Christopher J. Lindsay

Film reviews, short stories, literary essays, short films

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  • Four Factors in Paranoia: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

    treasure-of-the-sierra-madre-movie-poster-1948-1010544345Paranoia is “an unfounded or exaggerated distrust of others, sometimes reaching delusional proportions.”1 In John Huston’s The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) Fredd Dobbs (Humphrey Bogart) becomes paranoid that Curtin (Tim Holt) and Howard (Walter Huston), want to kill him and steal his gold. There are four factors in Dobbs’s descent into paranoia: feelings of powerlessness, the experience of broken trust, the fear of loss, and an uncontrolled imagination.

    Unable to find work, Dobbs feels powerless to change his life. In the opening sequence, he asks the same man for money three times, and the look on his face is one of utter helplessness. He is subject to economic forces that are beyond his control, making him vulnerable to paranoia.

    Dobbs’s luck appears to change when McCormick (Barton MacLane) offers him a job. However, after Curtin and Dobbs work for several weeks, they do not get paid and give McCormick a severe beating. This scene reveals Dobbs’s true nature: He is a man of violence when he feels he has been wronged. Dobbs’s experience of broken trust will make it difficult for him to trust anyone again.

    Dobbs’s ability to trust other people is put to the test when he strikes a deal with Curtin and Howard to go prospecting for gold. When the three men strike it rich, Howard says, “Each of us will have to hide his share from the others, and after that he’ll have to be forever on his watch.” Although Dobbs initially rejects this idea, the seeds of suspicion and fear are firmly planted in his mind. Soon he will no longer trust his partners.

    Fearing the loss of his gold, Dobbs descends into paranoia. When he and Curtin transport their gold across the desert, his imagination runs wild. He accuses Curtin: “For a long time you’ve wanted to bump me off and bury me.” Even though Curtin seizes Dobbs’s gun and does not shoot him, Dobbs still believes he wants to kill him and steal his gold. At the end of the film, Curtin and Howard laugh when they lose their gold, but Dobbs is emotionally attached to it. He becomes paranoid because of his greatest fear: the fear of becoming poor and destitute again.

    Paranoia is a prison of the mind, a place of alienation and isolation. To escape this prison, a paranoid person must be willing to take the risk of trusting people again. They must also learn to control their mind and not believe everything they think. The tragedy of Dobbs’s life is that he was his own worst enemy. His paranoia distorted his perception of reality, leaving him unable to tell the difference between his enemies and his friends.

    Notes

    1. The Free Dictionary, s.v. “Paranoia,” accessed February 20, 2014, http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/paranoia

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  • How Cartels Create Shortages: The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958)

    the-revenge-of-frankensteinIn Terence Fisher’s The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958), Victor Stein (Peter Cushing) moves to Carlsbruck, Germany, in 1860 to set up a medical practice. Stein’s struggle against the Carlsbruck Medical Council to run a hospital for the poor illustrates an important principle of economics: When a cartel limits the supply of a good or service to the market, the result will be shortages and/or higher prices.

    The doctors in Carlsbruck do not want a free market for medical services. Stein says, “When I arrived in Carlsbruck, without means or influence, and attempted to set up a practice, I was met by a firm resistance from the medical council which apparently exists to eliminate competition.” Stein is not welcomed in Carlsbruck because one more doctor practicing medicine will reduce the profits of the other doctors.

    The Carlsbruck Medical Council, although fictional, mirrors the historical reality at the time. In late nineteenth century Britain “all doctors were registered with a central body, the General Medical Council.”1 According to Irvine Loudon, “in 1847 there was a large number of medical men competing for patients. Restricting the kind of practice permissible was a way of reducing competition.”2 Like the General Medical Council, the purpose of the Carlsbruck Medical Council is to limit the number of doctors who practice medicine.

    The doctors on the Council are envious of Stein. In their meeting, they complain that he has “stolen” their patients. This accusation is false. Through the process of competition, Stein has simply proven himself a better doctor than his competitors. By becoming “the most popular doctor,” he is not only costing them money, but he also threatens the very existence of the Council. If a doctor can move to Carlsbruck and become successful without the Council’s support, then there is no need for the Council at all.

    The Carlsbruck Medical Council is a cartel: “an organization created … between a group of producers of a good or service, to regulate supply in an effort to regulate or manipulate prices.”3 The Carlsbruck doctors are all charging the same price for medical treatment. If there were price competition, they would be complaining about “stealing” each other’s customers. Instead, they blame their loss of business solely on Stein. He is more successful than the other doctors because he offers better service and a lower price.

    The doctors cannot beat Stein based on the quality of their service, so they want him to become a member of the Council. Dr. Molke (Arnold Diamond) declares, “he must be made to join.” If he joins, the doctors can continue to charge the same price, and their cartel will remain intact. If Stein refuses to join, Molke declares that Stein should no longer be allowed to practice medicine. He asks, “Where did he study? Where did he take his degree?” Strangely, Molke is speechless when asked how to prevent Stein from practicing, and none of the other doctors recognize the obvious solution to their problem.

    The Carlsbruck doctors could shut down Stein’s practice by rejecting his foreign education and training in Switzerland. In Britain after 1858, the training for Doctors “shifted from apprenticeship towards schools and colleges.”4 In 1862, the General Medical Council “suggested that medical education should be based on a ‘four year course of study’ rather than a five year apprenticeship.”5 The switch from apprenticeship training to university education would give the Carlsbruck doctors complete control over the practice of medicine in the city. The General Medical Council had the “power to reject any qualifications regarded as unsuitable for the profession.”6 At the end of the meeting, the doctors decide not to prevent Stein from practicing medicine due to his education. Instead, they send three doctors to persuade him to join their cartel, a strategy that ultimately fails.

    The doctors in Carlsbruck formed a cartel to reduce competition and to maximize profits. The inevitable result is a shortage of doctors and higher prices. The Revenge of Frankenstein shows the tragic impact a doctor cartel can have: Before Doctor Stein moved to Carlsbruck, many poor people could not afford a doctor. At the end of the film, after Stein flees the city, the hospital he established for the poor will likely be shut down.

    Notes

    1. Stella V.F. Butler, “A transformation in training: The formation of University Medical Faculties in Manchester, Leeeds, and Liverpool, 1870-84,” Medical History 30, no. 2 (April 1986): 115, journals.cambridge.org/article_S0025727300045348.
    2. Butler, “A transformation in training,” 116.
    3. Investopedia, s.v. “Cartel,” accessed January 2, 2014, http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cartel.asp
    4. Butler, “A transformation in training,” 115.
    5. Butler, “A transformation in training,” 118.
    6. Butler, “A transformation in training,” 117.

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