The Great Moment (1944)

A 19th century dentist by the name of William Thomas Morton (Joel McCrea) pioneers the use of ether as a general anesthesia but not without the ramifications of greed, lawsuits and professional jealousy. Based on the non fiction book TRIUMP OVER PAIN by Rene Fulop Miller and directed by Preston Sturges (THE LADY EVE). This film oddity is considered one of Sturges' weaker films (only THE BEAUTIFUL BLONDE FROM BASHFUL BEND has received more negativity among Sturges' films). I must say I agree with that assessment though to be fair, the film as released was heavily re-edited without Sturges' approval which cause some incoherency in the narrative. The film is an uneasy mixture of serious biography and comedy (with pratfalls and everything) and it just doesn't work at all. A movie about the invention of ether and painless surgery doesn't exactly sound like the most scintillating of subjects and the dull domestic scenes between McCrea and Betty Field as his wife only add to the tedium. The film presents Morton as a hero but historically, there are doubts about his contributions since he wasn't the first to suggest or use ether as an anesthesia. The failure of the film caused Sturges' career to go into decline. With William Demarest (who provides most of the comedy), Harry Carey, Julius Tannen, Louis Jean Heydt and Franklin Pangborn.