A fairly accurate historical account of Walter Reed's search for the cause of "Yellow Jack" or Yellow Fever and those who risked their lives in the pursuit.
Acting
Robert Montgomery plays against type as a cynical volunteer.
Production
Reconstructed Camp Lazear with sweaty, claustrophobic precision.
Director
George B. Seitz
Robert Montgomery
John O'Hara
Virginia Bruce
Frances Blake
Lewis Stone
Maj. Walter Reed
Andy Devine
Charlie Spill
Henry Hull
Dr. Jesse Lazear
Charles Coburn
Dr. Finlay
Buddy Ebsen
Jellybeans
Henry O'Neill
Gorgas
Janet Beecher
Miss Macdade
William Henry
Breen
Alan Curtis
Brinkerhof
Sam Levene
Busch
Stanley Ridges
Dr. James Carroll
Phillip Terry
Ferguson
Jonathan Hale
Major General Leonard Wood
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The real Walter Reed died in 1902 from a ruptured appendix, not yellow fever—Hollywood couldn't resist the irony of a disease doctor felled by his own work, so they implied closer calls.
This was one of several 1930s films sanitizing American medical imperialism in Cuba; the actual experiments relied heavily on coerced Cuban and Spanish laborers, none of whom appear as characters.
US
