Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet

<html lang="en" class="no-js"> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge,chrome=1"> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta charset="utf-8"> <meta name="description" content=""> <meta name="author" content=""> <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> <meta name="description" content=""> <meta name="author" content=""> <link rel="icon" href="images/favicon.ico"> <title>Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet</title> <meta name="layout" content="tbs-public"/> <script src="/resources/plugins/jquery-1.11.1/js/jquery/jquery-1.11.1.min.js" type="text/javascript" ></script> <link href="/resources/css/twitter/bootstrap.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" media="screen, projection" /> <link href="/resources/css/font-awesome.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" media="screen, projection" /> <link href="/resources/css/cleaned_combine.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" media="screen, projection" /> <style> </style> </head> <body> <div id="wrapper">  <div class="navbar-wrapper"> <div class=""> <div class="navbar" role="navigation"> <div class="container"> <div class="navbar-header col-xs-12 navbar-collapse collapse"> <div id="nyulmc-utility" class="navbar-wrapper"> <div id="nyulmc-utility-container"> <div id="nyulmc-utility-navigation"> <ul class="nyulmc-items"> <li class="first"><a href="http://nyulangone.org" title="">Patient Care</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.med.nyu.edu//directory" title="">Faculty & Staff Directory</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.med.nyu.edu//calendar" title="">Events</a></li> <li><a href="http://careers.nyumc.org" title="">Careers</a></li> <li><a href="http://development.med.nyu.edu" title="">Donate</a></li> </ul> <ul id="nyulmcsocials-list"> <li id="nyulmcsocials-facebook-link" class="facebook"> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.facebook.com/NYULangone"></a> </li> <li id="nyulmcsocials-twitter-link" class="twitter"> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.twitter.com/NYULMC"></a> </li> <li id="nyulmcsocials-youtube-link" class="youtube"> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.youtube.com/user/nyulmc"></a> </li> <li id="nyulmcsocials-instagram-link" class="instagram"> <a target="_blank" href="http://instagram.com/nyulangone"></a> </li> <li id="nyulmcsocials-googleplus-link" class="google"> <a target="_blank" href="https://plus.google.com/107010827209555497591" rel="publisher"></a> </li> </ul> </div>   </div>  </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div>  <div class="site-navigation nyu-gradient"> <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <div id="logo_link" class="col-sm-8"> <a href="http://www.med.nyu.edu"> <img src="/images/NYUL-Health_logo_White_RGB_72ppi.png" alt="" class="logo"> </a> </div> <div id="logo_link" class="col-sm-4"> <a href="http://medhum.med.nyu.edu"> <img src="/images/rudin_alpha.png" alt="" class="logo"> </a> </div> </div> <nav role="navigation" class="navbar navbar-default"> <div class="container-fluid"> <div class="navbar-header"> <button type="button" class="navbar-toggle collapsed" data-toggle="collapse" data-target="#navbarCollapse" aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="navbar"> <span class="sr-only">Toggle navigation</span> <span class="icon-bar"></span> <span class="icon-bar"></span> <span class="icon-bar"></span> </button> </div> <div id="navbarCollapse" class="navbar-collapse collapse "> <ul id="nav_main" class="nav navbar-nav"> <li > <a href="/" target="_self"><span>Home</span></a> </li>  </li> <li ><a href="/about" target="_self"><span>About The Database</span></a> </li> <li ><a href="/board" target="_self"><span>Editorial Board</span></a> </li> <li><a href="https://medhum.med.nyu.edu/magazine" target="_blank"><span>Magazine</span></a> </li> <li><a href="https://medhum.med.nyu.edu/magazine/?page_id=5043" target="_blank"><span>Resources</span></a> </li> <li ><a href="/contact" target="_self"><span>Contact Us</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="https://twitter.com/NYULitMed" target="_blank"><span>Follow</span> <img src="/images/twitter-sign.png" alt="" hspace="10" align="top"> </a> </li> <li> <a href="http://medhum.med.nyu.edu/search"><span>Search</span> <img src="/images/search.png" alt="" hspace="10" align="top"> </a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav>  </div> </div> <div id="title_banner"> <div id="logo" class="container"> <img class="img-responsive" src="/images/litmed_logo.png" /> </div> </div> <div class="browse card">  <nav class="navbar navbar-default "> <div class="container-fluid">   <div class="collapse navbar-collapse navbar-default" id="browse-nav"> <ul class="nav navbar-nav navbar-default"> <li class=""><a href="/browse">     BROWSE DATABASE</a></li> <li class="dropdown"> <a href="#" class="dropdown-toggle" data-toggle="dropdown" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" aria-expanded="false">VISUAL ARTS <span class="caret"></span></a> <ul class="dropdown-menu"> <li><a href="/browse?category=1">All Visual Arts</a></li> <li role="separator" class="divider"></li> <li><a href="/browse?subcategory=63">Painting/Drawing</a></li> <li><a href="/browse?subcategory=73">Photography</a></li> <li><a href="/browse?subcategory=83">Sculpture</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="dropdown"> <a href="#" class="dropdown-toggle" data-toggle="dropdown" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" aria-expanded="false">LITERATURE <span class="caret"></span></a> <ul class="dropdown-menu"> <li><a href="/browse?category=2">All Literature</a></li> <li role="separator" class="divider"></li> <li><a href="/browse?subcategory=23">Fiction</a></li> <li><a href="/browse?subcategory=33">Nonfiction</a></li> <li><a href="/browse?subcategory=53">Plays</a></li> <li><a href="/browse?subcategory=43">Poetry</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="dropdown"> <a href="#" class="dropdown-toggle" data-toggle="dropdown" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" aria-expanded="false">PERFORMANCE ARTS <span class="caret"></span></a> <ul class="dropdown-menu"> <li><a href="/browse?category=3">All Performance Arts</a></li> <li role="separator" class="divider"></li> <li><a href="/browse?subcategory=93">Film, TV, Video</a></li> <li><a href="/browse?subcategory=103">Theater</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><a href="/atoz">A-Z INDEX</a></li> <li><a href="/filter">ADVANCED SEARCH</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> <div id="content" class="container"> <div class="card result full"> <div class="work-info"> <div class="row"> <div class="pull-left col-lg-8 col-md-7 col-sm-6 col-xs-12"> <h2 class="active-title work-title">Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet</h2> <h3 class=" author"> <a href="/person/139" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="bottom" title="  Show artist/creator detail">Robinson, Edward</a>,  <a href="/person/546" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="bottom" title="  Show artist/creator detail">Dieterle, William</a>,  <a href="/person/140" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="bottom" title="  Show artist/creator detail">Gordon, Ruth</a>,  <a href="/person/141" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="bottom" title="  Show artist/creator detail">Kruger, Otto</a> </h3> <p class="category"> <div> <em class="text-muted">Primary Category:</em> <a href="/browse?catgory=3" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="bottom" title="  Show all Performing Arts annotations" target="_self">Performing Arts</a> / <a href="/browse?subcategory=93" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="bottom" title="  Show all Film, TV, Video annotations" target="_self">Film, TV, Video</a> </div> </p> <p class="genre"> <em class="text-muted">Genre: </em> <a href="/browse?genre=93" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="bottom" title="  Show all annotations in the genre: Film" target="_self">Film</a> </p> </div> <div class="annotators-info col-lg-4 col-md-5 col-sm-6 col-xs-12"> <dl class="annotators-info list-unstyled"> <span class="role text-muted">Annotated by:</span> <dt class="annotator"> <a href="/board/22" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="bottom" title="  More about this annotator">Duffin, Jacalyn</a></dt> </dt> </dl> </div> </div> <div class="metadata"> <div class="row"> <div class="keywords pull-left"> <span class="glyphicon glyphicon-tags col-xs-2"></span> <ul class="list-inline col-xs-10"> <li><a href="/browse?keyword=14" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="bottom" title="  Show all annotations tagged with Children" target="_self"><span class="label label-default">Children</span></a></li> <li><a href="/browse?keyword=20" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="bottom" title="  Show all annotations tagged with Empathy" target="_self"><span class="label label-default">Empathy</span></a></li> <li><a href="/browse?keyword=66" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="bottom" title="  Show all annotations tagged with Family Relationships" target="_self"><span class="label label-default">Family Relationships</span></a></li> <li><a href="/browse?keyword=87" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="bottom" title="  Show all annotations tagged with History of Medicine" target="_self"><span class="label label-default">History of Medicine</span></a></li> <li><a href="/browse?keyword=88" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="bottom" title="  Show all annotations tagged with History of Science" target="_self"><span class="label label-default">History of Science</span></a></li> <li><a href="/browse?keyword=92" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="bottom" title="  Show all annotations tagged with Infectious Disease" target="_self"><span class="label label-default">Infectious Disease</span></a></li> <li><a href="/browse?keyword=33" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="bottom" title="  Show all annotations tagged with Medical Advances" target="_self"><span class="label label-default">Medical Advances</span></a></li> <li><a href="/browse?keyword=99" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="bottom" title="  Show all annotations tagged with Medical Research" target="_self"><span class="label label-default">Medical Research</span></a></li> <li><a href="/browse?keyword=45" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="bottom" title="  Show all annotations tagged with Physician Experience" target="_self"><span class="label label-default">Physician Experience</span></a></li> <li><a href="/browse?keyword=62" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="bottom" title="  Show all annotations tagged with Professionalism" target="_self"><span class="label label-default">Professionalism</span></a></li> <li><a href="/browse?keyword=50" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="bottom" title="  Show all annotations tagged with Science" target="_self"><span class="label label-default">Science</span></a></li> <li><a href="/browse?keyword=52" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="bottom" title="  Show all annotations tagged with Society" target="_self"><span class="label label-default">Society</span></a></li> <li><a href="/browse?keyword=115" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="bottom" title="  Show all annotations tagged with Technology" target="_self"><span class="label label-default">Technology</span></a></li> <li><a href="/browse?keyword=90" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="bottom" title="  Show all annotations tagged with Tuberculosis" target="_self"><span class="label label-default">Tuberculosis</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="log text-muted pull-right"> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li> Date of entry:<span> Apr-07-1999</span> </li> <li> Last revised:<span> Mar-05-2009</span> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="analysis"> <div class="summary analysis-section"> <h4>Summary</h4> <div class="analysis-text"> <p>Paul Ehrlich (Edward G. Robinson) works as a hospital dermatologist, but his two passions are his family and his independent research into dyes and stains. When he abandons his call-duty to attend a lecture by Robert Koch, hospital officials have all they need to dismiss the annoying Jew. Koch, however, engages him to develop dyes to enhance the visibility of the newly discovered tubercle bacillus.</p><p>Ehrlich's health is broken by the research, but one success leads to another. With Emil von Behring (Otto Kruger), he works on a serum to save children with diphtheria. Moved by the anxiety of the mothers, he refuses to maintain untreated controls. His superiors are furious, but the state is grateful and he is awarded his own institute.</p><p>Ehrlich turns his attention to finding a "magic bullet" to treat syphilis, but his relationship with von Behring founders. Arsenic derivatives are endlessly modified until success is reached in 1910 with agent 606. A few deaths in treated subjects prompt Ehrlich's enemies to arrange a formal inquiry, but he is completely exonerated and reconciled with von Behring.</p> </div> </div> <div class="commentary analysis-section"> <h4>Commentary</h4> <div class="analysis-text"> <p>A lucid presentation of the work of two Nobel laureates, Ehrlich (1908) and von Behring (1901), with careful attention to scientific detail, including method and hypothesis. Overcoming prejudices, be they conceptual or social, is a major theme.</p><p>The portrayal of hospital and state bureaucrats as bumbling, antisemitic Germans (more German than the American-accented protagonist) adds an interesting wartime twist to the old conflict between scientific genius and petty officialdom. Similarly, hostility against research on syphilis therapy shows that the problem of funding for socially stigmatized problems is nothing new.</p><p>Ehrlich's falling out with von Behring is related to the difference between an immune view of disease prevention and the "magic bullet" view of killing germs. Robinson gives Ehrlich a saintly aura, culminating in the near apotheosis of his deathbed scene surrounded by scientific disciples. Despite the slow pace and the 1940's schmaltz, students find this film informative and inspiring.</p> </div> </div> <div class="misc analysis-section"> <h4>Miscellaneous</h4> <div class=" analysis-text"> Available from <a href="http://www.wwvideos.com/">A Million and One World-Wide</a> <a href="http://www.wwvideos.com/"> Videos</a> </div> </div> <div class="form-group"> <h4>Primary Source</h4> <div class="analysis-text"> <p class="form-control-static" >United Artists </p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div>  <footer class="nyu-footer" id="footer"> <div class="container wrapper"> <div class="row"> <div id="bottomnavlinks" class="col-xs-6"> <ul id="footer_primary" class="menu items_5"> <li class="menu-1540 first"><a href="http://nyulangone.org" title="">NYU Langone Medical Center</a></li> <li class=""><a href="http://alex.med.nyu.edu/portal/" title="">Student Login</a></li> <li class="menu-1538 last"><a href="http://hsl.med.nyu.edu" title="">Library</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer_secondary" class="menu items_5"> <li class="menu-1546 first"><a href="http://nyulangone.org/policies-disclaimers" title="Secondary Item 1">Policies & Disclaimers</a></li>  <li class="menu-1548 last active"><a href="https://www.nyu.edu/footer/accessibility.html" target="_blank" title="Accessibility" class="active">Accessibility</a></li> </ul> </div> <div id="call_wrapper" class="pull-right col-xs-6"> <div id="editor-login"> <p><a href="/login/auth">Editors Login 禄</a> </p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </footer> <script> (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){ (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o), m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m) })(window,document,'script','//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga'); ga('create', 'UA-87888-12', 'auto'); ga('send', 'pageview'); </script> <script src="/resources/js/twitter/bootstrap.js" type="text/javascript" ></script> <script type="text/javascript"> $(function () { $('[data-toggle="tooltip"]').tooltip(); }) </script> </body> </html>

CINXE.COM

Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet