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The Reward of Courage [Silent] (American Society for the Control of Cancer, 1921)

2,834 views · Published 20 June 2013 · 30:09 · Indexed 6 October 2026

Channel: National Library of Medicine · 2013 · Education

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A Rediscovered Cancer Film of the Silent Era 

In 1921 the American Society for the Control of Cancer released The Reward of Courage. The film, a silent melodrama, was designed to persuade viewers to visit a physician for regular checkups and at the first sign of the disease. Its early-detection-and-treatment message was embedded in a story that featured a nefarious "quack," a credulous and vulnerable woman, a young couple thwarted in love, and a hard-headed businessman who comes to believe that clinics in the factory could improve workers' health and productivity, reduce company costs, and detect cancers. The first of many cancer education films, until recently The Reward of Courage was considered lost.

Prepared by the American Society for the Control of Cancer
Produced by the Eastern Film Corporation

Learn more about this film and search its transcript at NLM Digital Collections: http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101570969

See it featured also at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/collections/films/medicalmoviesontheweb/therewardofcourage.html

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