Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet Page #4

- I wanna thank you about that.

- Ah!

Why, you look younger

and stronger than ever.

- Thank you.

- Oh, go straight in.

Ah, it's your laboratory.

Go straight in.

If you will look

at the shelves

You will see every dyestuff

known to man.

Now, you can go ahead developing

new staining methods.

Aren't you happy, Paul?

Well, uh,

I-I'm deeply grateful, but...

If you don't mind

I would much rather

Not work with dyes

at present.

Indeed.

Well, in that case you

might join Behring

In his diphtheria experiments.

Oh, the number of new cases

is alarming.

Most alarming, it looks as

if we were in for an epidemic.

Well, I'm afraid, diphtheria is

not what I'm looking for either.

Then what in heaven

do you want to do?

Well, right now

I'd like to work on snakes.

Snakes?

I wanna test the effect

of various quantities of poison

On the animal organism.

I laughed at you before

and I was wrong.

If it is snakes

you want...

You shall have

your snakes.

Get three more snakes

and prepare them for me

To collect the venom.

These are depleted.

Every child that tried the

diphtheria serum on died.

Didn't work at all.

Yes, I heard this morning.

I can't figure it out, Paul.

"What went wrong?"

I keep asking myself.

I injected guinea pigs with

the serum and it cured them.

During months of experiments,

I gave diphtheria

To other animals

and the serum cured them.

Yesterday I tried it on

children, it didn't work.

Emil, forgive me, but I'm in the

middle of an experiment.

Another time I'll be

very happy to listen.

Another time? Perhaps,

all the children in the country

Would have choked

to death by then.

But of course, your experiment

whatever it may serve

To demonstrate comes first.

That's because it's yours!

Yours!

Dr. Ehrlich's very own.

You don't know what

you're saying.

On the other hand, the dying

children are not your own.

Steffi and Marianne have

not diphtheria yet.

But if the worst should come

and it sometimes does...

You'll find me

in my laboratory.

Emil, I believe I know

why you failed.

I'm in the middle

of an experiment.

When I was in Egypt, a man and

a boy were bitten by an adder.

The boy died horribly.

The man wasn't even made sick.

I'm only interested

in diphtheria.

Now wait, Emil.

Here is the point.

Three times before this man

had been bitten, three times.

Each time the poison

had less effect.

These symptoms

became less and less severe.

Until this last time,

the man wasn't even made sick.

Immune?

Huh?

For weeks now, I've done

the same thing experimentally.

Injecting animals with gradually

larger doses of snake venom.

Until they were getting shots,

they would ordinarily

Kill a hundred

of their species.

Go on.

All of which proves that

immunity is not a quality

Of the blood as you think.

But it's, it's something

in the blood.

Specific substances

that they create.

Antibodies, so to speak.

A chemical army which destroys

invading microbes and poisons.

Then my idea of imparting

resistance by transferring

Blood serum from

one animal to another...

Is absolutely right.

The reason that the method

failed with humans

Is because

the serum didn't contain

A sufficient number

of antibodies.

Now look, Emil.

Here.

This graph represents

the development

Of immunity

to snake venom.

It shows how you can increase

the quantity of antibodies

To neutralize any given

amount of poison.

- Well, then in diphtheria?

- Why not?

We've to store a sufficient

number of antibodies

In an animal by injecting it.

Not once but 10, 20, 30 times.

Then the blood

of a horse, perhaps.

Which has withstood 20

increasingly large doses

Of diphtheria toxin

would cure a child.

Exactly.

- Uh, Paul.

- Yes.

- I wanna beg your pardon for...

- Oh, be still.

I like you

all the more for your outburst.

It was, uh, well,

displayed temperament.

Now, let's get to work.

I will work out our plan

in this way.

'We start with a

first injection here. '

Hope this horse is good and

strong. He's gonna be very sick.

He used to be a race horse.

A champion.

If this horse does what we want

him to, he'll be very famous.

- He is too old to race again.

- This is a race against death.

Yes? Ambulance?

How many?

At once.

Dr. Hartmann, Dr. Wolfert,

Dr. Bishop, Dr. Kunze!

Emergency! Emergency!

Dr. Ehrlich, Dr. Behring.

They are all sick.

They are all sick!

Don't worry,

we'll get him up again.

But you must do something.

You've got to do something.

Or one third

of our country's children

Will die of this disease.

We are working.

Stop this epidemic, Koch.

I'll give you anything. I'll

pave your institute with gold.

We are working on it.

The horses have thrown off

the effect of the toxin.

Their serum should

be strong by now.

'They've reached a

high degree of immunity. '

'Let's take the serum. '

- Go to the other hospitals.

- Other hospitals are filled!

- 'Why don't you let them in?'

- We've no room, Herr geheimrat.

Then set up beds in the

corridors, the offices.

Let them him. We cannot let them

die in the street.

- You may come in.

- Dr. Wolfert, you take charge.

Yes, Herr geheimrat. One at

a time and register here.

- Herr professor.

- What are you doing here?

We were sent by Professor Koch

at the request of Althoff.

- To try our new serum.

- This is useless.

In our laboratory

it proved itself

A 100 times as effective

as the old serum.

- We believe in this.

- You did in the old one too.

Nothing can stop this epidemic

unless it's the serum.

- We've heard all this before.

- You've gotta give it a chance.

Very well.

I'll let you try it.

Here are 40 diphtheria cases.

You will give your serum to 20

and withhold it from the rest.

If there is a higher percentage

of recovery...

Among the patients treated

with your serum

Than among the untreated ones,

we shall know it has some value.

If there's a chance it may work,

we should give it everyone.

No.

Only with

the controlled experiment

Can we establish the value

of your serum once and for all.

So, remember. 20 get the serum,

and 20 do without.

Sorry.

That's his 20th patient.

Let him go ahead.

Turn him over.

Turn him over.

Doctor, you can't do this.

It's done.

Let's go now.

Prepare for more injections.

How is my child?

One moment.

Who is responsible for this?

They're struggling

so hard to breathe.

I can't hold back

the one chance I have.

You wanted to save as many

lives as possible.

Are you doctors

or old women?

The whole experiment

is useless now.

Don't think you can call

an attempt to save the lives

Of 20 children useless.

Dr. Behring,

surely you...

Herrgeheimrat, this is the

matter of life and death.

I am in charge of this hospital.

And I determine what procedure's

to be followed in saving lives.

It's my duty as a doctor

to do everything in my power

To save the lives

of these children.

Nothing on earth can prevent

me from carrying out my duty.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes