This version of the heartbreaking Anderson "fairy Tale" is perhaps viewed best with the sound off and your favorite Christmas Carols playing. It has mostly been seen by Americans as a silent from Castle Films, an 8mm home movie company. What's great about this is the black and white spookiness it shares with some of these other obscure Christmas items (Hardrock, Coco and Joe being the ultimate example) that convey a bleak sense of Christmas sadness (Santa is added to the tale) that is both heartwarming and a little troubling.
Year: Release Date: Rating: Video Type:
1954
12/25/9999
Approved
Film Short Animated 8 minutes
A
This MGM short, part of John Nesbitt's Passing Parade series, tells the story of Dr. Ephraim McDowell. In Danville, Kentucky in 1809 McDowell wanted to perform surgery on a woman, Jane Crawford, with a large tumor. He was threatened with being thrown out of the medical profession if he operated, something that did not exist at the time. The townspeople felt opening up a living human being was against the will of God and were quite prepared to stop him by force if need be. The operation however was a success and surgery became acceptable. // The famous surgery took place on December 25, 1809 without benefit of antisepsis or anesthesia - both unknown to medicine at the time. The ovarian tumor weighed 22.5 pounds (10.2 kg) and the whole procedure took 25 minutes. Mrs. Crawford, the patient, would live another 32 years.
