A Paralyzing Fear (1998)

A Paralyzing Fear: The Story of Polio in America is a documentary film which premiered in 1998. Here is some basic information about it:

** Produced by Nina Gilden Seavey and Paul Wagner
** Written and directed by Nina Gilden Seavey

** Narrated by Olympia Dukakis

** Released on DVD in 2005

** Run time: 89 minutes

Polio was - and is - a global problem, but as you can see from the title, the geographical perspective of this film is the United States. Director and producer Nina Gilden Seavey focuses on two aspects of the disease: the tragic consequences of it and the long-running struggle against it.

INTERVIEWS

Several witnesses are interviewed in the film. Most of them belong to one of two categories: (1) victims of polio and members of their family; (2) professionals, such as doctors and nurses. Here are the names in order of appearance:

** Charlene Pugleasa
** Mark Sauer

** David Kangas

** Hugh Gallagher (1932-2004)

** Arvid Schwartz

** Marilyn Rogers

** Clara Yelder

** Richard Daggett

** Richard Owen

** Donald DeMars

** Charles Massey (1922-2015), President, March of Dimes, 1980-1990

** Juanita Howell, R.N.

** Eleanor Tafil, R.N.

** John Hume, M.D.

** Donna Salk (1917-2002), married to Jonas Salk 1939-1968

** ONE FAMILY - Josephine Howard, Linda Howard Schneider, Patricia Howard Martin, Eleanor Howard Ackerman

** John Affeldt, M.D.

** Robert Aldridge, M.D.

** ONE FAMILY - Hilda DeMars, Robert DeMars, Patricia DeMars Pfahler, Audrey DeMars, Shirley DeMars Ericson

** Ardean Martin

** Carol Boyer

** Darrell Salk (born 1947), son of Jonas Salk

** Robert Nix, M.D.

** John Troan, journalist

PART ONE

Polio has been around for thousands of years, striking world-wide. No one was safe. The victims could be black or white. The disease did not discriminate. The victims could be children or adults, but most victims were children and most were struck during the summer season.

The disease causes paralysis, often of the extremities, one leg or both, one arm or both. If the disease strikes the muscles that are used for breathing, the victim will die unless help is provided immediately. Until the middle of the 20th century, doctors and governments were powerless. The disease was not understood. There was no cure, no prevention.

The first date mentioned in the film is 1916 when the US was hit by an epidemic of polio. The next date is 1921 when Franklin Delano Roosevelt, known as FDR, was hit by the disease, at the age of 39. Roosevelt was a well-known politician from a rich family. He fought back.

He used a large part of his assets to buy a place called Warm Springs in Georgia, which he turned into a rehabilitation centre for victims of polio. Roosevelt’s paralysis was not a secret, but the consequences were never shown in public. Reporters never took pictures or film when Roosevelt was being carried from one place to another.

When Roosevelt resumed his political career, he asked his friend and former law-firm partner Basil O’Connor to run the centre for him. O’Connor was a lawyer, not a scientist, and he was reluctant, but he could not say no to Roosevelt. He proved to be an efficient administrator.

He started a nation-wide campaign for funds to help the victims and to find a vaccine against the disease. This campaign came to be known as the March of Dimes, because members of the public were urged to send their dimes to FDR in the White House in order to support the struggle against polio.

In the 1950s, polio was claiming an increasing number of victims in the US. At that time, two scientists were close to developing a vaccine against it:

** Jonas Salk (1914-1995)

** Albert Sabin (1906-1993)

Salk used one method which could be developed fast, while Sabin used another method which needed more time. Salk’s vaccine was injected, while Sabin’s was taken orally.

As the film explains, the two scientists were rivals, and they did not think highly of each other. Salk said Sabin’s method would take too long, while Sabin warned that Salk’s method was dangerous.

Salk’s vaccine was announced in 1953, tested in 1954 and released to the general public in 1955. Salk was hailed as a savior, but only two weeks after the release, an alarm went out: it turned out that a lab in California, Cutter’s Lab, had produced a vaccine that was flawed. The result was a disaster: many children who had been injected with vaccine from this lab contracted polio, some were paralyzed and some died.

According to the film, the tragic consequences of this episode, known as the Cutter Incident, were 204 cases of polio, 50 cases of paralysis and 11 deaths.

I think there is something wrong here. As far as I know, the correct figures are 40,000 cases of polio, 200 cases of paralysis and 10 deaths.

Because of the Cutter Incident, Salk was no longer seen as a hero. He became an outcast in the scientific community, even though his vaccine saved many children from the disease.

Sabin’s vaccine was ready for testing in 1959. As the film explains, it was tested on 77 million children in the Soviet Union, even though this was during the Cold War. The results were convincing: it worked! In 1961 it was approved and released in the US. Today polio has been eradicated in the US. The film does not mention a date for this achievement, but I can tell you that the official announcement was made in 1994.

At the end of the film, the geographical perspective changes to a global view when we are told that polio is still a danger in other parts of the world. The chances of eradicating polio from the globe are good in theory, because we know what has to be done. But in practice it is not going to happen anytime soon, because it is not possible to administer the vaccine in every area where it is needed.

PART TWO

Nina Gilden Seavey has created an important film about an important problem. Because the film runs for 89 minutes, the topic is covered in great detail. The film offers a lot more detail than I can mention in this review. As far as I know, the details presented in the film are accurate, except for the figures concerning the Cutter Incident (as stated above).

The director mentions the obvious fact that some of the US victims were black, and she deserves credit for sticking to this issue for a while. She explains that black victims were turned away by many hospitals. They were told to seek help elsewhere. Because there was segregation in Georgia, they were not welcome at the centre in Warm Springs. Some black families had to face segregation and disease at the same time, which was not easy.

Another important fact that is mentioned a couple of times is the absence of the federal government. There was no federal support for the struggle against polio, which was financed by private donations. There were no federal regulations when Salk wanted to test his vaccine. When we look back at some of the procedures that were used during the testing in the 1950s, I think most people will be shocked.

PART THREE

As stated above, this is an important film which covers the topic in great detail. But it has one serious flaw: one significant aspect of the story is completely ignored. This flaw concerns Salk and the team that worked with him.

Salk and his team developed the vaccine, but Salk took credit for it. At the public meeting in April 1955, when Salk announced his results to the world, his team was sitting in the audience. They were waiting for him to mention them, because they had also played a role in this scientific project, but he never did.

Salk took credit not only for his own work but also for work that had been done by others. This was a serious violation of academic tradition and the members of his team were deeply disappointed with him.

This issue is never mentioned in the film. This is a shame. At least one member of Salk's team was still alive when the film was being made: Julius Youngner. If you ask me, he could and should have been interviewed for this film.

The controversy is part of the public record. It is mentioned in David Oshinsky's book about polio (see the PS below). If you google the name Julius Youngner, you will find several items where it is mentioned.

Salk played an important role in the crusade against polio, there is no doubt about it, but he did not work alone. Nevertheless, he took credit for everything. Apparently, he did not understand that he should have shared the credit with the members of his team. By ignoring this issue, the film perpetuates the myth that Salk tried to create while he was still alive. Today, when the truth is out, it is most unfortunate to hold on to this myth.

CONCLUSION
This film is good but not great. It covers an important topic and does so quite well. But I cannot ignore the flaw that I mentioned above, and therefore I cannot give it five stars. I think it deserves a rating of four stars.

If you are interested in the history of the modern world – in particular the history of medicine – this film is definitely something for you.

PS # 1. For more information, see the following books:

** Polio: An American Story by David Oshinsky (2005, 2006)

** The Cutter Incident by Paul Offit (2005, 2007)

** Paralysed with Fear: The Story of Polio by Gareth Williams (2013)

** Jonas Salk: A Life by Charlotte DeCroes Jacobs (2015)

PS # 2. John Troan, who is a witness in the film, has written a memoir about his life in journalism. The title is Passport to Adventure (2000, 2013)

PS # 3. Regarding the question: who gets the credit in the world of science, see the following book: 

Prize Fight: the Race & the Rivalry to be the First in Science by Morton Meyers (2012, 2013).

PS # 4. The Polio Crusade is a documentary film which premiered on US television (PBS) in 2009 (an episode in the long-running series American Experience). Written, produced and directed by Sarah Colt. Run time: ca 50 minutes.

PS # 5. The following articles are available online:

** Jacqueline Trescott, “Probing Old Wounds,” Washington Post, 19 January 1997 (about a new documentary film which is on the way)

** Stephen Holden, a review of “A Paralyzing Fear: The Story of Polio in America,” New York Times, 4 March 1998

**Adam Grant, "Giving and taking credit," Chicago Tonight, 2 May 2013 (about the controversy between Salk and his team)

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Jonas Salk (1914-1995)

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Albert Sabin (1906-1993)

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