''The Story of Dr. Wassell'' is a 1944 American World War II film set in the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, whic ...

, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, and starring

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, a ...

, Laraine Day, Signe Hasso and

Dennis O'Keefe Dennis O'Keefe (born Edward Vanes Flanagan, Jr., March 29, 1908 – August 31, 1968) was an American actor and writer. Early years Born in Fort Madison, Iowa, O'Keefe was the son of Edward Flanagan and Charlotte Flanagan, Irish vaudevill ...

. The film was based on a book of the same name by novelist and screenwriter James Hilton. The book and film were inspired by the wartime activities of

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

Doctor Corydon M. Wassell which were referred to by President Roosevelt in a radio broadcast made in April 1942. The appropriate section of this broadcast appears toward the end of the film. For their work on this film,

Farciot Edouart Farciot Edouart, ASC (born Alexander Farciot Edouart; November 5, 1894 – March 17, 1980) was a motion picture special effects artist and innovator, a recognized specialist and innovator in the area of "process photography", also known as rear pro ...

Gordon Jennings Gordon Jennings, A.S.C. (1896 – January 11, 1953) was an American special effects artist. He received seven Academy Awards (mainly for Best Special Effects) and was nominated for eight more in the same category. After starting 1919 in Ho ...

and

George Dutton George Dutton (December 19, 1899 – May 13, 1977) was an American sound engineer. He was nominated for five Academy Awards; three in the category Best Effects and two for Sound Recording. Selected filmography ;Best Effects * '' So Proud ...

received a nomination for the

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

for Best Effects.

Story

Dr Wassell is a missionary doctor from

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

, who had in the past worked in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

(which is shown in the first half of the film as a series of

flashback (narrative) A flashback (sometimes called an analepsis) is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point in the story. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story's primary sequence of eve ...

s) and after the Japanese invasion of Batavia finds himself (now as a doctor in the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

) caring for twelve American soldiers badly wounded during Japanese strafing of some cruisers. Ignoring advice to abandon his patients, Wassell manages to care for them while leading them through the jungle until they can be evacuated by boat to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

Cast

as Dr. Corydon M. Wassell * Laraine Day as Madeleine * Signe Hasso as Bettina *

as Benjamin 'Hoppy' Hopkins *

Carol Thurston Carol Thurston (born Betty Lou Thurston; September 27, 1920 – December 31, 1969) was an American film and television actress who played the fictitious Emma Clanton in eight episodes (1959-1961) of the ABC/Desilu western television series ...

as Tremartini *

Carl Esmond Carl Esmond (born Karl Simon; June 14, 1902– December 4, 2004) was an Austrian-born American film and stage actor, born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary. Although his age was given as 33 in the passenger list when he arrived in the USA in January 19 ...

as Lt. Dirk Van Daal * Paul Kelly as Murdock * Elliott Reid as William 'Andy' Anderson *

Stanley Ridges Stanley Charles Ridges (17 July 1890 – 22 April 1951) was an English-born, American actor who made more than 100 appearances in theatre and movies from 1917 to 1951. After his American film debut in ''Success'' (1923), he appeared in films s ...

as Cmdr. William B. 'Bill' Goggins * Renny McEvoy as Johnny Leeweather * Oliver Thorndike as Alabam *

Philip Ahn Philip Ahn (born Pillip Ahn (), March 29, 1905 – February 28, 1978) was an American actor and activist of Korean descent. With over 180 film and television credits between 1935 and 1978, he was one of the most recognizable and prolific Asi ...

as Ping *

Barbara Britton Barbara Britton (born Barbara Maurine Brantingham, September 26, 1920 – January 17, 1980) was an American film and television actress. She is best known for her Western film roles opposite Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea, and Gene Autry and for ...

as Ruth * Cecil B. DeMille as Narrator (uncredited) * unbilled players include

Richard Aherne Richard Aherne (born Vincent Richard Ahern; 19 March 1911 – 8 June 2002) was an Irish actor. He is sometimes credited as Richard Nugent. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, the son of William Ahern and Mary Brophy Ahern of Ross, County Meath. He ...

Irving Bacon Irving Bacon (born Irving Von Peters; September 6, 1893 – February 5, 1965) was an American character actor who appeared in almost 500 films. Early years Bacon was the son of entertainers Millar Bacon and Myrtle Vane. He was born in St. Jos ...

Sven Hugo Borg Sven Hugo Borg (July 26, 1896 - February 19, 1981) was a Swedish-American character actor. Biography Sven Hugo Borg was born in Vinslöv, Skåne län, Sweden. Early in his career, Borg was a secretary with the Swedish Consulate in Los Angeles. ...

Victor Borge Børge Rosenbaum (3 January 1909 – 23 December 2000), known professionally as Victor Borge ( ), was a Danish-American comedian, conductor, and pianist who achieved great popularity in radio and television in the North America and Europe. His ...

Yvonne De Carlo Margaret Yvonne Middleton (September 1, 1922January 8, 2007), known professionally as Yvonne De Carlo, was a Canadian-American actress, dancer and singer. She became a Hollywood film star in the 1940s and 1950s, made several recordings, and later ...

Ann Doran Ann Lee Doran (July 28, 1911 – September 19, 2000) was an American character actress, possibly best known as the mother of Jim Stark (James Dean) in ''Rebel Without a Cause'' (1955). She was an early member of the Screen Actors Guild and serv ...

Milton Kibbee Milton Kibbee (January 27, 1896 – April 17, 1970) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 360 films between 1933 and 1953. He was the brother of actor Guy Kibbee and his daughter was actress Lois Kibbee. He died in Simi Vall ...

, Elmo Lincoln,

Richard Loo Richard Loo (October 1, 1903 – November 20, 1983) was an American film actor who was one of the most familiar Asian character actors in American films of the 1930s and 1940s. He appeared in more than 120 films between 1931 and 1982. Early lif ...

, Gavin Muir,

Jack Norton Jack Norton (born Mortimer John Naughton; September 2, 1882 – October 15, 1958) was an American stage and film character actor who appeared in more than 180 films between 1934 and 1948, often playing drunks, although in real life he was a ...

and

Philip Van Zandt Philip Van Zandt (October 4, 1904 – February 15, 1958), sometimes billed as Phil Van Zandt, was a Dutch-American actor of stage, film, and television. He made nearly 250 film and television appearances between 1939 and 1958. Life and career ...

Production

It was originally announced that

would play the role of the Javanese nurse. DeMille wanted

Alan Ladd Alan Walbridge Ladd (September 3, 1913 – January 29, 1964) was an American actor and film producer. Ladd found success in film in the 1940s and early 1950s, particularly in films noir and Westerns. He was often paired with Veronica Lake ...

to play the role of Hoppy, but he had to go into military service.

Reception

The film was the seventh most popular film of the year released in Australia in 1945. It was the fifth most popular movie of 1946 in France with admissions of 5,866,69

In popular culture

In the Truman Capote novella '' Breakfast at Tiffany's (novella), Breakfast at Tiffany's'', Holly Golightly was to have auditioned for the role of Dr. Wassel's nurse, but impulsively left for New York City.

References

External links

* * *
Roosevelt: 'A Call for Sacrifice'
April 28, 1942 {{DEFAULTSORT:Story Of Dr. Wassell 1944 films 1940s biographical drama films American biographical drama films Films scored by Victor Young Films directed by Cecil B. DeMille Paramount Pictures films World War II films made in wartime American war drama films 1940s war drama films 1944 drama films Japan in non-Japanese culture Films set in Indonesia Pacific War films 1940s English-language films