Arrowsmith

1931

Arrowsmith

Critics Consensus

No consensus yet.

88%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 8

41%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 314
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Movie Info

Sinclair Lewis' novel Arrowsmith is given so stylish a screen treatment by producer Sam Goldwyn that at times it looks more like an art-deco exhibit than a film. Ronald Colman stars as Martin Arrowsmith, an idealist doctor who forsakes a cushy, big-city practice to seek out a cure for bubonic plague. Arrowsmith's wife Helen Hayes at first balks at the prospect of accompanying her husband to the West Indies, but she finally honors her "wifely duties"--only to be rewarded by Arrowsmith's casual affair with sexy Myrna Loy. When Hayes dies from smoking a plague-infected cigarette, the conscience-stricken Arrowsmith reawakens to his duty to humanity. It won't be readily obvious, given the streamlined look of the film, but Arrowsmith was directed by none other than John Ford, here contributing to the overall "class" of the production by pretentiously billing himself as John A. Ford.
  • Rating:
    NR
  • Genre:
    Classics, Drama
  • Directed By:
    John Ford
  • Written By:
    Sidney Howard
  • In Theaters:
     wide
  • On Disc/Streaming:
  • Runtime:
  • Studio:
    United Artists

Cast

Ronald Colman
as Dr. Martin Arrowsmith
Helen Hayes
as Leora
Richard Bennett
as Sondelius
A.E. Anson
as Prof. Gottlieb
Claude King
as Dr. Tubbs
Beulah Bondi
as Mrs. Tozer
Myrna Loy
as Joyce Lanyon
Russell Hopton
as Terry Wickett
DeWitt Jennings
as Mr. Tozer
John Qualen
as Henry Novak
Adele Watson
as Mrs. Novak
Lumsden Hare
as Sir Robert Fairland
Bert Roach
as Bert Tozer
Charlotte Henry
as Young Girl
Clarence Brooks
as Oliver Marchand
Walter Downing
as City Clerk
David Landau
as State Veterinarian
James Marcus
as Old Doctor
Alec B. Francis
as Twyford
Sidney de Grey
as Doctor Hesselink
Florence Britton
as Miss Twyford
Erville Alderson
Raymond Hatton
as Bit
Bobby Watson
as Little Neighbor
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Critic Reviews for Arrowsmith

All Critics (8)

View All Critic Reviews (8)

Audience Reviews for Arrowsmith

  • May 01, 2011
    Ronald Colman is fine in this antique but the film itself is all over the place.
    jay n Super Reviewer
  • Sep 03, 2010
    A dull and melodramatic look at the life of a doctor.
    Aj V Super Reviewer
  • Jul 23, 2008
    Colman is as charismatic as ever, but does have some choppy editing.
    Anthony V Super Reviewer
  • Aug 12, 2007
    I was glad to have caught this on Turner Classics a few weeks back. I have always thought that Ronald Colman was terribly underrated and overshadowed by Clark Gable who he resembled greatly. This is great depiction of how personal amibition and ethics often have great impacts on how personal lives are lived.
    John B Super Reviewer
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