Something the Lord Made (2004) (TV)

Director:

Joseph Sargent

Writers (WGA):

Peter Silverman (written by) and
Robert Caswell (written by)

Release Date:

30 May 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

A breakthrough that changed the face of medicine. A unique partnership that broke the rules.

Plot:

A dramatization of the relationship between heart surgery pioneers Alfred Blalock and Vivien Thomas.

Plot Keywords:

Baby | Heart | Heart Surgery | University | Vanderbilt University

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 12 wins & 19 nominations

Cast

Alan Rickman	...	Dr. Alfred Blalock
Mos Def	...	Vivien Thomas
Kyra Sedgwick	...	Mary Blalock
Gabrielle Union	...	Clara Thomas
Merritt Wever	...	Mrs. Saxon
Clayton LeBouef	...	Harold Thomas
Charles S. Dutton	...	William Thomas (as Charles Dutton)
Mary Stuart Masterson	...	Dr. Helen Taussig
Cliff McMullen	...	Lodel Williams
Luray Cooper	...	Charles Manlove
Irene Ziegler	...	Frances Grebel
John Emmanuel	...	Man at park
Harold J. Abell Sr.	...	Man #1
Michael E. Russell	...	Bank officer
Henri Edmonds	...	Mary Thomas
Cora Shay Buck
Zoe Buck	...	Young Olga Thomas
John Leslie Wolfe	...	Dr. Walter Dandy
David Bailey	...	The General
Matthew Welborn
Mackenzie Jo Pardi	...	Mary Elizabeth Blalock
Tel Monks	...	Dr. Dorsey
Bolton Marsh	...	Dr. William P. Longmire Jr.
Timothy J. Scanlin Jr.	...	Dr. Denton Cooley (as Timothy Scanlin)
Jonathan Watkins	...	Dr. Kelvin
Jeffrey Coleman	...	Security Guard
Linda Williams	...	May
Wil Love	...	Dr. Hecker
Brooke Gaigler	...	Eileen Saxon
Patrick Brown	...	Lt. Comm. Andrews
Kera Gaigler	...	Eileen Saxon
Douglas Watson	...	Dean Hamilton
Al Brown	...	Dr. Ford (as Alan L. Brown)
Michael Eastering
Robert F. Chew	...	Janitor
Elisabeth Noone	...	Payroll clerk
Doug Olear	...	Michael Saxon
Marty Lodge	...	Father Aucott
Sean MacLaughlin	...	Dr. Swedlin
Dave Trovato	...	Dr. Harmel
Carolyn Nelson
Rahaleh Nassri	...	Paging Nurse
Alan Sader	...	Hecker's crony
Ralph Cosham
Nat Benchley	...	Karsh
Antonio D. Charity	...	Admissions Officer
Michael Mack
Sean Pratt	...	Resident #1
Matthew Russell	...	Resident #2 (as Matt Russell)
Brigid Cleary	...	Vivien's secretary
Joseph Petty
Sheila Edmondson	...	Adult Olga Thomas
Carlyncia S. Peck	...	Adult Theodocia Thomas (as Carlyncia Peck)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Cantrell Harris	...	Bank Customer
Allan Kulakow	...	Dr. Petrovsky
Kirk Lambert	...	Navy Admiral
Jim Page	...	Resident Doctor
Joe Peck	...	Orderly
Tyrone Requer	...	3rd Resident #98
Kevin Tan	...	Medical Intern
Michael Ahl	...	Doctor at party (uncredited)
James E. Ash	...	Resident doctor (uncredited)
Briana Lynn Banks	...	Guest at Reception (uncredited)
Patricia Talmadge Berry	...	Dist. Party Guest (uncredited)
Ian Bonds	...	Medical Intern (uncredited)
Chris Boykin	...	Bellhop (uncredited)
R. Emery Bright	...	Dishwasher (uncredited)
Dava Casoni	...	Concerned Mother in Waiting Room (uncredited)
Tray Chaney	...	College Student (uncredited)
Paul M. Clary	...	1943 Doctor (uncredited)
Brian Dragonuk	...	Staff Doctor 1940's (uncredited)
Pamela Fischer	...	Doctor's Wife (uncredited)
Lynn-Jane Foreman	...	Mrs. Ford (uncredited)
Dan Franko	...	Resident doctor (uncredited)
Alan Gates	...	Student doctor (uncredited)
Duke Greenhill	...	Student (uncredited)
Thomas M. Hagen	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Justin Hinnant	...	Neighborhood Kid (uncredited)
Katherine Hoskins Mackey	...	General's Wife (uncredited)
Yolanda Jenkins	...	Housekeeper (uncredited)
Lyndon Johnson	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
John F. Kennedy	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Z.M. Nan Khan	...	Luncheon cashier (uncredited)
Martin Luther King	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Connie Lamothe	...	Doctor's Wife (uncredited)
Dave Lankford	...	Resident Doctor (uncredited)
James Lewis	...	Medical Intern (uncredited)
Robert Neal Marshall	...	Dist. Party Guest (uncredited)
Kerry Meushaw	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Jim Nieb	...	Intern (uncredited)
Reina Poindexter	...	Cafeteria lady (uncredited)
Jasmyn Proctor	...	Neighborhood kid (uncredited)
Carolyn Rawleigh	...	Guest at Reception (uncredited)
Andrew Schneider	...	1971 Doctor (uncredited)
Thomas W. Stewart	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Anastasia Summers	...	1943 Nurse (uncredited)
LeRoy Taylor	...	Carpenter (uncredited)
Tom Townsend	...	Security Guard (uncredited)
Lesli Stockwell Turner	...	Military Wife (uncredited)
Towanda Underdue	...	Mother / Bus Rider (uncredited)
Schuster Vance	...	Resident Doctor (uncredited)
Don Whatley	...	Military Officer (uncredited)
Malcolm X	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
Joseph Sargent

Writing credits (WGA)
Peter Silverman		(written by) and
Robert Caswell		(written by)

Produced by
Robert W. Cort	....	executive producer
Mike Drake	....	producer
Eric Hetzel	....	executive producer
Julian Krainin	....	producer
David Madden	....	executive producer
Irving Sorkin	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Christopher Young

Cinematography by
Donald M. Morgan

Film Editing by
Michael Brown

Casting by
Lynn Kressel
Pat Moran

Production Design by
Vincent Peranio

Art Direction by
Halina Gebarowicz

Costume Design by
Karyn Wagner

Makeup Department
Wyatt Belton	....	hair stylist
Diane Hammond	....	makeup artist
Janice Kinigopoulos	....	key hair stylist
Sandra Linn Koepper	....	makeup artist
Jennifer Santiago	....	assistant hair stylist
Denise Tunnell	....	makeup artist
Janice Tunnell	....	additional makeup artist
Taurance F. Williams	....	hair stylist
Debi Young	....	key makeup artist
Sherri Bramlett	....	additional hair stylist (uncredited)
Ngozi Olandu	....	additional makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Jasmine Kosovic	....	additional post-production supervisor
Karyn McCarthy	....	unit production manager
Greg Spence	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Joe Incaprera	....	second assistant director
Eric A. Pot	....	first assistant director: additional photography
Xanthus Valan	....	second second assistant director
Michele Ziegler	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Edward Bellafiore	....	art department coordinator
Melissa Demino	....	art department production assistant
Jason Dunn	....	props
Patrick T. Eagan	....	set dresser
Susanna Glattly	....	scenic artist
Jeffrey Pratt Gordon	....	props
Randy G. Herbert	....	construction coordinator
Billy 'Jilly Bones' Jones	....	scenic artist
Ted Lubonovich II	....	welding foreman
Silvija L. Moess	....	scenic artist
Ted Nolan	....	prop maker
Dawson Nolley	....	research assistant
Michael Sabo	....	lead man
Brook Yeaton	....	property master

Sound Department
Rick Ash	....	sound re-recording mixer
David Ball	....	adr recordist
Vincent Cirilli	....	ProTools engineer
Sonya Henry	....	dialog & adr editor
James B. Howe	....	foley mixer
Adam Jenkins	....	sound re-recording mixer
Mark Kamps	....	sound editor
Bruce Litecky	....	production sound mixer
Bruce Litecky	....	sound
Lorenzo Millan	....	boom operator
Doug Mountain	....	supervising sound engineer (as Douglas Mountain)
Ryan Murphy	....	sound recordist
Joseph T. Sabella	....	foley artist
Richard Taylor	....	supervising sound editor
Karen Vassar	....	dialog editor

Special Effects by
Hank Atterbury	....	special effects coordinator
William Catania	....	special effects foreman
Dan Crawley	....	special effects technician
Thomas Turnbull	....	special effects foreman

Visual Effects by
Travis Baumann	....	Inferno artist: Digiscope
David C. Bryant	....	digital artist: Digiscope
Enid Dalkoff	....	digital artist
Amit Dhawal	....	roto artist
Christopher Dusendschon	....	digital imaging supervisor: iO FILM
Fortunato Frattasio	....	digital effects artist
Mitch Goldstrom	....	senior systems administrator
Ralph Maiers	....	digital compositor
Ron Simonson	....	visual effects supervisor
Christopher Stack	....	data manager: Digiscope
Brennan Prevatt	....	digital compositor (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Wayne Arnold	....	assistant camera
Ted Ayd	....	best boy
Kevin 'Vinnie' Campbell	....	electrician
Dean Citroni	....	best boy grip
John-Anthony Gargiulo	....	additional grip
Michael Gearhart	....	grip
Bob Greene	....	still photographer
John R. Hamilton	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
John Hamilton	....	second assistant camera
Chris Henry	....	rigging electric
David Insley	....	camera operator
Larry Kaster	....	gaffer
Philip Kathrens	....	electrician
Jerry Lane	....	Steadicam operator
Jerry Lane	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Thomas Loizeaux	....	camera operator
Charlie Newberry	....	camera loader
David Noble	....	key grip
Julian Sternthal	....	best boy rigging grip
Rick Strodel	....	dolly grip
Wade Tyree	....	lighting technician
Peter Albert	....	digital video assist operator: Los Angeles re-shoot (uncredited)

Casting Department
Brian Cooper	....	extras casting
Shamos Fisher	....	extras casting assistant
Jaime Renbo	....	casting assistant
John Strawbridge	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Kelly Chambers	....	assistant to costume designer
Dona Adrian Gibson	....	costumes
Mara Majorowicz	....	key costumer

Editorial Department
Adam Mesinger	....	post-production coordinator
Andrew Morgado	....	post-production runner
Kevin O'Connor	....	colorist

Music Department
Pete Anthony	....	orchestrator
Selena Arizanovic	....	music assistant
Bruce Babcock	....	conductor
Bruce Babcock	....	orchestrator
Wael Binali	....	scoring coordinator: Christopher Young
David Giuli	....	scoring coordinator
Evyen Klean	....	music supervisor
David Low	....	music contractor
William V. Malpede	....	scoring coordinator
Thomas Milano	....	supervising music editor
Jen Monnar	....	music editor
Flavio Motalla	....	score producer
Sujin Nam	....	score coordinator
Jonathan Price	....	score coordinator
Steven L. Smith	....	music preparation
Gernot Wolfgang	....	orchestrator: score
Jim Honeyman	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Philip Tallman	....	music editor: temp (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Charles E. Bauer	....	driver
Thomas F. Lombardi	....	picture car coordinator
Michael Luckeroth	....	driver
Gerald Titus	....	driver
Douglas A. Walk	....	transportation co-captain

Other crew
Kate Amer	....	production coordinator
Charley Armstrong	....	location manager
Patrick Burn	....	assistant location manager
Mark Colegrove	....	production assistant
Gabriel DellaVecchia	....	payroll accountant
Melissa Demino	....	additional staff
Jacques Derosena	....	stand-in
Scott Foster	....	additional production assistant
Ginny Galloway	....	assistant production coordinator
John Goodwill	....	production coordinator: additional photography, Los Angeles
Thomas C. Hessenauer	....	production assistant
Douglas M. Jones	....	set production assistant (as Douglas Jones)
Andrea Kalin	....	consultant
Cyndi Martin	....	production assistant
Chris Menke	....	production assistant
Karri O'Reilly	....	production coordinator: additional photographer, Los Angeles
Patrick Tendai Pfupajena	....	additional production assistant
Ryan Robertson	....	main title producer
Jill Rosenblatt	....	first assistant accountant
Daniel Ross	....	stand-in
Howard Samuelsohn	....	dialect coach
Nina Saxon	....	title designer
Matt Small	....	titles
Mary Sunshine	....	production accountant
Rebecca Thornell	....	clearance
Robert S. Wilhelm Jr.	....	key set production assistant
Dave Willis	....	production assistant
Kerry Yancheski	....	second assistant accountant
Rehya Young	....	assistant location manager
Mimi Zora	....	assistant: Mr. Cort
Rick Kain	....	stand-in: Bolton Marsh (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Home Box Office (HBO)
• Nina Saxon Film Design

Distributors

• Home Box Office (HBO) (2004) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Argentina Video Home (2005) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (2005) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2005) (Finland) (DVD)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2006) (Finland) (TV)

Special Effects

• Digiscope (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Acey/Dcey Equipment Company  grip and lighting equipment
• Atlantic Cine Equipment  technocrane
• BSX Records  score album released by (limited edition)
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera cranes
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  dollies
• Elizabeth Bardsley & Associates  script annotation
• GEP Deluxe Digital Media  post-production

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

Argentina:13 | UK:15 | Singapore:PG | Australia:M | Finland:K-3 | Germany:6 | Netherlands:12 | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Company:

Home Box Office (HBO)

Trivia:

Based in part on the magazine article "Like Something The Lord Made" by Katie McCabe. It was published in the Washingtonian and earned McCabe the 1990 National Magazine Feature Writing Award.

Goofs:

Factual errors: At 57 min, when Thomas shows Blalock how to do the anastomosis, we see Blalock suturing with an artery forceps or a kocher, not a needle holder. Artery forceps/kochers are used (amongst others) to grip tissue, not for suture. Also he is holding it with his thumb and index finger, a rookie mistake amongst surgeons, the proper way to hold it would be on the thumb and 4th finger.

Quotes:

Alfred Blalock: You can begin the incision.
Vivien Thomas: I'm not ready for that.
Alfred Blalock: If I say you're ready, you're ready.
[Long pause]
Alfred Blalock: I'll mark out the line. And you cut along it. Just like you did for your old Daddy.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 56th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy

So good that it leaves you wanting more

One of the earmarks of a great true story on film is that, when it's over, you find yourself wishing it had been longer and wanting to know more about the subject. This is definitely the case with "Something the Lord Made." I can't wait to do a little reading up on this very intriguing story! Alan Rickman as Alfred Blalock is excellent, as he always is, but the real pleasure is in watching Mos Def as Vivien Thomas. Through his lovely, subtly nuanced performance, we are able to truly appreciate this incredibly gifted and complex man. The writers did an excellent job of making the viewer aware of the racial climate in Viven Thomas' life; note the early scene in which Vivien and a friend are walking and talking, and each time some white people approach them on the sidewalk, they step aside and yield right of way without hesitation. And yet, there is no heavy-handedness or preachy air to these scenes. The racial injustices that Vivien Thomas endured are obvious, but the viewer is not clubbed over the head with them.