Driftwood

Driftwood

Year: 1947

Runtime: 88 mins

Language: English

Director: Allan Dwan

FamilyDrama

Heart-Warming! An orphan helps a doctor fight an epidemic in a small western town, in one of Allan Dwan’s closely observed studies in Americana.

Warning: spoilers below!

Haven’t seen Driftwood yet? This summary contains major spoilers. Bookmark the page, watch the movie, and come back for the full breakdown. If you're ready, scroll on and relive the story!

Timeline & Setting – Driftwood (1947)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Driftwood (1947). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

1940s

The story unfolds in a rural American town during the early 1940s, a period when frontier towns faced modern medical challenges with limited infrastructure. Public health concerns, vaccine campaigns, and emerging medical science intersect with small-town politics and everyday life. Travel is slow, communications are episodic, and a distant urban center (San Francisco) offers possibilities for grants and research. The era’s sensibilities shape characters’ choices, from faith-driven hope to reliance on scientific intervention.

Location

Driftwood, Colorado

Driftwood sits at the edge of a dry, sun-scorched landscape in the Rocky Mountain region, a tight-knit Western town with a single church, a pharmacy, and a few crossroads. The town suffers from limited medical facilities, with the nearest hospital fifty miles away and vaccine stock a precious resource. The community is shaped by local politics, old-fashioned values, and a subtle fear of disease that binds residents together and clashes with progress. The discovery of a public health crisis drives the town’s actions and the drama is anchored here.

🏜️ Desert town 🏥 Isolated community 📚 Small-town history

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 19:42

Main Characters – Driftwood (1947)

Meet the key characters of Driftwood (1947), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Dr. Steve Webster

A principled, hopeful physician with big dreams of advancing medical science in a small town. He treats Jenny with compassion, wrestles with the town’s vaccine resistance, and balances scientific ambition with patient care. His dedication drives him to push for public health improvements despite local opposition.

🧭 Idealistic 🧪 Scientist 🧑‍⚕️ Doctor 💬 Charismatic

Jenny Hollingsworth

A bright, literal-minded girl who has grown up with her great-grandfather in isolation. Her honesty sometimes lands her in trouble, yet her courage and desire to tell the truth spark the town’s dramatic turning points. Jenny’s resilience makes her a catalyst for healing.

👧 Curious 🗣️ Honest 🐶 Loyal 🎖️ Brave

Murph

The town’s pharmacist, a practical thinker with folksy wisdom. He becomes a key ally to Steve, helps organize vaccine distribution, and improvises solutions in a resource-strapped community. Murph embodies steady, good-humored resilience.

💊 Pharmacist 🛠️ Handy 🗣️ Wise 🧡 Loyal

Dr. Nicholas Adams

A prominent researcher who helps diagnose and treat Jenny’s disease from afar. He grants Steve a significant research stipend and becomes the external link to a larger medical community. Adams represents institutional science stepping in to save a rural patient.

🧭 Mentor 🧬 Scientist 🧑‍⚕️ Doctor 🌐 Connected

Susan Moore

A local resident living with Mathilda, Susan embodies patient endurance and hope for a partnership with Steve. She represents the personal stakes of medical progress and the human cost of waiting for scientific breakthroughs.

❤️ Hopeful 👩‍⚕️ Supportive 🗣️ Compassionate 🛡️ Loyal

Mathilda

A pragmatic, outspoken town resident who challenges Steve’s ambitions and questions the feasibility of his plans. She’s wary of false hopes but ultimately aids in the community’s vaccination effort. Mathilda embodies the skepticism that confronts scientific progress.

🗣️ Assertive 🧭 Realistic 🧡 Protective 🤝 Practical

Mayor Snyder

A political leader who prioritizes public works, such as a new park, over essential healthcare infrastructure. His actions trigger tension and conflict when disease reaches the town. He embodies the town’s flawed priorities and the consequences of political choices.

🏛️ Political 🗡️ Ambitious 🗳️ Influential 🧠 Cunning

Rev. J. Hollingsworth

A respected local clergyman who anchors the community’s moral compass and compassionate response to illness. He, too, shares in the fear and hope that define the town’s struggle. His relationship with Jenny adds emotional depth to the crisis.

🙏 Faith Leader 🕊️ Compassionate 🗣️ Charismatic 🧭 Grounded

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 19:42

Major Themes – Driftwood (1947)

Explore the central themes of Driftwood (1947), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

💉 Public Health

Rocky Mountain spotted fever becomes the central crisis, catalyzing a town-wide response to illness. The plot follows vaccine stock, a makeshift clinic at Murph’s pharmacy, and Steve Webster’s attempt to bring scientific solutions to a community that distrusts medicine. The lure of a serum derived from the plane crash dog shows how public health can hinge on resources, timing, and expertise. The film uses this crisis to examine responsibility, urgency, and the limits of medical knowledge in a small town.

🤝 Community, Leadership

Town leaders’ priorities—like funding a new park over a hospital—reveal how politics and ambition shape public welfare. Jenny’s vulnerability exposes the consequences of civic decisions and prejudice, while citizens gradually rally around vaccination. The courtroom-like dog trial becomes a microcosm of community judgment, where law, fear, and mercy collide. Ultimately, collective action and altruism prove essential to survival.

🙏 Faith, Hope

Faith and prayer become a complementary force to science, offering comfort when medicine seems insufficient. Jenny’s simple, literal honesty and the town’s prayers echo the era’s balance between belief and evidence. Even in the face of tragedy, residents cling to hope that a cure will arrive and lives can be saved. The film suggests that hope—whether through prayer or medical breakthroughs—drives resilience.

🔬 Science, Sacrifice

The serum’s creation depends on a dog’s blood antibodies, illustrating the costs and moral questions of biomedical research. Steve and Murph navigate logistical and ethical hurdles to obtain a life-saving remedy for Jenny. Dr. Adams’s grant and scientific cooperation with local doctors validate the role of research in rural health crises. The story frames science as a hopeful instrument that must be tempered with compassion.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 19:42

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Driftwood Summary

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Driftwood Summary

Driftwood Timeline

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Driftwood Timeline

More About Driftwood

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