Madame Curie (1943)

Academy Awards, USA 1944

Nominated Oscar	Best Picture
	Best Actor in a Leading Role Walter Pidgeon
	Best Actress in a Leading Role Greer Garson
	Best Cinematography, Black-and-White Joseph Ruttenberg
	Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White Cedric Gibbons Paul Groesse Edwin B. Willis Hugh Hunt
	Best Sound, Recording Douglas Shearer (M-G-M SSD)
	Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture Herbert Stothart

MGM
Directed by Mervyn LeRoy
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Socially inept scientist Walter Pidgeon reluctantly accepts a new student into his laboratory, a Polish girl studying for her degree in physics and math, played by Greer Garson. Despite his initial misgivings, she turns out to be a brilliant scientist. He awkwardly proposes to her one day in what sounds more like a research proposal. She accepts anyway, and they embark on a long, arduous project that eventually leads to the discovery of the new element they call Radium. They are recognized for their work with a Nobel Prize and new laboratory, but a tragedy occurs before they can enjoy it. Although the ending is something of a downer, it does accurately portray the backbreaking work of real science and the sacrifices it requires.