At last, recognition for the unsung heroes of the movies. Film actors, directors, and producers have their Oscars, BAFTAs, and other awards, but until now no one has thought to applaud the roles of antibacterial drugs in cinema.
The authors of a new study list nearly 70 movies where antibacterial drugs are classed as playing major, supporting, or merely rub-on roles (Revista Española de Quimioterapia 2006;19:397-402).
The authors, from the department of preventive medicine at the University of Salamanca, write, “There are movies in which antibacterial agents form part of the central plot, while in others they are merely an important part of the plot. In still others, [the agent's] presence is isolated, and in these it plays an ambient or anecdotal role.”
In the study the authors identified the presence of antibacterials in the treatment and prevention of diseases in popular movies over the past century. They say that the greatest movie about drug treatment is Dr Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (1940), a film about the life of the German scientist Paul Ehrlich and the discovery of arsphenamine, which was marketed under the trade name of Salvarsan from 1910 as a treatment for syphilis.
After its film debut Salvarsan made a number of other appearances, including in Out of Africa (1985), in which the novelist Karen Dinesen Blixen returns to her native Denmark to receive treatment for syphilis, and Miss Evers' Boys (1997), about the 1932 Tuskegee syphilis study. Salvarsan's replacement, Neosalvarsan, had a key role in Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001).
But although arsphenamine takes the Oscar, the award for lifetime achievement seems to have been won by the sulphonamides, which feature in a huge number of films.
“They were widely used during World War II and their use is also seen in many films. When watching them, one senses that tons of sulphonamides were distributed for prophylactic and therapeutic purposes,” say the authors.
Credits for the sulphonamides include Destination Tokyo (1943), Bataan (1943), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Guns of Navarone (1961), The Story of Dr Wassell (1944), Merrill's Marauders (1962), None but the Brave (1965), Exodus (1960), and Kelly's Heroes (1970).
Penicillin is the other big player and is one of the few to have a starring role and to be linked to plots. In Two-Man Submarine (1944) Axis forces try to obtain the procedure used by an American scientist to produce penicillin from a mushroom on a Pacific Island, while Mykoin PH 510 (1963) tells the story of how Czech scientists obtained penicillin during the Nazi occupation. Allergic reactions, mainly anaphylactic shock, are a side effect of penicillin that appears often, including in The Carey Treatment (1972) and Disturbed (1990).
The authors say that, on the whole, film makers use antimicrobials well, although some exaggerations occur. “Only a few films inadequately portray these drugs,” they say.
One of the most unlikely uses of antimicrobials featured in a film was when the baby tyrannosaurus in The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) was given ampicillin prophylaxis as part of his leg fracture treatment.