Yellow Jack (1938)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

George B. Seitz

Writers:

Sidney Howard (play)
Paul De Kruif (play)

Release Date:

27 May 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Romance | War

Plot:

In the fever-stricken areas of Cuba a brave band of scientists, doctors and U. S. Marines fight a losing battle against the deadly plague of 'Yello Jack,' until the great heroic risk taken by an Irish sergeant brings victory.

Plot Keywords:

Cuba | Disease | Theory | Doctor | Volunteer

Cast

Robert Montgomery	...	John O'Hara
Virginia Bruce	...	Frances Blake
Lewis Stone	...	Maj. Walter Reed
Andy Devine	...	Charlie Spill
Henry Hull	...	Dr. Jesse Lazear
Charles Coburn	...	Dr. Finlay
Buddy Ebsen	...	Jellybeans
Henry O'Neill	...	Major Gorgas
Janet Beecher	...	Miss MacDade
William Henry	...	Breen
Alan Curtis	...	Brinkerhof
Sam Levene	...	Busch
Stanley Ridges	...	Dr. James Carroll
Phillip Terry	...	Louis Ferguson
Jonathan Hale	...	Maj. Gen. Leonard Wood

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #4234) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Many cast members in studio records/casting call lists did not appear or were not identifiable in the movie. These were (with their character names): Frank O'Connor (Officer), Billy Arnold (Officer), Larry Steers (Officer), Francisco Marán (Interpreter), Joe Dominguez (Second Interpreter), Dick Wessel (Cavalryman), Ted Oliver (Cavalryman) and Charles Sullivan (Cavalryman).

Movie Connections:

Version of "Celanese Theatre: Yellow Jack (#1.18)" (1952)

Soundtrack:

Battle Hymn of the Republic

Interesting mainly for the casting...script from Sidney Howard play is too talky...

YELLOW JACK is not the enthralling film it should have been about a subject like finding the cure for YELLOW JACK (or malaria), and too much of the early set-up for the story is so talky that right away you can almost see the wheels turning slowly in Sidney Howard's stage play.

But once it gets down to the experimenting, it becomes more interesting to watch. Then again, there are plenty of flaws in the material. One is the insistence on using ANDY DEVINE as comic relief throughout. He makes such a buffoon of the squeaky-voiced dimwit, that his character becomes nothing more than a cartoon. Adding to the unreality, is the appearance of cool blonde VIRGINIA BRUCE as a hard-working nurse in Cuba, looking as fresh as a cucumber no matter how unbearable the heat or how trying the situations are. She looks perfectly groomed in every loving close-up and her acting is, as usual, bland.

ROBERT MONTGOMERY's brogue seems to have annoyed many viewers here, but he does an okay job with the accent. Only question is, why did he have to be portrayed as an Irishman in the first place? And furthermore, why given the name of John O'Hara, when we already had a famous writer by the same name known to the public? Montgomery sounds much like the character he played in NIGHT MUST FALL, but at least his performance here is far better and more convincing than Miss Bruce's work.

Other cast members are competent enough, but little screen time is given to CHARLES COBURN in a minor role as a cynical doctor. Those that make the biggest impression are ALAN CURTIS (handsome man was leading man material and deserved better than this kind of supporting role), SAM LEVENE, HENRY HULL (although a bit overwrought), and in a very brief role as one of the first victims, PHILIP TERRY.

Interesting mainly for the cast and the unusual aspects of the story, but definitely a film that needed to be made more cinematic rather than stagebound with too much talk during the first half-hour.