Doctor Bull (1933)

Doc Bull, a no-nonsense country doctor who has served his community for decades, fights small-town prejudice and provincialism in several crises.

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

James Gould Cozzens (novel), Paul Green (adaptation)

Stars:

Will Rogers, Marian Nixon, Vera Allen

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Will Rogers	...	Dr. George 'Doc' Bull
Vera Allen	...	Mrs. Janet 'Jane' Cardmaker, Widow of Charles Edward Cardmaker / Bull's Girlfriend
Marian Nixon	...	May Tupping - Telephone Operator
Howard Lally	...	Joe Tupping
Berton Churchill	...	Herbert Banning - Janet's Brother
Louise Dresser	...	Mrs. Herbert Banning
Andy Devine	...	Larry Ward, Sodajerk
Rochelle Hudson	...	Virginia (Muller) / Banning
Tempe Pigott	...	Grandma Banning
Elizabeth Patterson	...	Aunt Patricia Banning
Nora Cecil	...	Aunt Emily Banning
Ralph Morgan	...	Dr. Verney, Owner Verney Laboratory
Patsy O'Byrne	...	Susan - Dr. Bull's Cook
Veda Buckland	...	Mary - Janet's Maid
Effie Ellsler	...	Aunt Myra Bull

Storyline

Dr. Bull is an old-fashioned country doctor whose affair with the widow Janet Cardmaker is creating waves in the small town where he practices. When there is a mysterious outbreak of typhoid which the doctor is slow in reacting to, it all comes to a head. The townspeople hold an emergency meeting and decide to give Dr. Bull the sack and bring in a new doctor. Dr. Bull must find a way to save his job, his reputation, and a young man's life, whom all other practitioners have written off as a permanent invalid.

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Plot Keywords:

doctor | small town | widow | provincialism | epidemic | 

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Taglines:

Just what you've wanted to see! Will Rogers in another STATE FAIR!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 September 1933 (USA)

Also Known As:

Life Worth Living

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the book, there are discussions about abortion between Doctor Bull and Virginia Banning. These were dropped from the script after a complaint from the Hays Office. In the movie, there is just a vague notion she is pregnant. Also, the character of Larry Ward had a venereal disease in the book, but in the film he's just a hypochondriac.

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Quotes

Mrs. Herbert Banning: Poor Mamie! She was so young! She must have hated to die!
Dr. George 'Doc' Bull: Oh, I don't know. I've seen a hundred people die, and none of them ever seemed to mind it. They was all too sick to mind it.

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Crazy Credits

"Doctor Bull brings his neighbors into the world and postpones their departure as long as possible. He prescribes common sense and accepts his small rewards gratefully. His patients call him Doc."

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Soundtracks

Oh Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone
(uncredited)
Traditional German Folk Music
English lyrics by Septimus Winner
Sung by Will Rogers, James Donlan, Mike Donlin and Reginald Barlow

User Reviews

"Sounds kinda simple"

The best remembered stars of the early 1930s may be such beautiful and provocative sirens as Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich, but at the time they were slightly outdone at the box office and the reliable Quigley poll by more down-to-earth and homely figures, chief among them Wallace Beery, Marie Dressler and of course Will Rogers. Audiences warmed to his air of honesty and decency in what was a time of great economic strife and social confusion. Will was a busy man in 1933, and while his biggest hit of the year was the sublime State Fair, he also made a number of lesser pictures which nonetheless had all the merits of his gentle personality.

Doctor Bull is a neat little tale of a small town medic up against closed-minded gossipmongers on the one hand and ravaging businessmen on the other. Director John Ford depicts the scenes with a characteristically passive hand. His camera is mostly to one side of the action, and there are few close-ups. He carefully follows movement and changes the angle occasionally to stop scenes getting stale, but barring one or two key moments (such as the shot from behind the table of a drunk Rochelle Hudson), the technique is so subtle we are allowed to forget the camera even exists. Fox studios, where this was produced, were among the last studios to start using incidental music in their movies, and even for the era Doctor Bull is starkly quiet. The overall feeling is one of tranquillity and unhurried simplicity.

Such a feeling also radiates from Rogers himself. His is a calm and methodical performance, and yet one that expresses a great deal. Rogers is the kind of man who can command a lot of attention and respect by doing very little, and therein lies a lot of his appeal. He was chiefly thought a comedy actor, but most of the comedy in Doctor Bull lies in quirky supporting players (as it often did in John Ford pictures). However, Rogers still shows a knack for delivering a line for comedic effect, usually with characteristic nonchalance. When one of his young patients is "rescued" from vaccination by his father, Rogers calls out "Hope your arm don't hurt ya tomorrow", without even looking up from his business. A sly little comment, made with just enough of a knowing hint to come across as a private joke with audience.

Such a light little movie as Doctor Bull was never going to win awards or move audiences to floods of tears or gales of laughter, but it has a nice, inoffensive quality to it that is very relaxing. It uses the era's "pre-code" liberalism, not to shock or titillate, but to deal sensitively (albeit covertly) about the issue of pregnancy outside marriage. And thanks to its aura of friendliness which is never forced but simply unfolds before us, embodied in the warm and trustworthy Mr Rogers, one cannot help but feel uplifted by it.