kenpfred Review of The Medicine Man

The Medicine Man (1930)

Similarities between The Medicine Man (1930, Jack Benny, Tom Dugan) and The Music Man (1962 Robert Preston, Shirley Jones and Ron Howard)

[8/10 · 11 December 2020]

It's amazing how much the story line of The Medicine Man resembles that of The Music Man. In both a shyster comes to a small town and tries to bilk them out of their money, but falls in love with a girl from the town and changes his ways. The Medicine Man had little music and it was usually played over the talk, but The Music Man took the story and converted it into one one the best musicals ever made. The Medicine Man had a little more comedy in it, with Tom Dugan ( my wife's great uncle) playing someone who could cheat you out of your money without you even knowing it ( like when he was giving change the people who bought the elixir) , a skit that was copied 10 years after by Laurel & Hardy. By the way Tom also played Bronski in To Be or not To Be (1941, also with Jack Benny, and Carol Lombard). His line "Heil Myself " was copied by Mel Brooks in 1962.