The Story of Louis Pasteur

1936
Approved
1h 26m

IMDb RATING

7.3/10

3.3K

YOUR RATING

Paul Muni in The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936)

The biography of the pioneering French microbiologist who helped revolutionize agriculture and medicine.

Play trailer3:19

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31 Photos

Medical Drama Political Drama Biography Drama History

The biography of the pioneering French microbiologist who helped revolutionize agriculture and medicine.The biography of the pioneering French microbiologist who helped revolutionize agriculture and medicine.The biography of the pioneering French microbiologist who helped revolutionize agriculture and medicine.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.3/10

3.3K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Won 3 Oscars
- 5 wins & 2 nominations total

Videos1

Trailer 3:19

Trailer

Photos31

+ 24

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
An electrician for Warner Bros. came up to Paul Muni after an advanced screening of the film and told him that his nine-year-old son asked him to buy him a microscope because of Muni's performance. Even though he went on to win the Oscar for it, Muni said that this was the greatest compliment he had ever received and that all other accolades meant nothing compared to that one.

Goofs
Pasteur refers to the "rabies virus" prior to completing development of his vaccine and immunization of Joseph Meister in 1885, but the idea of a non-bacterial pathogen didn't exist until 1892, and the term "virus" itself was coined when the first (tobacco mosaic) was isolated in 1898.

Quotes
[last lines]
[addressing The Academy of Medicine - directing his remarks to the young men in the balcony]
Dr. Louis Pasteur: You young men - doctors and scientists of the future - do not let yourselves be tainted by apparent skepticism; nor discouraged by the sadness of certain hours that creep over nations. Do not become angry at your opponents, for no scientific theory has ever been accepted without opposition. Live in the serene peace of libraries and laboratories. Say to yourselves, first, "What have I done for my instruction?" And as you gradually advance, "What am I accomplishing?" Until the time comes when you may have the immense happiness of thinking that you have contributed in some way to the welfare and progress of mankind.

Connections
Edited into The Our Gang Story (1994)

User reviews47

Review

Featured review

High-minded, idealistic, and very exciting!

What a pleasure to see a film so unabashedly idealistic! The film's emotional ending (a well-deserved and long-overdue tribute to Pasteur's work by his collegues) centers on a closing speech by Pasteur (Paul Muni) in which he explains, simply and with passion, that making a contribution to the wellbeing of mankind is the most important work of all.

Pasteur's discovery of the role of bacteria in spreading disease seems self-evident now, but he faced years of ridicule and isolation before his findings were accepted and played their part in transforming our world.

This film is a vaccine against the cynical, self-referential, "in it for me (and maybe my small circle of friends)" films of the recent decades. See it and feel good about being human.