Medicine on Screen The National Library of Medicine

Competition and Dominance Hierarchies in Rats (O.H. Mowrer, J.S. Kornreich, Isabelle Yoffe, 1940)

This film shows experiments on competition and dominance hierarchies in rats. From an economy of abundance, rats are put into situations where competition for food is essential. At first the rats behave very similarly; they compete but do not fight. When insufficient food for their complete satisfaction is given, savage fighting develops. A definite dominance hierarchy (i.e., dominant, intermediate, subordinate) soon emerges. Personality typing based on this kind of social experience seems to be relatively permanent.

Cloud in the Sky (National Tuberculosis Association, 1940)

This film deals with the problems of pulmonary tuberculosis among Hispanic Americans. In one family, the mother dies of tuberculosis. A young adult daughter becomes ill with fatigue and coughing. Her father urges her to see a doctor, but she denies she is ill with claims that she has been working too hard. Eventually, she can no longer deny her illness and asks her parish priest to pray for her. The priest strongly advises her to see a physician, accept treatment, and not use patent medicines.

Beware the Wind (Airlie Productions, 1967)

The films opens with smoke everywhere, so much smoke that it obscures the ground. The smoke is a result of burning to clear land, to create power, and run cars. There is also the problem of dust from grinding and crushing. These are two of the many sources of air pollution. The pollution leaks into the air and is concentrated in cities. The combination of industrial pollution and automobile exhaust causes cancer in the people who breathe the air. The same pollution is found in Europe. Dr. Brandt at the Robert A. Taft Center in Cincinnati reports on the damage air pollution does to plants.

Ask Your Dentist [Silent] (Producer unknown, 1928)

The dangers of dental caries and how to prevent them are emphasized in this film. A class of grade-school children learn about the teeth. Written on the board are questions and answers: Why you need teeth--to cut and grind food--a model set of teeth is used to demonstrate chewing; to give form to the face--this is shown on models of heads and teeth of people with malocclusions; to aid personal appearance--shown in footage of a boy before and after repair of his teeth. The causes of caries in teeth are presented using a large model tooth. Immediate repair is advocated.

Another to Conquer (National Tuberculosis Association, 1941)

This film is a dramatization showing the seriousness of tuberculosis among the Navajo Indians. It deals with the ways in which they are being encouraged to accept modern treatment. Made in cooperation with the United States Office of Indian Affairs. Produced by the National Tuberculosis Association.

Animal Studies in the Social Modification of Organically Motivated Behavior (O.H. Mowrer, 1938)

This film is a demonstration of how social situations pattern behavior in rats. The film shows a competitive food-obtaining situation in which rats develop sharing or altruistic behavior. It also shows a situation in which competitive behavior becomes increasingly severe instead of developing into sharing. Displaced aggression, hoarding, and other socially significant behavior are shown.

Anatomical Animation by Frank Armitage (1970)

Artist-animator-medical illustrator Frank Armitage combines footage from his professional medical animations with historical images to provide a lecture about the history of anatomical illustration, as well as the present-day (circa 1970) uses of anatomical animation in medical film. Why the film was made or where it was presented is unknown: no title or credits appear. Armitage had then recently worked on the set-design for the film Fantastic Voyage as well as on animation for surgical instruction films and Walt Disney studios.

An Experimentally Produced "Social Problem" in Rats (O. H. Mowrer, 1939)

This film is a demonstration of how social situations pattern behavior in rats. The film shows a competitive food-obtaining situation in which rats develop sharing or altruistic behavior. It also shows a situation in which competitive behavior becomes increasingly severe instead of developing into sharing. Displaced aggression, hoarding, and other socially significant behaviors are shown.

Combat Fatigue Irritability (US Navy, 1945)

Gene Kelly directs and stars in this wartime naval "training" film. Kelly plays the role of Seaman Bob Lucas, a troubled and angry "fireman" whose ship was sunk in battle. Many sailors died at sea, but Lucas lived through it and suffers from what now might be termed "post-traumatic stress disorder." After lashing out at everyone around him, Lucas comes to understand his emotions, and moves from illness to wellness, with the help of a wise psychiatrist. Kelly considered his performance in Combat Fatigue Irritability one of his very best.