The Story of Louis Pasteur

Plot synopsis:
In nineteenth century chemist Louis Pasteur (Paul Muni) believes that diseases are caused by unseen microbes. His radical theory is 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.
Charbonnet is so certain that Pasteur is a quack that he injects himself with some of the rabies virus. When a triumphant Charbonnet shows no sign of contracting rabies, Pasteur is puzzled, until his wife suggests that the sample may have gotten weak with age. This sets him on the right path to finding a cure. When a frantic mother begs him to try his untested treatment on her son (Dickie Moore), who has been bitten by a rabid dog, Pasteur risks imprisonment and possibly the guillotine to save the child. Even Charbonnet finally concedes that he is right. In the end Pasteur is honored for his scientific accomplishments by the very doctors who scoffed at his discoveries.

Tags: inspiring, historical

Review:
The first of the Warner Bros "biopics", it can boast of a great performance by Paul Muni, with none of the mannerisms that became a trade mark in the last and sorry years of his career.
The film's emotional ending (a well-deserved and long-overdue tribute to Pasteur's work by his collegues) centers on a closing speech by Pasteur (Paul Muni) in which he explains, simply and with passion, that making a contribution to the wellbeing of mankind is the most important work of all.Pasteur's discovery of the role of bacteria in spreading disease seems self-evident now, but he faced years of ridicule and isolation before his findings were accepted and played their part in transforming our world.This film is a vaccine against the cynical, self-referential, "in it for me (and maybe my small circle of friends)" films of the recent decades.
But every year after they have viewed the film almost all students come away legitimately liking the film.Paul Muni's performance is extraordinary and may be the best performance of his entire career.
Paul Muni has the title role in "The Story of Louis Pasteur," a 1935 film also starring Josephine Hutchinson, Anita Louise, Donald Woods, and Fritz Lieber.The biopic focuses on Pasteur's work in sterilization, rabies, and anthrax, and includes his inoculation of the small boy Joseph Meister (Dickie Moore) which is a famous - and risky - moment in Pasteur's life.
And certainly the rabies and anthrax stories are more dramatic.Some of the film, I believe, is fictionalized - his nemesis, Dr. Charbonnet, was probably created to represent some of the criticism Pasteur faced in his lifetime.
It seems crazy to think that before Pasteur, doctors did not sterilize instruments and wash their hands, but apparently, they didn't.Good movie..
The Story of Louis Pasteur (1827-1895) was also the film that got Muni his Academy Award for Best Actor that year.It's hard to imagine the world of science and medicine without the contributions of Pasteur.
His chief critic Dr. Charbonnet played by Fritz Lieber nearly sank Pasteur's work with a bold move that I cannot tell about, but will make you gasp when you see it on screen.Josephine Hutchinson is Muni's ever faithful wife Marie and she does well by what is really a rather colorless part.
There is a nice subplot involving Donald Woods as an early convert to Pasteur's way of thinking wooing and winning daughter Anita Louise.The film goes through Pasteur's main achievements of sterilization during medical procedures and cures for anthrax and hydrophobia.
The story and screenplay which also won Oscars for 1936 is simple and straightforward enough for any lay person to follow.There are several good performances of men of science who opposed and/or supported Pasteur's work, in some cases opposed then supported.
Porter Hall, Akim Tamiroff, and Halliwell Hobbes who has a small part as Joseph Lister, the English scientist.Pasteur fought hard for his ideas against the medical and scientific establishment of his day and lived long enough to receive due acclaim from his nation of France and the world.
Paul Muni gives an impressive, Oscar-winning performance as Louis Pasteur, so fiercely dedicated to his findings and the results they receive, he drives himself to a partial stroke.
PAUL MUNI gives an eloquent performance as Louis Pasteur in this abbreviated biography of his life which never has time to mention some of his other achievements, such as pasteurized milk.
ANITA LOUIS and DONALD WOODS provide what little romantic interest there is in the tale, strictly cardboard characters little more than ciphers.Muni ages convincingly without the use of heavy make-up and won a Best Actor Oscar for his detailed performance.
Story of Louis Pasteur, The (1935) *** (out of 4) Bio pic of chemist Louis Pasteur (Paul Muni) who found a cure for the black plague but was then blacklisted when he made the claim that childhood fever was caused when doctors didn't wash their hands before delivering babies.
This is a pretty strong film from start to finish that features a terrific performance by Muni who rightfully deserved his Best Actor Oscar.
God knows he's given countless great performances throughout his career but I was shocked at how well he play Pasteur who of course used his brains more than his muscles or mouth like many of Muni's other roles.
There's not a single second where Muni comes off as himself but the entire film he gives the performance that we think we're actually watching Pasteur work.
In 1860 Paris, doctors are collectively disgruntled by chemist Paul Muni (as Louis Pasteur).
This is an exceptionally well-produced, straightforward biography of Louis Pasteur by director William Dieterle and the crew at Warner Bros.
And, the fact that you drank "Pasteurized" milk isn't even covered.******** The Story of Louis Pasteur (1935-11-23) William Dieterle ~ Paul Muni, Josephine Hutchinson, Fritz Leiber, Donald Woods.
He seemed to always play intense roles.The story is very frustrating, however, as we watch "Pasteur" become the target of an ignorant medical profession at the time, constantly trying to discredit the famous man's work.
This movie stars Paul Muni in an Oscar winning performance as a scientist who is looking for a cure for anthrax and then rabies, all the other doctors laugh at him.
Paul Muni does a good job and this is the same director of Life of Emilie Zola and Juarez..
Enjoyable biopic about the famous chemist Louis Pasteur, played by Paul Muni.
He's backed up by solid actors like Donald Woods, Henry O'Neill, Fritz Leiber, and Halliwell Hobbes, as well as the lovely Anita Louise and Josephine Hutchinson.
As with the best of Hollywood's great old biopics, its focus is to tell the inspirational story of a historical figure in an entertaining way.
While the actual details of the life of the great chemist, Louis Pasteur, are mixed up in this glossy MGM biography, the general facts are all there and the film is both captivating and inspiring.
Robinson) is Warner Brother's answer to this MGM film and BOTH are well worth seeing and are about equally entertaining.Paul Muni plays Pasteur, though much of his earlier career is left out of the film.
THE STORY OF LOUIS PASTEUR (Warner Brothers, 1936), directed by William Dieterle, starring Paul Muni, might have become a box-office failure considering its then theatrical popularity being swashbucklers, screwball comedies, love stories, screen adaptations to literary classics or the musicals.
Having little or no expectation except for Paul Muni, the sort of actor willing to assume the gamble to a point of not even caring if the movie proved popular or not, THE STORY OF LOUIS PASTEUR not only became an unexpected success, paving the way for other biographical stories to follow, but won Paul Muni the Academy Award as Best Actor for his memorable performance.
Rather than starting the story of Louis Pasteur as a child, leading to his scientific profession and courtship with his future wife, the original story and screenplay by Sheridan Gibney and Pierre Collins gets down to basics starting in 1860 with the shooting of Doctor Francois (William Burress) by an irate husband (William B.
After the husband presents the reasons for his actions to the police with a newspaper clipping by Louis Pasteur stating how microbes cause diseases and death, the scientists of the French Academy label Pasteur as a "menace to science." Louis Pasteur (Paul Muni) is then introduced as a chemist with a young wife, Marie (Josephine Hutchinson), and father to three children, the eldest being a daughter named Annette (Anita Louise).
Martel leaves Charbonnet's employ to work under Pasteur and Doctor Emile Roux (Henry O'Neill), dedicating themselves pursuing the deadly microbes that cause antrax and hydrophobia and cures, followed by Pasteur's painstaking attempt to find the cure for rabies as found on Philip Meister (Dickie Moore), a little boy left under his care, and testings on the child that could lead to Pasteur's imprisonment if he should fail.The supporting cast also includes: Porter Hall (Doctor Rosignol); Raymond Brown (Doctor Aradisse); Akim Tamiroff (Doctor Zaranoff); Iphigenie Castiglioni (Empress Eugenie); and Halliwell Hobbes (Doctor Lister from England), among others.
(Whatever became of the two younger Pasteur children seen early in the story before disappearing from view with no explanation?) The plot, in general, offers enough material to provide the story of Louis Pasteur, with extended scenes of investigation of the anthrax disease at the Pouilly Le Fort, dividing 24 vaccinated sheep with 24 non-vaccinated ones to see which ones survive; Pasteur's desperation in having Doctor Charbonnet follow his method of delivering his daughter's baby; but eliminates the use and term of "pasteurization" of milk for which he is most famous.While there have been earlier biographical stories, many of them being more fiction than fact, THE STORY OF LOUIS PASTEUR is no different, offering its blend of both, which really doesn't hurt the concept of the story by any means.
Distributed on video cassette in the 1990s, and later DVD, THE STORY OF LOUIS PASTEUR can be seen and historically studied for examination term paper in science class on Turner Classic Movies.
Although not quite one of my favourite biographical films of all time, 'The Story of Louis Pasteur' is a fine example of how to do it right.
'The Story of Louis Pasteur' is at its weakest in the romantic element of the story, which didn't engage as much as the rest of the film and didn't fit as well either.Also the performances of Anita Louise and Donald Woods who struck me as a little colourless.
The film is particularly worth seeing for the terrific and deservedly Oscar-winning performance of Paul Muni.
"The Story of Louis Pasteur" does take a few minutes to attain a grip on its narrative which eventually does make for very engaging drama.It is astonishing how a simple film revolving around a man and his microscope has been made into something so riveting, that you can't take your eyes off, once it picks up steam.
Paul Muni should be reason enough for anyone to look up "The Story of Louis Pasteur".
A tasteful and thoughtful fictionalization of Louis Pasteur's development of vaccines for anthrax and rabies that nevertheless peddles in the kind of hagiography one would expect from films of this time period, when things like subtlety were in short supply."The Story of Louis Pasteur" was a prestige pic from Warner Bros.
It did both, scoring a Best Actor win for Paul Muni, eminently watchable as Pasteur but who deserved to win both three years earlier for his intense performance in the intense "I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang" and a year later for his performance in another Warner Bros.
biopic, "The Life of Emile Zola." Indeed, there is speculation that 1936 saw a lot of vote rigging in the Academy and that Muni's win was the result of some under the table deals among studio execs to ensure that certain actors and certain films would win key awards.
But it's the kind of role and performance that could easily have won on its own merits, and indeed biopics have been one of the surest vehicles for actors seeking Oscar noms and wins ever since.The film also won two writing awards, the first of only four films in Oscar history to do so, when rules allowed both the screenplay and the original story on which it was based to be eligible even if written by the same people, which in this case were (Pierre Collings and Sheridan Gibney).
Paul Muni deserved the Oscar for his performance of the famous scientist.
It features Paul Muni's Academy Award winning Best Actor performance.
The strong supporting cast includes: Josephine Hutchinson as his dependable wife, Anita Louise as his daughter, Dickie Moore as a child who gets rabies, and Henry O'Neill, Porter Hall and Akim Tamiroff (among others) as doctors.
Directed by William Dieterle.Pasteur is an outstanding scientist, one whose discipline and methods allow him to achieve great insights, enabling him to discover the root causes of deaths in livestock and people (e.g. germs).
Muni Captures Every Scene with Expressions that a Full Beard can do Little to Hide as He Searches for Clues and Cures to Find and Kill the Invisible Monsters.The Production Design is Elegant but Simple and the Supporting Cast of Family Members, Doctors, and Politicians add a Backdrop of Intensity to Pasteur's Work.
Louis Pasteur was the person of 19th century that he discovered (Bacteria) and (Anthrx) at the same time of (Robert Koch) the German physiologist that won Nobel prize in Medicine or physiology in 1905 because of his discoveries (Tuberclosies - Malaryia).It is wonderful to be the secret of treatment the bodies from pains and diseases as an expanding for (The Christ) and another prophets by their holy books , massages and miracles.Paul Muni made his signature role by winning Oscar prize for best leading role as Pasteur in 1936 by his good Analysis for the character of this great scientist by his final speech at the end of this film that any scholar must be honest in his work and searches to be in the summit as him that he took his gift and honor from french scientific academy and if he was still alive in the 20th century he win Nobel prize in medicine without any competition but he died in 1896 before the establishment of Nobel prize before five years of it..
The Story of Louis Pasteur is like Marty: If the movie didn't win Oscars, it wouldn't be that bad.
Since it did win Oscars-screenplay and Paul Muni's only Best Actor award-I expected it to be good.
I think Paul Muni's a wonderful actor, but he didn't deserve even a nomination for this movie.The story is compelling to modern audiences, and since Paul's hair and makeup was created to look very much like Louis Pasteur, people were swept away.
Another of Warner Brothers' famous biopics and a 'prestige' production, (it won 3 Oscars, including Best Actor for Paul Muni's performance in the title role), but it's deadly dull, despite the best efforts of director William Dieterle to make it 'cinematic'.
Had they waited, he might have been awarded for an equally good performance in a much better movie (THE LIFE OF EMILE ZOLA) one year later..
To be fair, Muni does provide some commendable gravitas as Pasteur, and his award did come after his powerful performances in earlier films, such as the previous year's BLACK FURY (he placed second to Victor McLaglen in the 1935 Academy Award voting as a write-in candidate for that film.) But let's say that Muni delivers more impressively in the next year's LIFE OF EMILE ZOLA.As for the film, one must keep in mind that this became an early example of what quickly became a cliché in mainstream Hollywood cinema--the "neglected genius overcomes all obstacles." The script is usually excellent, and the directing and supporting performances are not bad.
He had an intelligent interest in science,and like many other people in the 19th century saw a bright future because of the improvements it would bring.Far from exiling Pasteur, he was his PATRON,building him a laboratory and providing him with all the resources that he needed for his research.While the lab was under construction, Pasteur became gravely ill.A bureaucrat, deciding it was a waste of money to build a laboratory for someone who would soon be dead, ordered work halted on his own authority.When the emperor heard about this, his outrage shook the bureaucracy so that there was a flurry of buck-passing, and work promptly resumed.The Emperor personally visited Pasteur to comfort him and reassure him that he would get his lab.The emperor would often bring members of his court to admire Pasteur's projects,and it was obvious to everyone that Pasteur was one of the emperor's favorites.Pasteur's main worry concerning the Emperor was that Napoleon thought Pasteur was virtually a miracle worker who could do almost anything, and was constantly assigning him tasks outside of his previous experience.Pasteur, a very modest man, was always protesting this, but Napoleon would say that he had complete faith in him,and Pasteur despite his misgivings, always came through.They always had a close and friendly relationship,and after the Emperor was overthrown, Pasteur refused to say a bad word about him,grateful to the end of his life.The part about his daughter having the baby, and Pasteur sacrificing his principles to get a doctor, never happened.The part about the anthrax and rabies, for which he was famous, is generally correct, but the notion that the anthrax experiment raised him from obscurity to fame is false.He was famous and respected at the time this happened.This movie is OK from a dramatic standpoint,but very distorted as biography..
That's work.Louis Pasteur, Paul Muni here, believed in the germ theory of disease at a time when the French Academy didn't.
Freud was born in 1856, three years before Darwin publish "The Origin of Species." Paul Muni is good as the impatient Louis Pasteur who receives his just honors at the end.
As I mentioned, Paul Muni received the Best Actor Oscar, and it was only right that he did.
the title character admonishes Future Generations at the end of THE STORY OF LOUIS PASTEUR.
While Paul Muni does an admirable acting job here, this was certainly not one of his best performances.
He was far better in "The Life of Emile Zola" as well as "Juarez" and "The Last Angry Man."The film discusses Pasteur's battles with anthrax and rabies.
Am shocked that the milk producers didn't carry on about this.There are nice supporting performances by Josephine Hutchinson as his devoted wife as well as Fritz Leiber, Dr. Charbonnet, a doctor who would not believe Pasteur's idea and was willing to fight and humiliate him all the way.There is a nice historical backdrop to the film, especially as it relates to the Franco-Prussian War of 1871.Donald Woods and Anita Louise are wasted in their roles as the son-in-law and daughter to Pasteur.