Disputed Passage

91 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish

Disputed Passage is a 1939 American drama war film directed by Frank Borzage and starring Dorothy Lamour, Akim Tamiroff, John Howard, Judith Barrett and William Collier, Sr.^[1] Set in war-torn China, the film was described by The New York Times as a "lavish soap opera". The film was based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Lloyd C. Douglas, and was produced by Paramount Pictures.^[2]

Plot

Young medical student John Wesley Beaven (John Howard) is torn between the detached, cold pragmatism of Dr. Forster (Akim Tamiroff) and the humanistic attitudes of kindly Dr. Cunningham (William Collier Sr.). Matters are brought to a head when Beaven must choose between his career and impending marriage to fellow student Audrey Hilton (Dorothy Lamour). Dr. Forster convinces Audrey to return to her native China and let Beaven pursue his studies undistracted. She takes Forster's advice, but Beaven follows her. Once in the Orient he is injured in a bomb blast, and in a makeshift hospital, Dr. Forster is called on to perform a risky operation to save his life.

Cast

• Dorothy Lamour as Audrey Hilton
• Akim Tamiroff as Dr 'Tubby' Forster
• John Howard as John Wesley Beaven
• Judith Barrett as Winifred Bane
• William Collier, Sr. as Dr. William Cunningham
• Victor Varconi as Dr. LaFerriere
• Gordon Jones as Bill Anderson
• Keye Luke as Andrew Abbott
• Elisabeth Risdon as Mrs Cunningham
• Steve Pendleton as Lawrence Carpenter (as Gaylord Pendleton)
• Billy Cook as Johnny Merkle
• William Pawley as Mr Merkle
• Renie Riano as Mrs Riley
• Z.T. Nyi as Chinese Ambassador
• Philson Ahn as Kai
• E.Y. Chung as Dr Ling (as Dr. E.Y. Chung)
• Philip Ahn as Dr. Fung
• Dandan Li as Aviatrix (as Lee Ya-Ching)

Critical reception

The New York Times concluded,"if you have gathered from the foregoing that Disputed Passage smacks of synthetic drama and not too subtle moralizing, you have gleaned aright. What you might not have gathered is that the film, particularly in its early phases, has been forcefully written and rather well played. While there no longer is much news in the conflict between the sympathetic, sentimental physician and the cold scientist who caustically challenges his medical class to find a human soul in their dissections, the topic remains a fertile and provocative one."^[2] and Allmovie wrote, "kudos again to director Frank Borzage for bringing warmth and credibility to the most sloppily sentimental of storylines."^[3]

References

External links

• Disputed Passage at IMDb
• Disputed Passage at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
• Disputed Passage at the TCM Movie Database