Director: John Ford
Distributor: United Artists
Top Billed Actors: Ronald Colman, Helen Hayes, Richard Bennett
Won 0 Oscars
Nominated for 4 more:
Outstanding Production - Samuel Goldwyn Prod.
Best Adaptation - Sidney Howard
Best Art Direction - Richard Day
Best Cinematography - Ray June
Plot: A medical research doctor marries a girl soon after he meets her and they go places and do stuff.
Distributor: United Artists
Top Billed Actors: Ronald Colman, Helen Hayes, Richard Bennett
Won 0 Oscars
Nominated for 4 more:
Outstanding Production - Samuel Goldwyn Prod.
Best Adaptation - Sidney Howard
Best Art Direction - Richard Day
Best Cinematography - Ray June
Plot: A medical research doctor marries a girl soon after he meets her and they go places and do stuff.
Arrowsmith (1931) is the first John Ford film to appear in this project. I was really looking forward to getting into these Ford films as he eventually won four Best Director awards throughout his career. His first film to have accolades by the Academy, with four nominations, is based on a novel by Sinclair Lewis. He dramatically cuts scenes from the book due to his agreement with Samuel Goldwyn that he would not drink throughout filming. As a result, he sped up the whole filming process and cut the movie down to size. He also was not allowed to include scenes involving Ronald Colman's character's second wife due to censorship restrictions. A film with the potential to be an epic runs at about 108 minutes.
Although the movie does seem rather rushed, Colman is superb in the leading role. Perhaps it is because he is British among Americans, but his acting style seems so polished and refined. He delivers his lines with distinct flair and he has a brilliant moment during a pivotal scene at the end. I also enjoyed the moral quandary of how Colman should handle a plague outbreak. Should one only give half a population a serum to test whether it really works for the plague or should the entire population receive it if it is possible to save everyone?
Apart from Colman and this dilemma that makes the viewer think, nothing else sets this film apart as one of Ford's best. Like I stated previously, the whole movie seems rather rushed as Colman and Helen Hayes, the winner of that year's Oscar for The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1931), jump from place to place for short periods of time. They even get married after knowing each other for two days! Helen Hayes also gives a lackluster performance after knocking it out of the park in the aforementioned Oscar-winning performance. I was also disappointed in the music yet again. The opening credits hinted at a film score but this turned out to be a couple of musical moments very few and far between. This is another quiet film that is honestly quite boring, both from the perspective of an awkward rushed pace and a plot that does not pull in the viewer.
Overall, I wish Ford's first film to show up in this project made me more excited to see his next one. As it stands, I am dreading it. Colman is not enough to save this snooze-fest of a picture.
My Score: 4/10
Although the movie does seem rather rushed, Colman is superb in the leading role. Perhaps it is because he is British among Americans, but his acting style seems so polished and refined. He delivers his lines with distinct flair and he has a brilliant moment during a pivotal scene at the end. I also enjoyed the moral quandary of how Colman should handle a plague outbreak. Should one only give half a population a serum to test whether it really works for the plague or should the entire population receive it if it is possible to save everyone?
Apart from Colman and this dilemma that makes the viewer think, nothing else sets this film apart as one of Ford's best. Like I stated previously, the whole movie seems rather rushed as Colman and Helen Hayes, the winner of that year's Oscar for The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1931), jump from place to place for short periods of time. They even get married after knowing each other for two days! Helen Hayes also gives a lackluster performance after knocking it out of the park in the aforementioned Oscar-winning performance. I was also disappointed in the music yet again. The opening credits hinted at a film score but this turned out to be a couple of musical moments very few and far between. This is another quiet film that is honestly quite boring, both from the perspective of an awkward rushed pace and a plot that does not pull in the viewer.
Overall, I wish Ford's first film to show up in this project made me more excited to see his next one. As it stands, I am dreading it. Colman is not enough to save this snooze-fest of a picture.
My Score: 4/10