Preston Sturges began work on a film about William Morton's discovery of anesthesia based on a 1938 biography. Sturges convinced the studio to let him write the script after another version fell through. Sturges was attracted to Morton's story as a man who helped mankind but suffered personally. However, when released in 1944 as The Great Moment after much editing by the studio, it was a box office failure and damaged Sturges' career. The film remains an important cultural artifact as the only Hollywood movie about the discovery of anesthesia.

1. Preston Sturges and The Great Moment
A.J. Wright, M.L.S.
Department of Anesthesiology
University of Alabama at Birmingham

2. In early 1939 Preston Sturges began work on a film
script based on Triumph Over Pain, the English
translation of Rene Fulop-Miller’s biography of
William T.G. Morton which had been published the
previous year. Paramount Pictures had optioned the
book prior to publication, and Samuel Hoffenstein
had already written a script to be directed by Henry
Hathaway and starring Gary Cooper as Morton.
When Cooper and Hathaway committed to other
projects, Sturges – under contract to Paramount as a
screenwriter – convinced studio head William
LeBaron to let him draft another script.

3. Sturges was born in Chicago in 1898. His writing
career began with a comic strip he created for the
camp newspaper during his World War I Army
Signal Corps training. After the war Sturges
established a career as an inventor but kept writing.
Between January 1929 and March 1932 five of his
plays opened on Broadway. Some were modest
successes, but the complete failure of the last two
convinced Sturges to leave New York and head to
Hollywood, where he signed as a writer with
Universal Studios.

4. After years of screenwriting for Universal, Columbia and
Paramount, Sturges was finally offered a chance to direct as
well. He became the first director in Hollywood history to
film his own script when shooting began in December, 1939,
on The Great McGinty for Paramount. In 1941 that script
won Sturges the first Oscar ever awarded for an original
screenplay. Over the next few years Sturges made several
more successful films for Paramount, including his
masterpiece Sullivan’s Travels. Production on “Triumph Over
Pain” began in early April 1942 and continued until mid-June.
After much re-editing by the studio, the film was finally
released in late 1944 as The Great Moment after Sturges had
left Paramount. The film was a major box office
disappointment, and his career never really recovered.
Sturges died in New York in August, 1959.

5. The Great Moment, which features Joel McCrea as
Morton, is the only Hollywood feature film ever
made about the discovery of anesthesia. Because of
this unique status, the film is an important artifact in
that little-studied region where anesthesia and
popular culture meet. Many films, novels, short
stories, television programs, etc., have included
scenes of anesthesia administration, anesthesiologists
as characters, or anesthetic agents used to overpower
or kill victims. Very seldom has an entire work of
popular culture been devoted to an anesthetic topic.

6. Just before its release, Sturges described the odd,
disjointed mix of comedy and drama as “a mediocre
and shameful [film]…a guaranteed, gilt-edged
disaster.” This project examines the film’s place in
Sturges’ career, themes shared with other Sturges
films, and why Sturges was attracted to Morton’s
story. Similarities in personality and character
between Sturges and Morton will be explored. This
film as released will be compared with Sturges’
shooting script and both film and script with Fulop-
Miller’s book. The historical accuracy of The Great
Moment will also be examined.

7. Preston Sturges
• Born Chicago, 1898
• Began writing career in WWI
• Five plays on Broadway 1929-1932
• In Hollywood, 1932-1953
• Died New York City, 1959

8. Great Moment Cast List
• William T.G. Morton: Joel McCrea
• Elizabeth Morton: Betty Field
• John Collins Warren: Harry Carey
• Eben Frost: William Demarest
• Horace Wells: Louis Jean Heydt
• Charles T. Jackson: Julius Tannen

9. Conclusions I
• Fulop-Miller’s 1938 book glorifies
Morton and attacked Long and Wells
• Sturges adopted Fulop-Milleer’s portrait
of Morton as tragic figure
• In his script, Sturges mixed comedy and
melodrama with an innovative story
structure
• Paramount Studies recut the film to
emphasize comedy

10. Conclusions II
• Great Moment was a commercial failure
• Sturges left Paramount and his career
never recovered
• GM is not historically accurate since
roles of Wells and Long are minimized
• Sturges was attracted to the story of a
man who brought great benefit to
mankind but suffered ruin himself

11. Great McGinty [1940]
• Sturges became first Hollywood
director to film his own script
• Film won first Oscar ever awarded
to original screenplay

12. Sullivan’s Travels [1941]
• Sturges’ masterpiece
• Also starred Joel McCrea

13. Great Moment Production
History [1941]
• Sturges began “Triumph Over Pain
script in second half of 1939
• Filmed early April to mid-June
1942
• Re-edited by Paramount Studios
• Released as GM in late 1944