The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936)

Directed by William Deiterle. Starring Paul Muni, Donald Woods, Josephine Hutchinson, Fritz Leiber, Anita Louise, Henry O’Neill, Porter Hall, Raymond Brown, Akim Tamiroff, Frank Reicher, Halliwell Hobbes, Walter Kingsford, Iphigenie Castiglione, Dickie Moore.

Plodding, reverent chronicle of a few of French microbiologist Louis Pasteur’s great accomplishments in advancing science and medicine; sometimes as dry as an encyclopedia, sometimes as silly as a soap opera. Muni won an Oscar playing Pasteur, but he’s not as compelling when “boxed in” playing real-life figures as he often was when free to explore the color and texture of damaged and/or haunted fictional ones (see also: The Life of Emile Zola). No one else much stands out in the supporting cast, and too much time is dedicated to their travails and personal dramas—Muni may appear in at least half of the movie’s scenes, but he doesn’t command many of the episodes. Even though it’s standard Warner Bros. 1930s/40s biopic fare, Pierre Collings and Sheridan Gibney each picked up a pair of Academy Awards as well, for Best Story and Best Screenplay.

51/100