The Carey Treatment

Curiously mediocre, middle-of-the-road film from director Blake Edwards, adapted from Michael Crichton's novel "A Case of Need," has James Coburn (cocky as ever, and enjoyably so) playing the new pathologist at a Boston hospital, sorting out the mystery of a young murder victim. Light drama keeps tongue-in-cheek yet has aspirations to be a whodunit and doesn't quite make the grade. Coburn's general panache is effortless, but he's just coasting through, and the role doesn't challenge him (or us) in any way. Jennifer O'Neill is attractive but (once again) underused as a romantic interest. Screenwriter Harriet Frank used the pseudonym James P. Bonner for the credits--just as original writer Crichton did (as Jeffrey Hudson) for his book! **1/2 from ****

I read that after Blake Edwards (The Pink Panther movies) turned this movie in some suit completely recut it. I can believe it. Sometimes it seems that the action sequences or suspenseful sequences are cut so as to reduce the excitement or suspense, that the set has just enough color so as not to be monochromatic, but is not lit so that the colorfulness of the set in some scenes (and the lack of it in other scenes) does not reinforce any emotion or theme in the movie. James Coburn puts on his super-cool persona, and that's fun to watch, but a super-cool pathologist is as common as a super-cool law librarian. Jennifer O'Neill is gorgeous and eminently watchable, but the way her romance is written, she must be very easy; no way. Michael Crichton (The Andromeda Strain writer, Westworld director) wrote the book on which the movie is based, and hid his name somewhere in the process like Edwards did. Quality writers John D.F. Black (Shaft) and the writing team of Harriet Frank, Jr. and Irving Ravetch (Norma Rae) worked on this, then hid their names. Many hospital drama tropes that are old hat now were fresh then, and that's fun. Should not be your first choice,except maybe to gaze at Jennifer O'Neill- better choices: Blake Edwards- Pink Panther, James Coburn- Magnificent Seven, Michael Crichton medical- Andromeda Strain, nonmedical Westworld.

I remember seeing this movie when I was a kid and really liking it. At the time, a doctor-as-detective story was an original idea, and Coburn carries it off with typical aplomb. Blake Edwards has directed thrillers before ("Experiment in Terror") so it's not like he doesn't know what he's doing here. At the time abortion was a pretty hot topic, so a thriller on the subject was fairly touchy. It all may seem a little too "hip" now, but I'd give it at least 3 stars.

James Coburn plays a pathologist who is investigating the death of the fifteen-year-old daughter of the chief of medicine, who has died of a botched abortion that has been blamed on his colleague (James Hong), who is an illegal abortionist on the side. A lot of people today would be horrified of a movie where the hero is actually trying to help out an abortion doctor. But this was 1972 and people tend to forget that everything wasn't all bright and wonderful back when abortion was still illegal either (I don't personally take a side on the abortion debate, but I have a problem with people on either side who think the issue is in any way morally clear-cut and unambiguous--it's not now and never was). But before anyone goes bemoaning "liberal Hollywood", there's also a real "Dirty Harry" element to this movie, like a scene where Coburn essentially tortures information out of a drug-addicted suspect by denying her treatment. This particular scene should offend liberals everywhere (as well as anyone else who's ever heard of the Hyppocratic Oath).

But the fact that this movie might offend both conservatives AND liberals is exactly what I liked about it. The real world is morally messy and no one person is ever 100 percent morally righteous, and the many, many Hollywood movies that try to make things morally simplistic and their protagonists morally pure actually do a great disservice in many ways. Of course, the moral complications in this particular movie seem to be more the result of a confused production than anyone's clever intentions. Still I always find an interesting failure like this much more enjoyable than a boring success (like whatever old TV show they're making into a major motion picture this week). And in 1970's Hollywood there was a whole string of these kind of interesting failures, which is why I find that whole period so fascinating.

This movie definitely has some problems as other have said. Jennifer O'Neil is completely wasted, and the basic plot is riddled with holes (i.e. noboby but the protagonist notices that the botched operation was very obviously not the work of a trained doctor). Coburn isn't bad though, and this movie does kind of anticipate both "Coma" and the popular TV series "Quincy MD". Not good, but interesting, and certainly worth seeing.

Pathologist Peter Carey (James Coburn) moves to Boston for a job at a hospital there. He meets Dr. David Tao (James Hong) and they become friends. He also romances beautiful Georgia Hightower (Jennifer O'Neill). Also Tao does abortions on the side (they were illegal in 1972). Then a hospital administrators daughter dies of a botched abortion and Tao is arrested. He didn't do it and Carey sets out to find out who did.

OK thriller elevated by Coburn's great performance and beautiful Boston locations. The script has plot holes and moves kind of slowly but it's OK. O'Neill look incredible but is given nothing to do. Director Blake Edwards disowned this film in later years saying the studio interfered with it. It's not good but it's not that bad either.