Dr. Knock (1951)
10/10
French actor Louis Jouvet gives one of his career's best performances as a town's health keeper.
13 September 2015
There is a lot of give and take involved in the medical profession. Firstly,pharmaceutical companies need continual support from doctors in order to get their medicines approved by them.Secondly,doctors need patients who would make them and these pharmaceuticals companies rich.Finally,there are ordinary folks like you and me who are continually getting fooled by some fake doctors into believing that all is not well with our health.Hypochondriacs are a troubled lot as not only they make their lives uneasy but also of those around them.It is precisely this effect which was captured in 1923 by famous French dramatist Jules Romains in his satirical play Knock ou le Triomphe de la médecine.After its immense success,it was director's Guy Lefranc's chance to popularize it further by directing a film based on this satire.Thanks to great actor Louis Jouvet's powerful performances as a cunning quack,'Dr.Knock' was able to convince the denizens of a small town that the healthy are people who do not know that they are sick.The film 'Dr.Knock' was an immense box office success in France largely due to its witty dialogues which led everybody to doubt the state of affairs related to their personal health.According to his film,the biggest blow to a real doctor was received when a clever charlatan was able to convince a genuine yet naive doctor of his bad health.Lastly,it is high time one continues with self medication.
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