''Yellow Jack'' is a 1934 docudrama play starring James Stewart and produced by

Guthrie McClintic Guthrie McClintic (August 6, 1893 – October 29, 1961) was an American theatre director, film director, and producer based in New York. Life and career McClintic was born in Seattle, attended Washington University and New York's American Acad ...

that was later adapted into a 1938 Hollywood movie by the same title. Both were co-written by

Sidney Howard Sidney Coe Howard (June 26, 1891 – August 23, 1939) was an American playwright, dramatist and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1925 and a posthumous Academy Award in 1940 for the screenplay for ''Gone with the Wind''. ...

and

Paul de Kruif Paul Henry de Kruif (, rhyming with "life") (1890–1971) was an American microbiologist and author of Dutch descent. Publishing as Paul de Kruif, he is most noted for his 1926 book, ''Microbe Hunters''. This book was not only a bestseller for a le ...

(the former a

Pulitzer Pulitzer may refer to: *Joseph Pulitzer, a 20th century media magnate * Pulitzer Prize, an annual U.S. journalism, literary, and music award *Pulitzer (surname) * Pulitzer, Inc., a U.S. newspaper chain *Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, a non-pr ...

- and

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

-winning playwright and screenwriter; the latter a well-known microbiologist and author). The play is the work of Sidney Howard and is based on a chapter in Paul de Kruif's 1927 book ''Microbe Hunters''. James Stewart in his first dramatic role stars as Pvt. John O'Hara, a role reprised by Robert Montgomery in the 1938 film. Stewart later stated this role convinced him to continue his acting career during a time he recalled that "From 1932 through 1934...I'd only worked three months. Every play I got into folded." The experience led him to stay with acting and he first entered movies later that year in ''

The Murder Man ''The Murder Man'' is a 1935 American crime-drama film starring Spencer Tracy, Virginia Bruce, and Lionel Atwill, and directed by Tim Whelan. The picture was Tracy's first film in what would be a twenty-year career with MGM. Tracy plays an inves ...

''. Caricaturist Al Hirschfeld while covering the play for the '' New York Herald Tribune'' drew his first of 13 drawings (and only one from a play) he made over the course of Stewart's career. The play opened at the opulent Martin Beck Theatre on March 6, 1934, and ran for 79 performances. The Martin Beck was renamed in 2003 for Al Hirschfeld, who drew the caricature for ''Yellow Jack''. Prior to its debut,

Herman Bernstein Herman Bernstein ( yi, הערמאַן בערנשטײן, September 21, 1876 – August 31, 1935) was an American journalist, poet, novelist, playwright, translator, Jewish activist, and diplomat. He was the United States Ambassador to Albania and ...

's ''

Jewish Daily Bulletin The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) is an international news agency and wire service, founded in 1917, serving Jewish community newspapers and media around the world as well as non-Jewish press, with about 70 syndication clients listed on its web ...

'' covered the play, attesting that it did not contain anti-semitic elements.

Synopsis

After the Spanish–American War, in which more U. S. soldiers were killed by yellow fever (known as Yellow Jack) than in battle, the War Department sent a medical commission to Cuba to find, if possible, the cause and cure of this deadly tropical disease. The commission was headed by Dr.

Walter Reed Walter Reed (September 13, 1851 – November 22, 1902) was a U.S. Army physician who in 1901 led the team that confirmed the theory of Cuban doctor Carlos Finlay that yellow fever is transmitted by a particular mosquito species rather than ...

. With him was Dr. James Carroll. In Cuba they found Dr.

Jesse Lazear Jesse Lazear (December 12, 1804 – September 2, 1877) was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Biography Lazear was born to Thomas Lazear, Esq., and Elizabeth (Braddock) in Richhill Township, Greene Co ...

, European-trained microbiologist, and Cuban Dr.

Aristides Agramonte Aristides Agramonte y Simoni (June 3, 1868 – August 19, 1931) was a Cuban American physician, pathologist and bacteriologist with expertise in tropical medicine. In 1898 George Miller Sternberg appointed him as an Acting Assistant Surgeon ...

. Limited in its experiments by the fact that animals are immune to Yellow Jack and embroiled in government interference, Reed decides that the only way to test the theory is to expose his own men to the disease. O'Hara volunteers to allow Dr. Reed to experiment on him.

Reception

Debuting on March 6, 1934, the Broadway production ran through May for a modest 79 performances. It generally received positive reviews, but the subject had limited popular appeal.

Sam Levene Sam Levene (born Scholem Lewin; August 28, 1905 – December 28, 1980) was a Russian Empire-born American Broadway, film, radio, and television actor and director. In a career spanning over five decades, he appeared in over 50 comedy and dr ...

was the only member of the original 1934 Broadway production of the play ''Yellow Jack'' to appear in the 1938 film of the same name.

Original Broadway cast

* James Stewart as Medical Corps Pvt. O'Hara *

John Miltern John Miltern (1870-1937) was an actor in theater and films in the United States. He was in the Broadway play '' Yellow Jack''. He was also in Channing Pollock's play ''Roads of Destiny''. Another of his stage performances was described as manly ...

as Major

* Edward Acuff as Pvt. McClelland * Wylie Adams as Kraemer, as a Commissary Sergeant and as a member from the Rockefeller Foundation * Jack Carr as Chambang, a Native Laboratory Assistant *

Eduardo Ciannelli Eduardo Ciannelli (30 August 1888 – 8 October 1969), was an Italian baritone and character actor with a long career in American films, mostly playing gangsters and criminals. He was sometimes credited as Edward Ciannelli. Early life Ciannelli ...

, a Member of the American Yellow Fever Commission * Francis Compton as a Major of the Royal Air Force * Charles Gerard as Adrian Stokes, of the West African Yellow Fever Commission, Rocke *

Lloyd Gough Lloyd Gough (born Michael Gough; September 21, 1907 – July 23, 1984) was an American theater, film, and television actor. Life and career Born Michael Gough in New York City, he was a noted character actor. Married to actress-turned-activi ...

as a Laboratory Assistant and as an Army Chaplain * Harold Hoffat as Roger P. Ames, an Asst. Surgeon * Colin Hunter (actor) as an Official of the Kenya Colony Government * Bernard Jukes as a Laboratory Assistant *

Whitford Kane Whitford Kane (born Thomas Wheeler Kane, January 30, 1881 – December 17, 1956) was a noted Irish-born American stage and screen character actor remembered for playing the First Gravedigger in numerous productions of Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'' and ...

as Dr.

Carlos Finlay Carlos Juan Finlay (December 3, 1833 – August 20, 1915) was a Cuban epidemiologist recognized as a pioneer in the research of yellow fever, determining that it was transmitted through mosquitoes ''Aedes aegypti''. Biography Early life and ...

* Robert Keith as Jesse W. Lazear, a member of the American Yellow Fever Commission *

Geoffrey Kerr Geoffrey Kerr (born Geoffrey Kemble Grinham Keen; 26 January 1895 – 1 July 1971) was a British stage and film actor and writer during the middle of the 20th century. Early life Geoffrey Kemble Grinham Keen was born on 26 January 1895, in Lond ...

as Stackpoole *

as Pvt. Busch * Richie Ling as Colonel Tory of the Marine Hospital Corps *

Barton MacLane Barton MacLane (December 25, 1902 – January 1, 1969) was an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He appeared in many classic films from the 1930s through the 1960s, including his role as General Martin Peterson on the 1960s NBC ...

as James Carroll, a member of the American Yellow Fever Commission *

Myron McCormick Myron McCormick (February 8, 1908 – July 30, 1962) was an American actor of stage, radio and film. Early life and education Born in Albany, Indiana, in 1908, Walter Myron McCormick was the middle child of Walter P. and Bessie M. McCormick ...

as Pvt. Brinkerhof *

Millard Mitchell Millard Mitchell (August 14, 1903 – October 13, 1953) was an American character actor whose credits include roughly 30 feature films and two television appearances. He appeared as a bit player in eight films between 1931 and 1936. Mitchell ...

as Pvt. William H. Dean * Jock Munro as a Laboratory Assistant * George Nash as Major

William Crawford Gorgas William Crawford Gorgas Order of St Michael and St George, KCMG (October 3, 1854 – July 3, 1920) was a Medical Corps (United States Army), United States Army physician and 22nd Surgeons General of the United States Army, Surgeon General of the ...

Robert Shayne Robert Shayne (born Robert Shaen Dawe, October 4, 1900 – November 29, 1992) was an American actor whose career lasted for over 60 years. He was best known for portraying Inspector Bill Henderson in the American television series '' Adven ...

as Harkness and as Major Cartwright * Frank Stringfellow as an Orderly * Clyde Walters as an Orderly * Katherine Wilson as Miss Blake, a Special Nurse in Charge of the Yellow Fever Ward

Revivals

PFC

Martin Ritt Martin Ritt (March 2, 1914 – December 8, 1990) was an American director and actor who worked in both film and theater, noted for his socially conscious films. Some of the films he directed include '' The Long, Hot Summer'' (1958), '' The Black ...

directed a Broadway production of ''Yellow Jack'' presented on April 7, 1944, at the

44th Street Theatre The 44th Street Theatre was a Broadway theatre located at 216 West 44th Street in New York City from 1912 to 1945. It opened and operated for three years as the Weber and Fields' Music Hall. Its rooftop theatre, the Nora Bayes Theatre, present ...

. A single performance for members of the U.S. armed services, the abbreviated version of the play featured actors from the simultaneous Broadway production of ''

Winged Victory The ''Winged Victory of Samothrace'', or the ''Nike of Samothrace'', is a votive monument originally found on the island of Samothrace, north of the Aegean Sea. It is a masterpiece of Greek sculpture from the Hellenistic era, dating from the beg ...

'', also directed by Ritt. The cast—nearly all of them active-duty military—included

John Forsythe John Forsythe (January 29, 1918 – April 1, 2010) was an American stage, film/television actor, producer, narrator, drama teacher and philanthropist whose career spanned six decades. He also appeared as a guest on several talk and variety s ...

(O'Hara),

Gary Merrill Gary Fred Merrill (August 2, 1915 – March 5, 1990) was an American film and television actor whose credits included more than 50 feature films, a half-dozen mostly short-lived TV series, and dozens of television guest appearances. He starr ...

(Walter Reed), Grant Richards (Aristides Agramonte),

Philip Bourneuf Philip Bourneuf (January 7, 1908 - March 23, 1979) was an American character actor who had a long stage career before appearing in films. Early years The son of engineer Ambrose Bourneuf and his wife, the former Josephine Comeau, Bourneuf was ...

(Dr. Carlos Finlay),

George Reeves George Reeves (born George Keefer Brewer; January 5, 1914 – June 16, 1959) was an American actor. He is best known for portraying Superman in the television series '' Adventures of Superman'' (1952–1958). His death at age 45 from a g ...

(James Carroll) and

Whit Bissell Whitner Nutting Bissell (October 25, 1909 – March 5, 1996) was an American character actor. Early life Born in New York City, Bissell was the son of surgeon Dr. J. Dougal Bissell and Helen Nutting Bissell. He was educated at the Allen-S ...

(Brinkerhof). In 1947 New York's American Repertory Theatre revived ''Yellow Jack'' for a four-week run at the International Theatre.

Adaptations

''Yellow Jack'' was adapted for an episode of the ABC television series ''

Celanese Theatre ''Celanese Theatre'' is an anthology television series which aired from October 3, 1951, to June 25, 1952, on ABC. Concept The series arose from the Playwrights' Repertory Theater of Television with its focus on adapting stage plays to televis ...

'', broadcast May 28, 1952.

Macdonald Carey Edward Macdonald Carey (March 15, 1913 – March 21, 1994) was an American actor, best known for his role as the patriarch Dr. Tom Horton on NBC's soap opera ''Days of Our Lives''. For almost three decades, he was the show's central cast member. ...

Walter Abel Walter Abel (June 6, 1898 – March 26, 1987) was an American film, stage and radio actor. Life Abel was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the son of Christine (née Becker) and Richard Michael Abel. Abel graduated from the American Academy of ...

and Sarah Churchill starred; Alex Segal directed. The play was adapted for an episode of the NBC–TV series ''

Producers' Showcase ''Producers' Showcase'' is an American anthology television series that was telecast live during the 1950s in compatible color by NBC. With top talent, the 90-minute episodes, covering a wide variety of genres, aired under the title every fourth ...

'', broadcast January 10, 1955, directed by

Delbert Mann Delbert Martin Mann Jr. (January 30, 1920 – November 11, 2007) was an American television and film director. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film '' Marty'' (1955), adapted from a 1953 teleplay of the same name which he ...

and starring Jackie Cooper and Broderick Crawford.

References

External links

* {{IBDB title, 11845, Yellow Jack, (1934 production)
''TIME Magazine'' review: Mar. 19, 1934
1934 plays Military medicine in the United States Plays based on books American plays adapted into films Plays by Sidney Howard Plays based on actual events Cuba in fiction