Docteur Laennec on AllMovie

Like his earlier Monsieur Vincent, Maurice Cloche's Docteur Laennec is a lovingly rendered biography of a famed humanitarian. In this instance, the subject is the inventor of the stethoscope, who was forced to battle the hidebound medical hierarchy of his time to prove the far-reaching importance of his creation. Cloche wastes little time on Dr. Laennec's private life, adopting instead an episode retelling of his medical accomplishments. The film wasn't altogether adaptable to American screens, since the abundance of dialogue made subtitling (the preferred translation method of the time) difficult. In the title role, Pierre Blanchar once again offers a first-rate characterization.