Alfred Blalock (1899-1964), a cardiologist (therefore, self-confident to the point of arrogance), leaves Vanderbilt for Johns Hopkins taking with him his lab technician, Vivien Thomas (1910-1985). Thomas, an African-American without a college degree, is a gifted mechanic and tool-maker with hands splendidly adept at surgery. In 1941, Blalock and Thomas take on the challenge of blue babies and invent bypass surgery. After trials on dogs, their first patient is baby Eileen, sure to die without the surgery. In defiance of custom and Jim Crow, Blalock brings Thomas into the surgery to advise him, but when Life Magazine and kudos come, Thomas is excluded. Will he receive his due?

Starring:

Al Brown, Alan Gates, Alan Rickman, Alan Sader, Antonio D Charity, Brian Dragonuk, Carolyn Nelson, Charles S Dutton, Clayton LeBouef, Cliff McMullen, David Bailey, Don Whatley, Elisabeth Noone, Gabrielle Union, Irene Ziegler, James E Ash, James Lewis, John F Kennedy, Katherine Hoskins Mackey, Kerry Meushaw, Kirk Lambert, Kyra Sedgwick, LeRoy Taylor, Lin

Genre:

Drama, Biography