Symphony of Six Million

Director: Gregory La Cava Gregory La Cava

Overview

In this misleadingly-titled 1932 medical (not musical) drama, the resolve of a young surgeon is severely tested. Dr. Felix Klauber (Ricardo Cortez), is a selfless Jewish physician who has grown up in the segregated slums of New York City. Through hard work, he becomes a wealthy Park Avenue doctor. He is called to operate on his father, Meyer Klauber (Gregory Ratoff), to remove a small tumor. But Dr. Klauber makes a fatal mistake, and his father dies on the operating table. Klauber now becomes plagued by guilt and self-doubt and is afraid to practice his profession. His girlfriend Jessica (Irene Dunne) urges him to continue. When it turns out that she, too, requires surgery, his love for her and her entreaties compel him to return to perform the delicate operation. This RKO Studios production was based on a novel by Fannie Hurst. ~ Michael Betzold

Product Details

Release Date:	08/05/2011
UPC:	0883316343388
Original Release:	1932
Source:	Warner Archives
Language:	English
Time:	1:34:00
Sales rank:	52,516

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Ricardo Cortez	Dr. Felix Klauber
Irene Dunne	Jessica
Gregory Ratoff	Meyer Klauber
Anna Appel	Hannah Klauber
Lita Chevret	Birdie Klauber
Noel Madison	Magnus Klauber
Helen Freeman	Miss Spencer
Julie Haydon	Nurse/Receptionist
Josephine Whittell	Mrs. Gifford
Oscar Apfel	Doctor
Harold Goodwin	Intern
John St. Polis	Dr. Schifflen
Eddie Phillips	Birdie's Husband
Lester Lee	Felix as a Boy
Jesse de Vorska	Horowitz
Dorothy Gray	Jessica
Harry Holman	Holman
Max Steiner	Composer

Technical Credits

J. Walter Ruben

Fannie Hurst

Bernard Schubert

Pandro S. Berman	Producer
Gregory La Cava	Director
David O. Selznick	Executive Producer
J. Walter Ruben	Screenwriter
Fannie Hurst	Screenwriter
Bernard Schubert	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

Symphony of Six Million is not a great film, but it's a better film than its awful title would suggest. What makes it better? It's certainly not the plot; the bits and pieces of this plot are overly familiar, drawn from here and there and yon, but no matter their source, they're things that viewers will immediately recognize. As a result, it's not difficult to see where the picture is going or to anticipate how the characters are going to act or, often, almost exactly what they are going to say. But Symphony rises above its screenplay a bit due to the atmospheric direction of Gregory La Cava. It's not brilliant direction, but it's careful and precise, and it understands that the atmosphere and the background tension existing in the subtext of the story is what needs to be emphasized. La Cava also makes no attempt to tone down the fact that the characters in this story are Jewish, something unusual for a Hollywood film of the period and something which does make it rather noteworthy. Ricardo Cortez is a bit stiff in the leading role, and that's damaging; Irene Dunne is far from stiff, but she's miscast and not really believable as a ghetto girl. But Gregory Ratoff and Anna Appel are both quite good, and the rest of the supporting cast also delivers solid help.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler