Tuberculosis is looked upon as a solved problem in the first world, although I came down with it 35 years ago; stress and the New York Subway system were the probable causes. At the time, my doctor told me, to my surprise, it was common in the poorer parts of the City. However, a year's worth of pills seem to have cured me. How much deadlier the malady was in bygone times, when half the heroines of operas died from it, and as recently as 1960, 10,000 Americans died from it every year!
The Edison Film Company was aware of this and among their film catalogue were the occasional social tracts. This one, made in cooperation with the National Association for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis. It starts out with a doctor visiting a family where the father is ill with the disease. He demonstrates a few simple techniques for preventing its spread: not letting others drink from his glass, keeping the windows open so fresh air can circulate, and not sweeping to raise dust to induce coughing. these may seem like simple and easily achieved matters, but ignorance in such things was and remains wider spread than we can believe. Neither can it hurt anyone to hear repeated what we already know.
The rest of the movie is a drama about the family that owns the pottery business whose factory is a breeding ground for the disease, shocked and angry to hear it denounced in the papers, until one of their members comes down with the disease. The cast is the Edison stock company of the era, directed by one of their house directors. I't's a competent piece of work, most notable for its strong and practical social utility.
The Edison Film Company was aware of this and among their film catalogue were the occasional social tracts. This one, made in cooperation with the National Association for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis. It starts out with a doctor visiting a family where the father is ill with the disease. He demonstrates a few simple techniques for preventing its spread: not letting others drink from his glass, keeping the windows open so fresh air can circulate, and not sweeping to raise dust to induce coughing. these may seem like simple and easily achieved matters, but ignorance in such things was and remains wider spread than we can believe. Neither can it hurt anyone to hear repeated what we already know.
The rest of the movie is a drama about the family that owns the pottery business whose factory is a breeding ground for the disease, shocked and angry to hear it denounced in the papers, until one of their members comes down with the disease. The cast is the Edison stock company of the era, directed by one of their house directors. I't's a competent piece of work, most notable for its strong and practical social utility.
