Pharmacy in Books/Movies
The goal of my writing is to entertain; to provide the reader a few hours of distraction. In the past year another goal has materialized–to enlighten my readers about the profession of pharmacy and pharmacists; to allow them a glimpse behind the counter; into the hospital ward or clean room. Pharmacists are a valuable commodity in healthcare, accessible and knowledgeable. There is a paucity of our profession’s presence in both literature and movies. Below I have provided a glimpse of how pharmacy and pharmacists have been portrayed. In some instances, it has not been flattering. Some notations provided by Jason Poquette and www.pharmacist.hubpages.com.
The list below highlights the use of drugs or pharmacists in plots. Do you know which movie or book are the answers to the following questions?
Click on the line to see the answer (M=Movie, N=Novel, P=Poem, SS=Short Story, PL-Play)
This 2004 novel by Daniel Silva features a drug company exec who is a brutal terrorist! (N-2012)
The Kill Artist…by international bestseller Daniel Silva
Do you have Chems! I need Chems! (M-2012)
The Bourne Legacy…starring Jeremy Renner as a Treadstone operative in search the drugs he needs to survive….Directed by Tony Gilroy…also starring Rachel Weisz, Scott Glenn, Stacy Keach and Edward Norton
Murder Mystery about five missing women and prominently featuring a pharmacist. (N-2016)
Chill Factor…by Sandra Brown.
A UVA professor finds three million dollars in his dead father's house. This legal thriller involves Big Pharma and class-action lawyers. (N-2012)
The Summons…by John Grisham.
The fictitious drug Provasic's falsified tests are the motive for this doc's run from the law. (M-1993)
The Fugitive….starring Harrison Ford as Dr. Richard Kimball and Tommy Lee Jones as US Marshall Sam Gerard
The true story of two parents' search for a cure their son's leukodystrophy. (M-1992)
Lorenzo’s Oil…Directed by George Miller and starring Nick Nolte and Susan Sarandon
Ray Liotta is a doctor who uses a drug to see other people's memories. (M--1996)
Unforgettable…Directed by John Dahl and also starring Linda Fiorentino and Peter Coyote
The fictional antidepressant, Ablixa, is the basis for this psychological thriller (M-2013)
Side Effect…Directed by Steven Soderburgh and starring Jude Law, Rooney Mara, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Channing Tatum
John Wayne starred as a pharmacist in this western (M-1942)
In Old California….Wayne played Boston pharmacist Tom Craig whose travels to Sacramento run him afoul of the law
RPh Alex Benedict must solve the riddle of this compound's formula to save his wife. (N-2013)
Second Chance by David Perry
Pharmacist Jason Rodgers must thwart an international plot in Newport News (N-2012)
The Cyclops Conspiracy by David Perry
This famous early 20th century actor starred in The Pharmacist (M-1933)
W.C. Fields…his real name was William Claude Dukenfeld
This comic trio play pharmacists in this short film (M-1947)
The Three Stooges…Moe, Larry and Shemp invent a fountain of youth that turns an old lady into a beautiful young girl. It was re-made in 1953 under the title Bubble Trouble
H.B. Warner played a drunken druggist in the Christmas classic (M-1946)
It’s A Wonderful Life…directed by Frank Capra and starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed. H.B. Warner plays Mr. Gower, the druggist. Stewart’s character, George Bailey, working in Gower’s pharmacy stops Gower from making a fatal error
O. Henry penned this story about a jealous pharmacist. (SS-1906)
The Love-Philtre of Ikey Schoenstein…Ikey Schoenstein is a jealous friend who tries to undermine a friend in order to marry the woman of his dreams. The author was once a pharmacist before becoming an author.
Edgar Lee Masters published this poem alluding to the dangers of mixing chemicals (PL-1916)
Trainor The Druggist…published in the Spoon River Anthology. Masters compares the compounding arts to marriage and both institutions potential for disaster.
In this classic tragedy, a poor apothecary provides the means for a protagonist's suicide (PL-1597)
Romeo and Juliet…In Shakespeare’s classic, Romeo convinces the apothecary to sell him the fatal potion.
