''Dr. O'Dowd'' is a 1940

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

drama film directed by

Herbert Mason Samuel George Herbert Mason (1891 – 20 May 1960) was a British film director, producer, stage actor, army officer, presenter of some revues, stage manager, theatre director, stage director, choreographer, Production manager (theatre), produ ...

, produced by

Sam Sax Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional ...

for

Warner Bros Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American film studio, filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and th ...

and starring

Shaun Glenville Shaun Glenville (born John Browne; 16 May 1884 – 28 December 1968) was an Irish actor who specialised in pantomime performances; he would play the Pantomime dame, dame while his wife Dorothy Ward would play the principal boy. The music ha ...

Peggy Cummins Peggy Cummins (born Augusta Margaret Diane Fuller; 18 December 1925 – 29 December 2017) was an Irish actress, born in Wales, who is best known for her performance in Joseph H. Lewis's '' Gun Crazy'' (1950), playing a trigger-happy ''femme f ...

Felix Aylmer Sir Felix Edward Aylmer Jones (21 February 1889 – 2 September 1979) was an English stage actor who also appeared in the cinema and on television. Aylmer made appearances in films with comedians such as Will Hay and George Formby. Early life ...

and

Irene Handl Irene Handl () (27 December 1901 – 29 November 1987) was a British character actress who appeared in more than 100 British films; she also wrote novels. Life Irene Handl was born in Maida Vale, London, the younger of two daughters of an Aus ...

. Set in Ireland, it focuses on Marius O'Dowd, an Irish doctor, who works to restore his relationship with his son after his daughter-in-law dies under O'Dowd's care. The film was the onscreen debut for

, who was only thirteen at the time. It was well received by critics, and Cummins' role was the subject of particular praise. The film is currently missing from the

BFI National Archive The BFI National Archive is a department of the British Film Institute, and one of the largest film archives in the world. It was founded as the National Film Library in 1935; its first curator was Ernest Lindgren. In 1955, its name became th ...

, and is listed as one of the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

's " 75 Most Wanted" lost films.

Plot

Marius O'Dowd (Shaun Glenville) is an Irish doctor who is often drunk. His daughter-in-law Moira (Pamela Wood) dies during a serious operation which O'Dowd is performing. Although O'Dowd is not to blame, his son Stephen (

Liam Gaffney Liam Gaffney (22 June 1911 – July 1994) was an Irish stage, film and television actor. His stage work included appearances with Dublin's Abbey Theatre, and in London's West End. Selected filmography * '' Irish and Proud of It'' (1936) * ''Ma ...

) suspects that Moira died due to O'Dowd operating while under the influence of alcohol, and accuses him of criminal neglect. O'Dowd consequently has his license to practice medicine taken away. Stephen also does not tell his daughter Pat (

) that Marius is her grandfather, although several years later she becomes friends with Marius and works this out. Marius eventually manages to redeem himself by saving Stephen's life during an outbreak of

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacteria, bacterium ''Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild Course (medicine), clinical course, but in some outbreaks, the mortality rate approaches 10%. Signs a ...

Cast

as Marius O'Dowd *

as Pat O'Dowd *

Mary Merrall Mary Merrall (5 January 1890 – 31 August 1973), born Elsie Lloyd, was an English actress whose career of over 60 years encompassed stage, film and television work. Stage career Merrall's stage career started in her teens, making her first stag ...

as Constantia *

as Stephen O'Dowd *

Patricia Roc Patricia Roc (born Felicia Miriam Ursula Herold; 7 June 1915 – 30 December 2003) was an English film actress, popular in the Gainsborough melodramas such as '' Madonna of the Seven Moons'' (1945) and ''The Wicked Lady'' (1945), though she on ...

as Rosemary * James Carney as O'Hara *

as President *

as Sarah *

Walter Hudd Walter Hudd (20 February 1897 – 20 January 1963) was a British actor and director. Stage career Hudd made his stage debut in ''The Manxman'' in 1919, and later toured as part of the Fred Terry Company; first attracting serious attention pla ...

as Doctor Crowther * Pat Noonan as Mulvaney *

Maire O'Neill Maire O'Neill (born Mary Agnes Allgood; 11 January 1886 – 2 November 1952) was an Irish actress of stage and film. She holds a place in theatre history as the first actress to interpret the lead character of Pegeen Mike Flaherty in John Mill ...

as Mrs Mulvaney *

Charles Victor Charles Victor (10 February 1896 – 23 December 1965) was a British actor who appeared in many film and television roles between 1931 and 1965. He was born Charles Victor Harvey. Born in Southport, Lancashire, England, Victor was a fourth- ...

as Dooley * Pamela Wood as Moira

Production

Most of the filming for ''Dr. O'Dowd'' took place at the

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

studios in

Teddington Teddington is an affluent suburb of London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Historically an Civil parish#ancient parishes, ancient parish in the county of Middlesex and situated close to the border with Surrey, the district became ...

, with outdoor sequences shot in

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

in north west England and in

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

, Ireland. The filming was undertaken in the summer of 1939, concluding just after the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Warner Bros. employed a number of different experts as advisers to ensure the film was realistic, including a doctor, a nurse, an angler and a billiards player. ''Dr. O'Dowd'' was the film debut for 13-year-old

, who later starred in films such as ''

Gun Crazy ''Gun Crazy'' (also known as ''Deadly Is the Female'') is a 1950 American crime film noir starring Peggy Cummins and John Dall in a story about the crime-spree of a gun-toting husband and wife. It was directed by Joseph H. Lewis, and produce ...

'' and '' The Night of the Demon''. Cummins had caught the attention of film executives after appearing in a 1938 production named ''Let's Pretend'' in London, and this film was the beginning of a deal signed with

As part of an agreement with the

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

, Cummins was limited to five hours of filming per day and had to be supervised by a

governess A governess is a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching; depending on terms of their employment, they may or ma ...

. The film was also a debut for her co-star Shaun Glenville, a music hall performer. This was only one of two film roles Glenville played in his career.

Release and reception

''Dr. O'Dowd'' was distributed by the production studio Warner Bros. in 1940, with an initial trade showing in London on 16 January 1940. It had a public release in UK and Ireland in the same year. It was also distributed in America and Australia. The film was received very positively by critics. One Irish newspaper described it as "one of the best films about Ireland ever made." ''

Kinematograph Weekly ''Kinematograph Weekly'', popularly known as ''Kine Weekly'', was a trade paper catering to the British film industry between 1889 and 1971. Etymology The word Kinematograph was derived from the Greek ' Kinumai ', (to move, to be in motion, to ...

'' summed up its positive response to the film as: "Good story, competent treatment, captivating juvenile angle, effective dramatic twists, good comedy and excellent atmosphere." In Australia, '' The Examiner'' described it as "one of the surprise hits of the year". Praise was particularly given to the two main actors,

and

. Despite the latter's young age, ''Kinematograph Weekly'' predicted that "Given the chance, she'll go far". ''

Halliwell's Film Guide Robert James Leslie Halliwell (23 February 1929 – 21 January 1989) was a British film critic, encyclopaedist and television rights buyer for ITV, the British commercial network, and Channel 4. He is best known for his reference guides, '' Fi ...

'' describes it as a "somewhat woebegone tearjerker with an interesting cast". The film is missing from the

, and is listed as one of the

's " 75 Most Wanted" lost films. No sequences of film are known to survive, although the BFI does possess a collection of stills from the production.

References

External links

*
''Dr. O'Dowd''
at

BFI The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, d ...

''Dr. O'Dowd''
at

AllMovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, television series, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doctor ODowd 1940 films 1940 drama films 1940 lost films British drama films 1940s English-language films Films directed by Herbert Mason Lost British films British black-and-white films Lost British drama films 1940s British films