The Dionne Quintuplets Legacy: Establishing the "Good Doctor and His Loyal Nurse" Image in American Culture
ifty years ago, on May 28, 1934, in a poor farmhouse in rural Canada F in the wilds of rural :'-lorthern BEATRICE J. KALISCH and were kept alive by a modest Ontario, Canada, the miraculous physician uSing rather primitive & PHILIP A. KALISCH birth of five identical baby girls had measures [2]. • world-wide repe rcussions for the im T he press hastened to brighten the ·• age of physicians and nurses. It also gloo my Depression timu with this affected the economy of Canada; it physician is nearly standard now, cheery bit of news, and the public affected the way people raised their such was not always the case. In mo responded with almost unprece children; it even affected, to Ih is very tion pictures of the 1920s, for in dented enthusiasm. Nearly 3 m ill ion day, the nature of the physician· stance, physicians were frequently people drove the long trek north to heroes portrayed in movies and pori rayed negatively, as criminal, "Quintland" to see the babies, their tdcvision series. avaricious, promISCUOUS, and/or tourist expenditures helping rescue Viewers growing up in the 19605, foolish. But news of the birth of the the depressed economy of the Pro '70s, and '80s probably take for Dionne quintuple Is, and most vince of Ontario. Newspapers found granted the al most a rchetypal ~good especially of the modest country doc an almost insatiable audience for a ny doctor,~ as represented by such me n tor who delivered them, changed that mention of the quints, and they kepI as Drs. K ildare, 'Welby, and Gannoll, bad image and set in its place an ex up a stead y Aow of articles about and their current counterparts on ample of a physician so good that he every aspect of their growth, develop such television series as Trappu John, approached saintliness IlJ. ment, and upbringing; their family MD and 51. Eluwh(Tt. These physi background; their physicians and cians know all of their patients by Backgrou nd their nurses; their prospects for the name, recog nize and solve all of the future. Businesses by the dozens patienl's problems- both physical The birth of the five Dionne girls sought endorsements from the quints and psychosocial-and charge little Yvonne, Annetle, Cecil e, Emilie, or the quints' physician, knowing that or nothing for their servIces. and ~1arie- had a staggering impact their products' success was assured by Although this media image of the on the public. T he chances of even such sponsorship, Everyone who fraternal quintuplcts being born are knew the quints, or knew someone only one in 54 million to begin with; who knew the quints, sold their
B~atrice J. Kali sc h. RN. EdD. FAAN . •, the odds of five paternal (identical) stories or mementos to the public, Titus profeilor of nursmg and chairpuso n of babies developing from one egg are Journalists, photographers, business parem-child nursing; Ph ili p A. KaliKh. PhD, incalculable, as it has happened only men, government, and family all is professor of hi.tory . politics. and ",onomies twice before in history and there was squabbled (often in court) over their of nurstng at ""II as imuim 242/NURSI1'\G & H EA LTH CARE t i, I ~ f y \ go\"(~rnmC'nt stepped In and an ~ecms outrageous, but SUdl an aC!lo n heard about the quints, thei r every nounu:d that it wa~ making the "as hil!:hl~ . ...,.... y~)I----- ~ managed 10 hold on to his wealth), about nursing and about the nurse Holl ywood movies featuring the and he collected fees from his syn· physician relationship [91. quints, was a box office hit for 1936 dicated columns while paymg The three films had certain com and set the tone for the films that another physician a pittance to write mon elements. In all three, of course, followed. The plot of TIt Country Doc· them. He scarcely even glanced at the the five famous babies appeared, tor is st raightforward. J ean H ersholt articles that went out under his name playing dolls, singing: little songs, pla ys Dr. J ohn Luke, the only doctor (8(. doing little dances, or playing with in the small lumber· mill community Clearly, Dafoe did not quite match the nurses or the doctor. The main of Moosetown in the north woods of his public image, but many people plot always concerned some good Canada, a town dominated by the ·• believe what they want to believe deed- usually Dr. Luke's- that met North Bay Lumber Company. The t until forced to do otherv.·ise; and, in a with trouble before its happy resolu story opens when the last boat is ! • Depression era of singularly bad tion. In addition, at least one about to l ea~·e for r-,·Iontreal before news, they desperately wanted to romance always traveled the same the winter fre eze isolates the com believe in the comforting image that rocky path to happiness. Finally, munity. Two people who had •r the mass media offered them of this each fi lm had at least three characters planned to go on that ship are noble country doclOr. In conjunction to provide comic relief by means of prevented. Pretty Mary MacKenzie, with the cute identical babies, he was ignorance, pratfalls, or slapstick. daughter of the lumber mill boss, is absolutely irresistible. Papa Asa \Vyatt (character actor forbidden to go by her strict father. The motion pictu re industry, of John Qualen, who specialized in T he other is lumberer Mike Scanlan, course, was as av id to cash in on that playing half-wits), the film fat her of who was hurt in a mill accident. His irresistible combination as everyone smashed legs encrusted with casts, ,t else. Twentieth·Cent ury-Fox Mike lies ttl bed, bored and f planned a series of annual movies Nurses also appeared in frustrated, until Dr. Luke gives him featuring the quintuplets. They pro· an old shortwave radio and tells him ~ duced three films in the projected the three films. They were to amuse himself by putting it in 1• senes: Tht Country Doctor in 1936; not idolized as the working order. Delightl!d, Mike fixes Rtuniofl, later the same year; and Fil)t physician was, nor were it and whiles away the winter hours ! of a Klfl.d in 1938, each containing 10 by tuning in civilization beyond the to 20 minutes of footage on the they shown in any snowbound Moosetown Ill}. quints. The artistic values were consistent Isolation brings worse problems for modest, but the box office success was characterization. others in the town. A diptheria substantial. In all three films, actor epidemic erupts, and the disease Jean Hershol! played lovable Dr. N evertheless, they were spreads rapidly, for there is no J ohn Luke (a thinly disguised version unusually significant hospital in which to isolate patients of Dr. Dafoe), a role that he was 10 from thei r families. The priest offers repeat many times for the next 25 because they represented the church as a temporary hospital, years under one name or another and part of the public's image and he, the doctor, Nurse Katherine one that made him famous. The im about the (Y>eifect" way In Kennedy, and young Mary Mac age of this wonderful country doctor, Kenzie work desperately 10 help the then, became an extraordinarily which the quints were stricken children. Antitoxin serum f,uniliar one, not only because of its being raised. supplies dwindle alarmingly, Ide own attractiveness, but also because graph lines are down, and Dr. Luke of its close association with the as sees only disaster ahead without out· toundingly popular quintuplets. the quints, appeared each time as a side help. He goes to Mike, who Nurses also appeared in the three slight, weak-chinned, ineffectual (after some effort) reaches Montreal films. They were not idolized as the man, the butt of numerous jokes on his radio, and the doctor asks his physician was, nor wcrc they shown about his many progeny. Except for brother Paul, a famous big-city doc ·1 any consistent characterization. the birth scene, he ne\'er appears with tor, to help. .\cq:nheless, they were unusually the children; indeed, sometimes the Paul tries, but gets scant en significant becausc they represented crowds shove him aside so deter couragement from the officials at the part of the public's image about the minedly that he can't even catch a North Bay Trading Company Mperfec t~ way in which the quints gl impse of them. But always there is because bad weather conditions en "ere being raised. As substitute some oblique reference to his extra danger the pilot of the company mothers to the babies- indeed, they ordinary virility. (H e makes five plane. Paul's son, Tony, volunteers "<.:re the most "rear mothcrs that the straight bull's-eyes in darts; he always to fl~· through the blizzard to tak!! the 'Ihies knew- these nurses were con- makes a ringer in horseshoes.) In· life-saving serum to Moosetown. lcred by the public to be privileged evitably, Constable Jim Ogden Stopping only to grab his mechanic, 'Illd wonderful women who were (played by Slim Summerville), the ~Greas}''' McAndrew, Tony fli es So mehow immune to the failings of other constant comic relief character, precariously through the storm and normal motherhood. [n one way or remarks, "You never miss, Asa.~ Asa makes a rough landing, which another, each of the movies made a just mugs significantly [101. damages the plane and strands him in COmmenl_ direcliy or indirectly- Tht Country DoctoT, the firs t of the Moosetown fo r the rest of the winter. Moz)'1245 "------ Tony finds himself strangely happy clothes, and food arrive. Sightseers, but good from such a ki ndly, avun A somewhat unfocussed medical stu· eager to see the famous babies, floc k cular figure. dent heretofore, he now sees the into town, reviving the area's stricken More imporlant than appearance, fasc ination of a country doctor's prac economy. All thoughts of dismissing however, is the physician's excep tice, in which a man is called upon 10 Dr. Luke for lack of his $20 licensing tional medical skill Whcn Mike deal ..... ith e\'ery kind of medical crisis. fee are long forgotten as people: praise Scanlan's legs a rc crushed, everyone I. H e helps Dr. Luke with the the modest country physician who assumes that amputation is the only £ diphtheria patients and also fall s in kept the babies alive against such possible treatment, but Dr. Luke, i 10\'e with Mary MacKenzie. unlikely odds. Indeed, the Governor with only his little black bag and with i The diphtheria epidemic fades; General sends a telegram to Dr. only the mi ll's bunkhouse as an i: winter passes and, in the spring, Dr. Luke, promising him his coveted operating room, saves the man's legs ! Luke goes to Montreal to plead once hospital. The quintuplets and the and assures his future employability. • again for a hospital in his smal1 com hospital grow together-all sat isfac Another lumberman credits Dr. pany town. Again, officers of the torily-and the movie ends at the Luke with having saved his arm in r,~ North Bay Company are re~istant, dedication ceremony of the finished the pas!. Fina!!y, of course, the doc· so Dr. Luke, when introduced at a hospital- at which time, the little tor proves his skill by performing the medical assoc iation dinner, bursts countfy doctor humbly accepts the Impossible-ket:ping alive the tiny into an impassioned appeal for his Order of the British Empire, which wmiracle babies,~ the premalUre quin r hospital, a speech noted by the is bestowed upon him by the tuplets whose combined birthweight • Governor General of Canada. was only about thirteen pounds. Back home, the ow ner of the Again, the doctor has only his black lumber company fume~ at Dr. Luke'~ bag, his common sense, and his un interference and has him fired as This rifusal to value common skill to perform this task, company doctor. Furthermore, he but he triumphs, nonetheless. monry is just one part of t• discovers that Dr. Luke has never ac· The physician's care for hi s pa i tually obtained a license 10 practice the generally altruistic tients goes far beyond the treatment ," medicine. \Vhen confronted with this and unworldly character of physical symptoms. After 30 years } charge, Dr. Luke admits its truth. of practice in rvloost:town, Dr. Luke Although he had passed all of the re of the country doctor. The knows e\'eryone in the community by f quired exams for his license, he had maternal and loyal nurse name; indeed. he has delivered manv not had the $20 fee for it at the time, of the town's citizens into the world. and he had practiced medicine for 30 has to remind him about To hi m, they arc not mere medical years, always intending to pick up the practical matters like problems; they arc whole people, • license some day. Constable Odgen sending out bills, buying a friends, whose every trouble is his says that Dr. Luke must leave town concern. H ence, he treats both or be jailed. new suit when he needs it, M ike's shattered legs and his bored Just as Dr. Luke is about to board and remembering to take spiri ts, bringing him the radio for oc the boat, Asa Wyau comes running the price tags '!fJ when he cupation and amust:ment. Dr. Luke to say that his wife is about to deliver has a genius fo r giving people a sense a chi ld two months carly. Asa is finally wears it. of pe rso nal worth, perhaps the most , $omething of a joke in town, for his healing power of all. When JI.[ike • ! wife has produced a child every year manages to communicate with Mon , without fail for the past seven years. treal via radio and arrange for the an This pregnancy see ms to forebode Governor General in the name of titO.l(in 10 be flown in, Dr. Lukt: tells trouble, however, so Dr, Luke says to King George V. him that his talents have saved lives the constable, defiantly: "The woman In Tht Country Doctor, Hersholt, as and that his awful accident has ~eT\'ed needs me, so I'rn going 10 go. Arrest the beloved Dr. Luke, exhibited vir a valuable purpose after all . \Vhen 111(' if you like, but first give me a tually all of the characteristics that everyone teases Asa .....'y au un , hance to commit the crime." later became standard traits for the mercifully about his annual additions ,.\ssisted by the nurse, Kathe rine "good doctor." Common, but not to the Moosetown population. Dr. , Kennedy, Dr. Luke delivers the essential, was the solid. fatherly Luke tells him kindly: wOon't let them j smallest baby he has ever seen. To physical appearance. Except for tease you about babies, Asa. It's good t, c\'eryone's astonishment, that baby is about six inches of added height, to have them. f'.:othing sweeter in this quickly followed by a second, third, Hersholt even looked a liule li ke the world than babies.~ When Asa is fnurth, and fifth. Constable Odgen famous Dafoe. Both had crisp gray depressed at the quints' birth, "mments mournfully that the doctor hair and mustache, both wore round, wondering fearfu ll y what the j ust piling up more and more wire-rimmed glasses, and both had a neighbors wi!] say about his produc n'idence against himself. comfortable paunch that rounded out ing a whole ~liuer· of babies, the doc· As Dr. Luke fights to save the lives their dark, three-piece suits. Behind tor says firmly: "Asa, go 10 your wife , of these tiny infants, word of the the glasses, the eyes shone with sy m Shc needs you. T ell her you are miracle goes to the world, and help pathy, concern, and good humor. It proud and happy; tell her you love begins to pour In, Incubators, was impossible to expect anything her.~ To the good doctor, everyone is M '------:;r ~ .J "• ) l , ., .. \ ,,~ c , i " / ~, ~ ~ , .. J "V\-.- • j I • • I* 1 a sensitive human bc:-ing who~ feel screaming h}'sterically that he wants she does, all goes toward making Ihe ings deserve: utmOst consideration. to die if his legs arc cut off, the doctor doctor a more effe<:tive. more be· The only needs thai he docsn't con· says quietly: MNow, Mike. you trust loved, and more altruistic character. sider arc his o\\n. Patients always me, don't you? Then just go to sleep \Vhen the doctor is not available. come first for Dr Luke. He goes 10 and lea~'e things to me. I'll take care the nurse can diagnose and splint a them any ume that he is needed, of you.~ /\like trustingly submits to broken arm herself, without giving it sacrificing sleep and personal plans. the anesthesia. In addition, we see a moment's thought. But when doctor He oftcn waives even hi s smal! fees if that the doctor's integrity transcends and nurse work together, the doctor he feds Ihal a paden! can't afford 10 all consideration of personal gain does everything important, and the pay. AI OIher limes, he'll accept eggs, when the nurse points out that he has nur.oe is reduced to carrying out only chickens, hogs, or firewood as pay thrown away some S50,000 worth of simple tasks requiring no special ment. Evcn when his 0,",'11 financial requests for endorsements. Glancing skills or knowledge, such as calling position becomes despe rate, he still indifferently at an offe r that the nurse for boiling water. The nurse works values other people's good before his has snatched up at random, Dr. Luke day and night for nearly a week own. says mildly: ~I couldn't endorse Prun without sleep, but it is the physician This refusal to value money is JUSt o-pep. T he babies don't like i t. ~ To who gets the camera's loving focus as one: part of Ihe generally altruistic make this point about the doctor's he falls wearily asleep in a chair-the and unworldly character o f the unassailable word, the movie ignores hero-doctor who works relentlessl), country doctor. The maternal and the idea that he might .... ell have uS«! until he: li terally drops, Although the loyal nurse has 10 remind him about that $50,000 to build the hospital for nurse act ually continues to .... ork as practical matters like sending out which he pleads so desperately. he sleeps, her tireless devotion s.:-ems bills, buying a new suit when he Nothing is allowed 10 sully the image 10 be lak.:-n for granted. Aside from needs it, and rememlxring to take of honesty, integrity, and unworld her professional work, Katherine the price tags off when he finally liness. Kennedy also manages Dr. Luke's wears it. He good-naturedly lets her While the doctor is being noble and house and his accounts. The resulting bon him about in such mailers most unworldly, nurse Kathe r ine image is not that she is the more of the time, but when she suggests Kennedy, cast largely in the role of capable and sensibi.:- of the two, but that he leave the ungrateful folks of loyal assistant, is taki ng care of prac that the doctor is the more unworldly Moosetown, he refuses. tical matters, Although he r image is and more altruistic. H e alone, ap However underhanded other peo meant to be favorable, the nurse's im parently, can put the needs of his pa ple may get, Dr. Luke always re portance is completely overshadowed tients above the thought of money. mains completely trustworthy; his by the central role of the doctor. The nurse no more gets singled out word is as reliable as gospel to those Whate ver her talents, however much fo r a share of the glory given the doc who know him. When Mike IS she works, no matter how much good tor than his right arm ....·ou ld, and 248/NURSI NC & H EA LTH CARE - ---- both of them seem content to have it wrong actions and choose right ones D~lor ended wnh assurances from the that way. instead [121. modcst Dr. Luke that all country Katherine Kennedy's combined ac In fact, the doctor is very nearly a doclOrs we re like that: ~I have done tivities throughout the films, more religious hero, although no spec ifiC nothing more than what they have all than anything else, yield a maternal creed is espoused. Repeatedly, his done, what they are doing every image. Her every function seems to unselfishness, his dedication, and day_" Once convinced that such a involve the nourishment, protection, his integrity are emphasized. Even being could, in fact, exist, viewers and comfort of doctor and patient his name is an indication of the and listeners were reluctant to aban alike. Despite the fact that she looks writers' intentions to suggest his don thc Image. Hersholt's char. r about half the doctor's age, the nurse saintliness. Clearly, Dr. Luke (and acterization imprinted indelibly on I acts like his mother, taking care ofhis Hersholt's subsequent portrayal the public mind the image of the house, making him tea, cooking, under the name Dr. Christian) was perfect doctor, which has been car· fussing about his clothes, packing his in tended to be a repository of all of ried forward , with ever-increasing suitcase, listening to his problems, the WChristian~ virtues. Indeed, in zeal, to the present day. and advising him. Even when she many respects, he is a Christ-like The handful of nurses who ap· works with him professionally, her figure in these films. He is humble peared in the motion pictures with functions arc still maternal in nature. and self-sacrificing, he is sometimes Dr. John Luke could scarcely hope to The nurse is frequently associated reviled (temporarily) for his righteous compete with the dazzling image of with the practical details of li vi ng and and unselfish actions, and he wsaves~ the saintly physician_ Their ap running a private medical practice. many people-not their souls, per- pearances were usually very brief. She checks and orders supplies, keeps Although nurses were pleasant, at track of the doctor's bills, and dears tractive, clean, neat, and kindly, away any barrier that might hinder their roles were long-familiar stereo him in his work. When Dr. Luke is Once convinced that such types: they were the doctor's loving, away, the nurse seems quite capablc trusted, competent helpmates, but of replacing him in many ways. a being could, in fact, the)" performed almost no duties re However, this capacity for indepen exist, viewers and listeners qUiring any expertise, nor did they dent action is not emphasized in a were reluctant to abandon demonstrate any real importance in way that makes her seem equal to the health care. doctor (even in areas where sh~ the image, Hersholt's T he nurse characters in these por clearly is); rather, she is seen only as characterization imprinted trayals did assume at least some im a handmaiden to the physician. indelibly on the public portance because of their key role in Everyone likes Katherine Kennedy, caring for the quintuplets. Since ! but they think of her- as she ap mind the image of the every aspect of the qu ints' lives was so parently thinks of herself-primarily peifect doctor, which has publicized, the public already had an as an adjunct of the doctor. In other been carn'ed forward, with image of the quints' real·life nurse, words, she is simply an agent that which favorably influenced their view helps the physician perform his ever-increasing zeal, to the of motion picture nurses. _The public miracles of modern medicine. present day. was we\1 aware of the mothering The image of the wonderful Dr. fu nction of the nurses and that they • Luke, so firmly established in Tht were part of the quints' ~perfec l, ~ Country Doc/or, persisted undimmed scientific upbringing in the sterile in the other two Dionne quints' haps, but certainly their bodies and nursery, where the babies were to films, in the seven Dr. Christian mo their spirits. Above aU, he is the in bloom unsullied. The nurses, both tion pictures that continued the carnation of love - all-encompassing, real and fi ctional, always appeared country doctor and handmaiden all-forgiving, untiring, and gracious. cheerful, confident, and re\a;'{ed, nurse image, and in the 16-year C BS There is no hint of sexuality in this They somehow didn't look capable of oldio series, also called Dr. Chn'stion love; it asks nothing for itself, but Ihe tiredness, indecision, untidiness, 1937-1953), that followed it. seeks only to give, 10 make life better or short tempers that ordinary Although many of these later depic for others. Such love has a healing mothers were heir to. Many a mother tions placed less emphasis on the power all its own, quite aside from wrote to say that she wished her own physician's medical skills per se, other the medical skills that the doctor children could be raised in such ideal positive attributes loomed very large. possesses, and it raises the doctor to a conditions, and thousands read with His ability to plumb the human realm quite above ordinary, fl awed eager awe the syndicated news ar psyche, to see the need there, and 10 human beings. He is, like God ticles in which one of the quints' first ,''lOW how to fill that need is a talent Himself. the perfectly loving father nurses, Yvonne Leroux, described the at overpowers even his diagnostic figure, the perfectly wise counselor, babies' daily routines and also wrote a and treatment skills, Somehow, the the perfectly ski lled miracle worker. se ries entitled "My Diary of Three "good doctor" knows how to give peo This, then, is the image that the , Years with the Quintuplets [13J. ple such a sense of their own worth eager public absorbed when it flocked Consequently, choosing actresses that they are not only able to solve to the theaters to glimpse the famous to play the parts of these revered their problems but also to put aside babies. Furthermore, Tn.t Country nurses was no mundane casting job Mayl249 or the fillllmaker ~. lHtress Dorothy ~because I am not colorful and got out into the world-as they had 'eterso n. who played :\"urse glamorous," an interesting, if been in their guarded nursery. T heir Katherine Kenm:dv in tw O of the unintentional, commentary on the adult lives bore tragic records of early three fil ms. "as cho's t."" n u,er a host of image of the nurse [14J. deaths, alcoholism, psychological other appllc:lIlt s for the rolc, not Another reason that the image of deterioration, broken marriages. because of her acting abilitit.""s, but the nursc was given grcatcr sig failed careers, poverty, bitterness. l because of ht.""f blamdess character. nificance in these motion pictures was and permanent family estrange • The Boston Sun da.y Po,l reported the important reality that the nurses ments. The three surviving quin lyrically, ~Ollly one "ilh lhe highest aClually did replace the babies' tuplets wrote a bitter autobiography, idealism, whose name never had mothcr. The mother of the quints summing up their vaunted upbring been cven faintly touched by scan never appears in the fictionalized ing by stating: ~There was mo r~ dalous rumor, could be ~rrnitled in films; indeed, for the first nine years money than love in our Iives"j15J. close proxim it>· to the babie s. What of their lives, the quints knew Mrs. From a 50'year perspective on type of woman is th e actress chosen as Dionne only as a visitor to their little their birth dale, the irony is almost worthy to hold ill her arms those hospital. nu rsery. TheIr "real" un~arable that these children should precious bundlt's of babyhood J a mothcrs we re a succession of nurses have grown up feeling a lack of love charming . low-voic ed wo man, apparently providing the babies with when the whole world adored them, dedicated to mother roles . one loving care. In their bitler auto when millions of people traveled to r seen occasionally at teas. but never in biography, the quints rdate that their the wilds of Canada for the privilege the popular nightclubs. . She cven happiest years were those early ones of walking through the viewing com· blushes~·· The worthy ~ti s s Peterson spent in the hospital with the nurses. pound to glimpse at the quints at was onl y in her twentie s. but she It is perhaps significant that, as play, when the Queen of England looked older and ,,·as frequently adults, four of the five quints entcred herself knelt 10 greel them, when gifls t chosen to play middle· aged mother or educational programs to prepare were sent 10 the children from ad ·f nurse roles. Something In that them for humani tarian-oriented mirers around the world, when peo serene, rather mat ronl y fa ce sug· careers-two as nurses and two as ple snatched up every newspaper and !, gested ·'mother·' or ~ nurse ·· to the nuns. magazine that promised a new pic I directors. She herself speculated that The five babies, whom the nurses ture of the quints or a new story • she was chosen for such roles and the good doctor cherished dearly, about them. I were a cheery sight for the viewing It is indeed unfortunate thai the public. Their eyes sparkled, their quintuplets' real lives did not match I curls bounced, and their sm ilcs were the image projected In Ihe mass • enchanting. \Vhatcver problems media- an image of children without other characters in the stories might a problem in the world, playing i have had, no hint of trouble was happily with the nurses who cared for associated with the quintuplets, who them. The motion pictures about I \ tumbled about as charmingly as five them reRected only the promise, the puppies at play while others looked hope, and the good intentions for on lovingly. The motion picturcs, of these unusual children. Only on film coursc, gave no hint that the babies' did the noble experimenl work Ihe real life stories did not end so way it was supposed to. In reality, Ihe happily. While the screen nurses and children inhcrited the sad fruiu of all doctor presided wisely and lovingly of the greed, misundcrstanding, ove r a peaceful nursery, the real Mrs. jealously, and bitterness that raged Dionne was having bitter fights with around them. The American public, Dr. Dafoe, whom she hated, and was however, inherited the ideal- the im firing and hiri ng a succession of age of the courageous country doctor nurses (14 different nurses scrved as and the devoted, happily subservient surrogate mothers during thc quints' nurse. This archetypal image has fIrst 6 years), never allowing the proven nearly indelible and presents children to have a permanent a formidable obstacle to effons to mother·figure. enhance thc current image of the T he H oUyood creations ga\·e only nurse. unconscious hints that the glorious experiment was not going to succeed. References Sadly, the children's perfect, scientific upbringing, so celebrated In 1. Kalisc:h, S., and Kaltsch, P. Image. of newspapers, magazines, and motion "" ..... and phpiciall' ill ,h~ rna,. med,a pictures, did not, in fact, produce health ca.e senre, ill Tlu Mdia, Cam· superior human beings. The girls ,"~nuoriM, ond f/,a/lh Po/if). Pr«udi"I' ~j IItt 4th AnI/lUll .\'Qif/tt/ FQT~," (Memphis, grew up to be painfully shy, as Tenne• ..,,,,: The Un,,·cr.i,y orTenne ..e~, isolated in. society-when they finally in press). 250/ 1'URSI:'\G & HEALTH CARt: L ")0- .• •¥- I - '2 B~noll , P Th. D,eM' y",,,.- A Thi,I'(1 II. Ibid,. rh e analy." !hat follo,",'s is hued ou Screenplay: Rmg Lardner. Jr. lall ~I . .U./od,e ..... Ne ..... York Norton, 19i6, pp. several viewings of TIlt CU"I? 1J«1~' Hunter. 11-12. 12. Reu~;on. 80 min. B & h'. Reluscd; Ca5r Jean Hershelr. Dorotlw Lo"el!. 3 Barker, L. TIlt D.a~~ UI,"d: Qu,ntuplm.n I I· 13·36 Diurtburor: T ...·enr;erh· Roberr Bald ...·m. Tom :-;eal, :\Iaude CapI'e'I.!. Garden City. New York: Century· Fox. Dlree!Or: Norman Taurog. Eburne. Vera LewIS. George Meader. Doubleday. 1951, pp 1-3, Screenplay; Sam Hellman. GladYI Bobby Larson. Bobelte Benlk Reginald 4 Brough. J, JII, W." Fit" The Die"", Q"i~. Lehman. SOil Levien. from an unpub· BarJow. Ja ~qucl",e de River, Edmund lap/m' Sla,.! f,em 8,,11. Through WQ"","h"""'. hshed Itory by Bruce Gould Glo,"e r. :-;" ..... York' N~ .... Amencan Library. 1963, CUI: Dionne Quintuplcn.Jean Henhoh. D,. C1.mlla~ M"u Ih, lL"omt~, 66 ~Ion .. B pp, 2-3, Rochelle Hudson. Helen Vinson. Slim & \\'. Released 1·~·40. Disrriburor 5. Blarz. W TIlt F".'e S,.lm A Slud, ofCh!ld Summerville. Roberr Kcnt.John Qualen. RKO RadIO. D,,«to •. \\",l1iam ~lcGann P~hloU· Ne ..... York: Wilham Morro... · Doro(hy Peterlon. Alan Dinehart. JEd· Ca.t: Jean Henhoh. DOrOlh) Lovett. and Company. 1938. pp, 1-16. w"rd Brombert, Sara Haden. Monlaguc Edgar Ken" ed~. Rod La Rc.que. Frank 6 Dionne quinrupleu' flllher dLes ar 75. Love. Tom Moore, George Ernesr . Es(her Alber(son, Marilyn ~I.rrick. ~Iau de fkl'cil Newt, November 16. 1979. Ralsron. Katherine Alexander, Juhus Eburne. Veda Ann Korg. Lelah Taylor, (knon, op ('I pp 35-50, Tannen. Edward McWade. ~ l lude William Gould. Phyllis Kennedy. Bercha 1\ Ib,d .. pp, 61-94 Ebume. George Chandler. Claudia Priesely. Dtedra Vale, H"inie Conklin. E"dush-e phorographs of b,m"d quin· Coleman. Hank Ma"n. HaUte ~lcDanici Mrlody for Tit,", 67 m.n. B & W. Re· wplelS w,ll be shown III Tit, Cow .. rr, /)O{. Ftu of c Xmd. 83 mi" . B & \\' Rcleascd leased: 3·28·41 D'strlbutor RKO Radto, wr. S)"aruu Htrald. February 23. 1936. 10,14·38, Di.tribu(or; T ...·cmic th·Century Director; Erk C. Kenlan Screen pia)': Qu,"\! ad lib all SCen es in lheir piclure Fox Producer; Sol M. WurucI, Director: Lee Loeb, Walter Furi, due on radio cilV sc reen. ~.,',,~ Yo.kjou."~/. Herbert [ Leed5 Screcnpla:.- Lou Cast Jean Hershoh. Fa~' \\"ra\. Waher ~Iarch II, 1936. Qu"us 'gnore 1111 film Breslo ...... John Palnck. \\'oc>lf King. AS(rld AIIo.. ",n. Sch,,'kr rules. Dn MO'rla rl owal R'l.m,. February Cast. The Dionne Quimuplcrs. Jean Her· Srandish. Andre.... Tombes. :\laude 29, 1936: D,onncs to scar again. K~~"" . .hoh. Claire T I"<:,"or , Cesar Romero. Slim Eburne. Par" Rurh PMSOn!. To.cha ell, S'",r, Ju"" 3, 1936. O'o""e' ha~" Summerville, Henry \Vilcoxon . Inc. Seltld. Ir~l\e Ryan. EI1,ia .... II"'an. [ren~ ~rea ( li'"e play,ng !FtnlU ..... uh acror. P,llS' Courtney. John Qualcn. Jane Darwell . ShIrley. Donn,,, AII,·n. Le '''' T,·ll·r. C llt! .. ,,(It Prm. o.:c~mber 7, 1935. Quin· Paul ine 1<.100'-':. John Russell. Andrew "'azarro. "'I,I"u arc ""rfrt'r bab",~. Lo. Angeles T ombes. D,,,,id T orrence, Marion B)·ron. TIt,y .lfu/ Ag Mayl251