Dr. O'Dowd: Difference between revisions

{{shortShort description|1940 British film by Herbert Mason}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=SeptemberAugust 20132024}}

| image = Dr. O'Dowd.jpg

| runtime = 76 minsminutes

'''''Dr. O'Dowd''''' is a 1940 [[Cinema of the United Kingdom|British]] drama film directed by [[Herbert Mason]], produced by [[Sam Sax]] for [[Warner Bros]] and starring [[Shaun Glenville]], [[Peggy Cummins]], [[Felix Aylmer]] and [[Irene Handl]]. Set in Ireland, it focuses on Marius O'Dowd, an Irish doctor, who works to restore his relationship with his son after his daughter-in-law dies under O'Dowd's care. The film was the onscreen debut for [[Peggy Cummins]], who was only thirteen at the time.<ref name=Guardian>{{cite web |author1=[[Michael Freedland]] |title=Peggy Cummins obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/jan/09/peggy-cummins-obituary |website=theguardian.com |publisher=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=9 December 2022 |date=9 January 2018}}</ref> It was well received by critics, and Cummins' role was the subject of particular praise. The film is currently missing from the [[BFI National Archive]], and is listed as one of the [[British Film Institute]]'s "[[BFI 75 Most Wanted|75 Most Wanted]]" lost films.<ref>{{cite web|title=BFI Most Wanted|url=httphttps://wwwwww2.bfi.org.uk//explore-film-tv/bfi-national-archive/archive-projects/bfi-most-wanted|website=bfi.org.uk|publisher=[[British Film Institute|BFI]]|accessdate=24 August 2015}}</ref>

* [[Shaun Glenville]] –as Marius O'Dowd

* [[Peggy Cummins]] –as Pat O'Dowd

* [[Mary Merrall]] –as Constantia

* [[Liam Gaffney]] –as Stephen O'Dowd

* [[Patricia Roc]] –as Rosemary

* James Carney –as O'Hara

* [[Felix Aylmer]] –as President

* [[Irene Handl]] –as Sarah

* [[Walter Hudd]] –as Doctor Crowther

* Pat Noonan –as Mulvaney

* [[Maire O'Neill]] –as Mrs Mulvaney

* [[Charles Victor]] –as Dooley

* Pamela Wood –as Moira

''Dr. O'Dowd'' was the film debut for 13-year-old [[Peggy Cummins]], who later starred in films such as ''[[Gun Crazy]]'' and ''[[The Night of the Demon]]''.<ref name=BFI/><ref name="Thomson2010">{{cite book|author=David Thomson|title=The New Biographical Dictionary of Film, Fifth Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=heVvObIz9BwC&pg=PT570|year=2010|publisher=Little, Brown Book Group|isbn=978-0-7481-0850-3|page=570}}</ref><ref name=Guardian /> Cummins had caught the attention of film executives after appearing in a 1938 production named ''Let's Pretend'' in London,<ref name=Guardian /> and this film was the beginning of a deal signed with [[Warner Bros.]]<ref name="Hannsberry1998">{{cite book|author=Karen Burroughs Hannsberry|title=Femme noir: bad girls of film|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KGhZAAAAMAAJ|page=81|year=1998|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-0429-2}}</ref> As part of an agreement with the [[London County Council]], Cummins was limited to five househours of filming per day and had to be supervised by a [[governess]].<ref name=BFI/> The film was also a debut for her co-star Shaun Glenville, a music hall performer.<ref name="Almanac">{{cite book|title=International Motion Picture Almanac|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sus-AQAAIAAJ|year=1951|publisher=Quigley Publications}}</ref> This was only one of two film roles Glenville played in his career.<ref name=BFI/>

The film is missing from the [[BFI National Archive]], and is listed as one of the [[British Film Institute]]'s "[[BFI 75 Most Wanted|75 Most Wanted]]" lost films.<ref name=BFI>{{cite web |title='Dr. O'Dowd'' – 75 Most Wanted |url=http://old.bfi.org.uk/nationalarchive/news/mostwanted/dr-o-dowd.html |publisher=[[British Film Institute]] |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120803092427/http://old.bfi.org.uk/nationalarchive/news/mostwanted/dr-o-dowd.html |archivedate=3 August 2012 |accessdate=8 June 2012 |url-status=dead |df=dmy }}</ref> No sequences of film are known to survive, although the BFI does possess a collection of stills from the production.<ref name=BFI/>

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20201109001009/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a9044bd ''Dr. O'Dowd''] at [[BFI]]