Disputed Passage

Disputed Passage
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Directed by	Frank Borzage
Screenplay by	Anthony Veiller Sheridan Gibney
Based on	Disputed Passage by Lloyd C. Douglas
Produced by	Harlan Thompson
Starring	Dorothy Lamour Akim Tamiroff John Howard Judith Barrett William Collier, Sr.
Cinematography	William C. Mellor
Edited by	James Smith
Music by	Friedrich Hollaender (as Friedrich Hollander) John Leipold
Color process	Black and white
Production company	Paramount Pictures
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	October 27, 1939 (1939-10-27)
Running time	91 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

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]

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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]