The Story Of Dr Wassell 1944 Full Movie

[Germain Aguilera]

RearAdmiral Corydon McAlmont Wassell was one of the first national heroes of World War II. His service for the United States in early 1942 earned him the Navy Cross and praise from President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and his story inspired a movie starring Gary Cooper.

Cory Wassell was born on July 4, 1884, in Little Rock (Pulaski County), the son of Albert and Leona Wassell of Little Rock. He studied medicine at the University of Arkansas Medical School (now the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences), where he obtained a medical degree in 1909. He did postgraduate work at Johns Hopkins University. After graduation, he practiced in Tillar (Desha and Drew counties) for a short time. Wassell married a local woman, Mary Irene Yarnell, on December 27, 1911. They had four children.

Wassell applied for a commission in the U.S. Navy and was made provisional lieutenant in the reserves in 1926 but did not immediately see active duty. In 1927, he and his second wife returned to Arkansas, where Wassell worked in public health at various locations, primarily as a doctor for the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), treating malaria and other diseases among the workers. Then, in 1936, he was called to active duty in the navy and stationed in Key West, Florida.

In October 1941, Wassell received new orders to report to the Philippines. He was to leave San Francisco for this new post on December 7, 1941, but in light of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, his ship was rerouted to Java in the Netherlands East Indies (now Indonesia).

Wassell returned with the men to a hospital near Yogyakarta in East Java, Indonesia, prepared to endure the worst. However, as the Japanese army was closing in, Wassell persuaded a British army convoy to give them transportation to the coast, where he hoped to find a ship that might be willing to take them. Wassell took a vote among the men, and all agreed that they should make the grueling effort. Under extremely hazardous and trying conditions, Wassell transported about a dozen severely injured men approximately 150 miles (200 km) over rough jungle roads to the southern port of Tjilatjap. With only medical skill and limited resources at his command, Wassell undertook to ease the suffering of these men while in the transport and was able to get all but one of the men to the coast for evacuation.

After retiring from the navy with the rank of rear admiral, Wassell worked for a time without pay at a charity hospital in Hawaii. He eventually returned to Key West, Florida. Later, he returned to Arkansas to be near family. He died on May 12, 1958, in Little Rock at the age of seventy-four. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

I saw the movie The Story of Dr. Wassell about the time it was released in 1944. I was greatly impressed with Dr. Wassells service in the U.S. Navy in World War II. Then in the spring of 1949, I had the honor of meeting Dr. and Mrs. Wassell in person. They came through my checkout stand at the Kroger store in DeWitt, Arkansas, after shopping for groceries. Mrs. Wassell wrote a check for their purchase, and I noted the name on the check. I happened to mention that I knew about a naval hero of World War II, and I asked if they were related to that Dr. Wassell. Dr. Wassell replied, I am that Dr. Wassell. That just happened to be the one and only time I had ever met a real American hero and was very excited to say the least. My wife and I were visiting St. Charles, Arkansas, many years later and we located the house where the Wassells had lived in the late 1940s. I now have a copy of the movie The Story of Dr. Wassell and have reviewed it several times. I still am fascinated about that story and remember shaking hands with my hero Dr. Wassell.

As the Japanese sweep through the East Indies during World War II, Dr. Wassell is determined to escape from Java with some crewmen of the cruiser Marblehead. Based on a true story of how Dr. Wassell saved a dozen or so wounded sailors who were left behind when able bodied men were evacuated to Australia.

Gary Cooper Laraine Day Signe Hasso Dennis O'Keefe Carol Thurston Carl Esmond Paul Kelly Elliott Reid Laurette Luez Stanley Ridges Renny McEvoy Oliver Thorndike Philip Ahn Barbara Britton William Severn Richard Loo Douglas Fowley Ann Doran Yvonne De Carlo Cecil B. DeMille Irving Bacon Milton Kibbee Gavin Muir Jack Norton Philip Van Zandt Amzie Strickland George Macready

War epic where "Doctor" Gary Cooper (yes, because a intelligent Doctor is the first thing that comes to mind when you see Gary Cooper) saves a bunch of wounded soldiers as Japan go on their bombing spree around Asia. The film is positive enough as a moral booster, but they really made this too long. There is not enough variety or special moments to warrant 2+ hour color movie, regardless of how much Gary Cooper was Gary Cooper.

This was one of my favorite discoveries of 2019 and I still love it.

I'm a Cecil B. DeMille fan, and outside of directing this, he was instrumental to getting this story to screen after hearing about Dr. Wassell.

The Technicolor is gorgeous. There are so many lovely/heartbreaking touches. The long kiss between Signe Hasso and Carl Esmond when she knows he's going to his death.

The blind patient always asking questions about what's going on.

"DeMille's glossy, entertainment-at-all-costs template might have seemed out of place in context of the all too real, all too palpable war...And yet what better filmmaker than the man used to evoking the wraths of gods and rise and fall of nations to portray something close to an apocalyptic moment for so much of the world?"

Full review at Film Freedonia:

filmfreedonia.com/2019/05/04/the-story-of-dr-wassell-1944/

Not peak DeMille in the way I love him but absolutely delivers peak Cooper. He does lots of funny weird bits. This is surprisingly diplomatic, so far as WWII films made during WWII go. Philip Ahn is excellent in it and sadly underused! Don't forget to watch Daughter of Shanghai! Dennis O'Keefe is NOT Arthur Kennedy, say it again, Dennis O'Keefe is NOT Arthur Kennedy.

Original Paramount Pictures Insert Poster (14x36) for the Cecil B. DeMille war drama, THE STORY OF DR. WASSELL (1944)--starring Gary Cooper, Laraine Day, Signe Hasso, and Dennis O'Keefe. This is the story of an American doctor (Cooper) who is ordered to abandon his stretcher cases as the Allies were evacuating Java in 1942 before the Japanese advance. But Dr. Wassell stays behind and gets his wounded men evacuated. While many Hollywood movies depicting World War II are overly sentimental and patriotic, this film (made only two years after the actual events) is about an Allied defeat and how one man risked his life to save the wounded. This original insert poster is in good condition. Some evidence of tape on the front. MovieArt Original Film Posters in Austin, Texas guarantees that this poster is authentic. MovieArt Austin does not sell reproductions.

Gary Cooper - Actor

Laraine Day - Actor

CECIL B. DeMILLE - Director

Signe Hasso - Actor

DENNIS O'KEEFE - Actor

Carol Thurston - Actor

Paul Kelly - Actor

Lester Matthews - Actor

Barbara Britton - Actor

Brian Aherne - Actor

Irv Bacon - Actor

Anthony Caruso - Actor

Yvonne De Carlo - Actor

George Magrill - Actor

Richard Loo - Actor

Philip Ahn - Actor

From April 24 to 26, 1944, Cecil B. DeMille was in Little Rock for the world premiere screening of The Story of Dr. Wassell. This 1944 Paramount Pictures Technicolor release told the story of wartime hero Dr. Corydon Wassell.

Based on a book by James Hilton, it was inspired by the heroic efforts of Dr. Wassell, a naval officer, as he led the evacuation of several sailors (and treated their wounds) in Java in February 1942. President Roosevelt highlighted Dr. Wassell in his May 26, 1942, fireside chat.

Little Rock rolled out the red carpet (literally and figuratively) for DeMille and a contingency from Hollywood. Dr. and Mrs. Wassell also returned to Little Rock for the festivities. Unfortunately, Gary Cooper (who played Wassell in the film) was unable to attend due to illness. His costar, Laraine Day, was making another film and could not attend either. Those in attendance with DeMille (and Mrs. DeMille) included actresses Signe Hasso and Carol Thurston, and actor Melvin Francis. The latter played himself; he had actually been one of the sailors saved by Dr. Wassell.

April 26, 1944, was a full day for the DeMilles, the Wassells, and the others. It started with a luncheon at the Hotel Marion, hosted by the Lions Club and Little Rock Chamber of Commerce. Governor Homer Adkins presented DeMille with an Arkansas Traveler certificate. DeMille, in return, presented Governor Adkins with a copy of the script.

Following the lunch, there was a parade on Main Street. It started at 10th and Main and proceeded to Markham before ending at the War Memorial Building (now the Old State House Museum). Newspaper accounts said that it was four miles long and featured many military units and marching bands.

In 1829, he came to the United States. He learned carpentry and construction in Ohio and ended up in Little Rock. One of his jobs was as the finishing contractor on the State Capitol building, now known as the Old State House.

From April 24 to 26, 1944, future Oscar winner Cecil B. DeMille was in Little Rock for the world premiere screening of The Story of Dr. Wassell. This 1944 Paramount Pictures Technicolor release told the story of wartime hero Dr. Corydon Wassell. It would be nominated for the Oscar for Best Special Effects.

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