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The Story of a Country Doctor

Accession number: 
1934.0005

Sponsors:

Actors and Participants:

Production Years: 
1934

Languages:

Film Properties: 
Length (feet): 
1238 (35mm)
Length (minutes): 
14
Holding Institutions: 

Library and Archives Canada: 35mm, VHS, 2" IVC, Betacam.
"Film about Dr. Mahlon William Locke of Williamburg, Ontario, billed at the start as 'an intimate story'. It shows: close-up of a book and magazine articles about him; visuals of the shorts of the St. Lawrence River and its canals, not far from Williamburg; two men and a boat shown in shot of the river; train station at Morrisburg, Ontario, the closest railway depot to Williamsburg; arrival of train as bystanders look on; passengers leaving the train; close-up of one of the passengers who arrives for treatment by Dr. Locke, showing close-up of the legs and feet of the wheelchair-bound patient; car and truck traffic on the two-lane highway from Morrisburg to Williamsburg, specially built by the government to handle the volume of automobile traffic attracted to Williamburg by the promise of Locke's treatment of arthritis and other ailments; brief scene of the rural countryside; views of Williamsburg buildings; homes along the village streets; cars on the road; small building with sign identifying it as the Bank of Montreal. In foreground is a woman pushing another woman in a wheelchair; woman with cane; ramps in front of a building to aid patients; crowds, including many people in wheelchairs; streets lined with cars; close-ups of the license plates of cars bringing people to see Dr. Locke, most of them dated 1934, from Quebec, New York, Wisconsin, Kansas, Florida and Tennessee; more street scenes; long lines of cars parked at the side of the road; Doctor Locke and his wife shown standing in front of their wooden house as their small daughter looks from behind the screen door; Locke at a water pump while his cows stand nearby; interview of him by an off-camera interviewer about his prized herd of cows and the relaxation he gets from raising and milking his cows; Locke in a field with cows; Locke in field with his daughter Marion; close-up of his medical diplomas; close-up of him standing with his arms and hands raised, palms out; scenes of crowds of patients and their families waiting at his outdoor treatment area; close-ups of patients' feet; and patients chatting and one woman knitting as they wait. The film also shows: close-up of the swivel chair he uses to treat patients who gather in a circle around him; close-up of stockinged feet of patients; Locke moving through the crowd to his chair and seated in his chair; Locke treating patients by quickly manipulating their feet as an assistant manipulates the hands of other patients; Locke rapidly taking his one-dollar fee from each patient; arthritis cases on stretchers; interview of arthritis patient Fred Brooks who states that his treatment by Dr. Locke has enabled him to stand on crutches and operate his own business in Williamsburg; a smiling Robert Langer, former New York newspaper photographer now disabled by arthritis, who also claims improvement due to Dr. Locke's treatments; interview of a Mr. [MacDonald] who states that he moved to Williamsburg from Saskatchewan to get treatment for his son Jock, who stands beside him with a cane and a comment from Jock who agrees that the treatment has helped; scenes of smiling patients; more scenes of the doctor touching patients' feet; close-ups of a handwritten register showing distant locations from which patients travel; more scenes of the doctor and the crowds; close-up of him with another man; and concluding shot of Dr. Locke petting his dog, waving to the camera and entering his house."