SOMETHING THE LORD MADE (TV)
Summary
This made-for-television production is based on the real-life account of how two doctors -- a white surgeon and a black medical technician – collaborated on studies which led to the start of open-heart surgery in the 1940s. The program opens in Nashville of 1930 as Vivien Thomas goes to work for twelve dollars a week in the Vanderbilt Experimental Surgery Laboratory after being laid off from his carpentry job. He’s introduced to his brusque new boss, Dr. Alfred Blalock, who explains that they’ll be doing medical research on stray dogs. Later, Vivien tells his girlfriend Clara about his new job and “eccentric” boss. As the days pass, Vivien spends his spare time reading Alfred’s medical books. Vivien tells Alfred that he intends to become a doctor, after which Alfred takes an interest in his assistant and begins to tutor him. The next day, Vivien, as well his father William and brother Harold, are upset to learn that their life savings, including Vivien’s medical school savings, have disappeared as the banks have all closed. However, Vivien rallies and proves a quick study in the lab under Alfred’s teachings. In Baltimore of 1943, Alfred’s accomplishments are lauded as he accepts a position at Johns Hopkins Hospital. At a party with his wife Mary, Alfred is asked by Dr. Helen Taussig to research congenitally deformed hearts as Vivien – now moonlighting as Alfred’s waiter – offers opinions on the medical quagmire. Back at home, Vivien attends to Clara, now his wife, as well as their two daughters. Though Clara wants to return to Nashville, Vivien tells her how excited he is to be Alfred’s assistant in Baltimore. At Johns Hopkins, however, Vivien starts to encounter prejudice as a black man in a profession predominantly filled by white men. Vivien soon forms an alliance with Helen, one of the hospital’s few women doctors. Later, Alfred tells Vivien about his own brush with death, and how it inspired him to take on difficult tasks, such as finding a treatment for babies with malformed hearts. After theorizing about a new manner to tackle the heart issue, Alfred returns home to find that Mary has taken a job as an ambulance driver on a nearby army base while his young daughter complains of his constant absence. Elsewhere, Harold tracks down Vivien and tells him of the legal case he’s been trying to win for twelve years. Harold makes Vivien realize that his job classification and pay is that of a janitor, rather than a lab technician. Alfred subsequently fights to get Vivien a higher salary. At Vivien’s apartment, Alfred tells about the medical success that Vivien achieved that afternoon in the lab. Together, the two brainstorm how to change the course of blood and cure a “blue baby.” Alfred proposes performing the surgery on an infant instead of a dog, despite reservations of the child’s parents and their priest. Vivien comes up with a new stitching technique for the operation, which creates excitement throughout the hospital. Despite colleagues’ fears that he’s rushing the operation, Alfred declares his intentions to proceed with the surgery. As the operation gets under way, Alfred insists that Vivien be in the room with him, flaunting hospital regulations. Mary tries to calm the parents as the procedure continues. With Vivien’s assistance, the operation is a complete success. Later, Alfred hears his colleagues lauding Vivien, noting that they refer to Vivien in a racially insulting manner. As photos are taken of the celebrated medical team, Vivien is left out of the picture. Vivien finds himself trying to quell anger when Alfred gets all the credit in a Life magazine cover story on the operation. Later, Vivien listens in the shadows at a hotel’s testimonial banquet for Alfred, during which he is never thanked for his contributions. The next day, Vivien packs up his belongings at the lab after confronting Alfred about the snub. Vivien then goes to Morgan State College, asking credit for his life experience, and is denied. Vivien then tries to find employment by selling pharmaceuticals. Upon going home to see his family, Vivien listens as Harold expresses dissatisfaction with life, despite having won his case. Clara tells Vivien to return to Alfred, which he subsequently does to get his job back. In Baltimore of 1964, Vivien finds himself advising young doctors as the director of laboratories at Johns Hopkins. Alfred, now confined to a wheelchair, asks Vivien to accompany him to Columbia University, where he’s been offered a teaching position. When Vivien declines the offer, Alfred tells of his regrets over the years for some of his decisions, particularly in regard to Vivien. Soon, Helen calls Vivien to tell him that Alfred died in his sleep. Years later, Helen presides at a Johns Hopkins ceremony at which an honorary doctorate is awarded to Vivien as Clara looks on with pride. After the assembly gives him a standing ovation, Vivien speaks of his accomplishments, followed by the unveiling of a portrait of him to hang next to one of Alfred at Johns Hopkins. Graphics tell how “the blue baby” operation launched the field of cardiac surgery and helped make heart surgery into a routine operation.
Details
- NETWORK: HBO
- DATE: May 30, 2004 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:49:57
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:83412
- GENRE: Docudrama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Docudrama;
- SERIES RUN: HBO - TV, 2004
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Robert W. Cort … Executive Producer
- Eric Hetzel … Executive Producer
- David Madden … Executive Producer
- Mike Drake … Producer
- Julian Krainin … Producer
- Irving Sorkin … Co-Producer
- Laurel Schulman … Digital Producer
- Joseph Sargent … Director
- Peter Silverman … Writer
- Robert Caswell … Writer
- Katie McCabe … Based on the magazine article "Like Something the Lord Made"
- Thomas Vivien … Based on the book "Pioneering Research in Surgical Shock and Cardiovascular Surgery: Vivien Thomas and his Work with Alfred Blalock"
- Spark Media … Based on the program "Partners of the Heart"
- William Longmire, Jr. … Based on the book "Alfred Blalock: His Life and Times"
- Christopher Young … Music by
- Alan Rickman … Cast, Alfred Blalock
- Mos Def … Cast, Vivien Thomas
- Kyra Sedgwick … Cast, Mary Blalock
- Gabrielle Union … Cast, Clara Flanders-Thomas
- Merritt Wever … Cast, Mrs. Saxon
- Clayton LeBouef … Cast, Harold Thomas
- Charles Dutton … Cast, William Thomas
- Mary Stuart Masterson … Cast, Helen Taussig
- Cliff McMullen … Cast, Lodel Williams
- Luray Cooper … Cast, Charles Manlove
- Irene Ziegler … Cast, Frances Grebel
- John Emmanuel … Cast, Man at Park
- Harold J. Abell, Sr. … Cast, Man #1
- Michael E. Russell … Cast, Bank Officer
- Henri Edmonds … Cast, Mary Thomas
- Cora Shay Buck … Cast, Young Theodosia Thomas
- Zoe Buck … Cast, Young Olga Thomas
- John Leslie Wolfe … Cast, Walter Dandy
- David Bailey … Cast, John Cunningham
- Matthew Welborn … Cast, William Blalock
- Mackenzie Jo Pardi … Cast, Mary Elizabeth Blalock
- Tel Monks … Cast, Doctor at Party
- Bolton Marsh … Cast, William Longmire
- Timothy Scanlin … Cast, Dr. Cooley
- Jonathan Watkins … Cast, Dr. Kelven
- Jeffrey Coleman … Cast, Security Guard
- Linda Williams … Cast, May
- Wil Love … Cast, Dr. Hecker
- Brooke Gaigler … Cast, Baby Saxon
- Kera Gaigler … Cast, Baby Saxon
- Douglas Watson … Cast, Dean Hamilton
- Alan L. Brown … Cast, Dr. Ford
- Michael Easterling … Cast, Landlord
- Robert F. Chew … Cast, Janitor
- Elizabeth Noone … Cast, Payroll Clerk
- Doug Olear … Cast, Michael Saxon
- Marty Lodge … Cast, Father Aucott
- Sean MacLaughlin … Cast, Dr. Swedlin
- Dave Trovato … Cast, Dr. Harmel
- Carolyn Nelson … Cast, Charlotte Mitchell
- Rahaleh Nassri … Cast, Nurse at Paging Station
- Alan Sader … Cast, Dr. Hecker's Crony
- Allan Kulakow … Cast, Dr. Petrovsky
- Ralph H. Cosham … Cast, Dr. Craford
- Nat Benchley … Cast, Karsh
- Antonio D. Charity … Cast, Morgan State Admissions Officer
- Michael Mack … Cast, Dr. Johnson
- Sean Pratt … Cast, Resident #1
- Matt Russell … Cast, Resident #2
- Brigid Cleary … Cast, Vivien's Secretary
- Joseph Petty … Cast, Janitor Lowering Flag
- Sheila Edmondson … Cast, Adult Olga Thomas
- Carlyncia Peck … Cast, Adult Theodosia Thomas