Irving Bacon
- Louis Calhern
- Louis Jean Heydt
- Louis V. Arco
- Maria Ouspenskaya
- Montagu Love
- Otto Kruger
- Ruth Gordon
- Sig Ruman
- Theodore von Eltz