Dentists on screen

A truly happy person can be called someone who has never suffered from a toothache and has not sat in a dentist's chair. And although we are terribly afraid of “dental masters”, hardly anyone will dispute the fact that a dentist is a very useful profession for society.

Well, today, March 6, the world celebrates the International Day of the Dentist. And in order not to spoil your mood with the topic of malocclusion, pulpitis and caries, we decided to dedicate this issue to “on-screen” dentists. True, it is better not to sit in a chair with some of them ...

(Total 12 photos)

1. Marathon Runner (directed by John Schlesinger, 1976)

The most famous - and scary - dentist of all. Laurence Olivier played the fascist criminal Christian Zell with rather dark tendencies. And here is the very scene from this exciting thriller by John Schlesinger, after which the phrase "Doesn't it hurt?" came into use. (Rex Features)

2. Little Shop of Horrors (directed by Frank Oz, 1986).

Steve Martin made a splash (and he knew how) in this film adaptation of the popular "black" musical with a sparkling performance as the evil dentist Orin Scrivello. (Rex Features)

3. City of Ghosts (Director - David Koepp, 2008).

In his first major role, British comedian Rick Gervais managed to practice "villainous laughter." He played Bertram Pincus, a dentist in this film, who has one specialty: he is the only person in New York who can see ghosts. It's a funny but sentimental tale of redemption and change, somewhat similar to Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol and Harold Ramis' Groundhog Day. (Sarah Shatz)

4. Finding Nemo (Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich, 2003).

The dentist office in this hilarious Pixar cartoon is a real golden cage for Nemo, who needs to escape. The most interesting thing is when the fish in the aquarium begin to discuss the work of a dentist.

- Works according to the Schilder method.

- Hedstrom's Bullet Extractor.

- Not Hedstrom at all, but K-Flex.

— Composite section. Obviously Hedstrom.

(Buena Vista)

5. Bad Habit (Director - Mike Mills, 2005).

Keanu Reeves as a dentist? An unexpected choice of actors, but in the end, Keanu in this small role fit perfectly into the overall narrative. (Rex Features)

6. Dazzling smile of New Jersey (Carlos Sorin, 1989).

Daniel Day-Lewis learned a valuable lesson from this British-Argentine comedy-drama: choose your roles even more carefully. He plays Fergus O'Connell, an itinerant American dentist who offers his services to Argentine villagers for free. (Rex Features)

7. Nine Yards (Jonathan Lynn, 2000)

There's clearly no shortage of laughing gas in this black comedy by Jonathan Lynn. Matthew Perry (yes, the same Chandler from Friends) starred in the film. And he played the debt-ridden dentist "Oz" Ozeransky, who found out that his new neighbor (Bruce Willis) is a criminal on the run from the mafia who can help him get out of debt. (Rex Features)

8. Novocain (director - David Atkins, 2002).

Steve Martin played a dentist for the second time (the first time in Little Shop of Horrors) in David Atkins' thriller. He played Frank Sangster - a man whose cloudless existence comes to an end after the appearance in his life of a fatal beauty (played by Helena Bonham Carter). The film has some exciting moments, but it's not particularly unexpected. (Rex Features)

9. The Secret Life of Dentists (Director Alan Rudolph, 2002)

Campbell Scott and Hope Davis played the Hursts, married dentists with three daughters. Their quiet life is cut short when the husband finds out that his wife is having an affair. The result is a captivating family drama beautifully adapted by Craig Lucas to a script.

10. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Tim Burton, 2005)

It turns out that the father of Willy Wonka, the owner of a fabulous chocolate factory, was a dentist. It was not easy for him, probably, with such a sweet-lover son. (Tartan Films)

11. Dentist (directed by Leslie Pierce, 1932)

In this 1932 short, comedian W.K. Fields played an incompetent dentist who treats patients without any painkillers. Between the hero of Fields and Miss Mason, played by Eliza Cavannah, a frank fight is tied up when he tries to pull out a bad tooth. (Rex Features)

12. The Man Who Knew Too Much (directed by Alfred Hitchcock, 1934)

An interesting fact about this Leslie Banks-starring Hitchcock thriller: that very scene with the dentist was originally intended to be a barbershop scene. It was only after Hitchcock saw the movie I Am an Escaped Convict, which featured a barbershop scene, that he decided to change the barber's chair to a dental one. In 1956, Hitchcock re-shot The Man Who Knew Too Much, starring James Stewart and Doris Day. (Rex Features)