THE HOSPITAL: BROKEN SYSTEM

Long before there was a healthcare crisis that needed addressed by Obamacare there was…a health care crisis that was never fully addressed. Nearly 40 years before the government took action writer Paddy Chayefsky used it for a satirical film called THE HOSPITAL.

George C. Scott stars as Dr. Herbert Bock, a suicidal chief doctor at a busy hospital in New York City. His life a mess, his marriage on the rocks and his desire to tackle the problems of the hospital dwindling leave him a shattered man.

When the film opens he’s faced with one problem on top of another. The most pressing at the moment is the fact that an intern of the hospital has been found dead in an unoccupied bed in one of the rooms. Herein lies the issue with hospitals at the time, an inability to cope with the influx of patients and to keep up with paperwork.

The intern in question was having sex with another staff member in a bed vacated when the patient there passed away. Falling asleep in the bed the night staff had no idea the previous patient had left and gave the sleeping intern the IV that patient was supposed to get killing him. But this is not the only case where this happens. Later on another doctor is found dead in the ER unit, dead from being ignored once his medical issue was diagnosed and he was moved.

Bock rages against the way things are being done, both at nurses and at hospital higher ups. In addition to the deaths of two doctors and later a nurse, he must contend with a fellow surgeon whose botched efforts have caused him grief in the past. Dr. Welbeck (Richard Dysart) is more interested in how to make money off of his patients than he is in curing or taking care of them. That’s led to numerous screwed up surgeries that Bock and his team have had to cover for.

In the middle of all of this Bock meets the daughter of an ex-medical man in a coma in the hospital. Drummond (Barnard Hughes) left medicine behind and went off to study Native Americans in a small Mexican town. His daughter Barbara (Diana Rigg) followed, leaving behind her problematic past life. Now she wants to take him back to that small village rather than leave him there for testing.

As Barbara and Bock discuss the situation both open up to one another in his office. She tells him her life story and he in return discusses his lack of interest in what’s going on around him, his loss of faith in humanity that has left him battered and bruised emotionally. In the end they sleep together and talk of him running away with her comes up.

But there is something afoot in the hospital. In addition to the protests going on outside on the sidewalk as the hospital expands and evicts tenants from the properties they live in, the mix ups in the various departments, the inability to get answers to simple questions like do you have Blue Cross and more, it turns out the mysterious deaths of the staff are anything but natural. A serial killer has apparently found his/her way into the system. Is there any hope for this hospital?

While this may not sound like a comedy there are comedic moments in the film. Chayefsky was a master of dialogue and this film puts that front and center. It may not be his best example (for that see NETWORK) but it does show that in the right hands a screenwriter is just as important as the director in some cases. His work here makes the chaotic land of the modern big city hospital as a place of danger as well as of healing seem as real as it can be.

Director Arthur Hiller also shows a definite skill here. Known for movies like LOVE STORY, THE OUT OF TOWNERS, THE IN LAWS and SILVER STREAK, this film shows a more acid tongued approach to comedy than some of his other films. In most cases it works but when the film is over you’re left thinking that the chances of change are limited at best and unexpected at worst.

Scott is always a joy to watch in any film but I honestly felt he was not as keen here as in other films. His character seems to rage too often but when he’s reflecting on his life he provides a dynamite performance. Rigg here is underused and shows little of the talent she’s displayed in other films and on TV. Dysart is truly slimy here and does the job incredibly well. But it is Chayefsky who shines more than the rest with his writing.

Twilight Time is releasing this film on blu-ray and once more has done a great job with the presentation picture wise. Extras are limited to an isolated score and effects track and the original theatrical trailer. They are once more limiting this to just 3,000 copies so if interested make sure you get one right away.

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GIDGET: LIGHT TEEN TROUBLES

If you grew up in the sixties there is no doubt that you were exposed to the genre of film known as the beach movie. The most notable stars of the genre were Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello but there were others who dipped their toes in the salty waters of the Pacific as well. One of those was Sandra Dee in a little film called GIDGET.

The movie opens with the early teen Francie Lawrence (Dee) and her friends preparing for a trip to the beach. The other girls are just interested in meeting boys but Francie hasn’t quite been bitten by the bug for male companionship just yet. While the others display themselves a bit suggestively, Francine keeps more of herself covered.

Swimming in a mask and snorkel she gets caught in some kelp and one of the surfers on the beach named Moondoggie (James Darren) rescues her on his board. Having experienced riding the board now Francine wants to try as well. Told she needs a board of her own she negotiates with the guy on the beach making them.

The next day she arrives with her money but the guys joke about not wanting to teach her. The main beach bum, The Big Kahuna (Cliff Robertson), takes her under his wing and begins instructing her. She takes to it naturally and is soon a sort of mascot for the rest of the gang, given the nickname of Gidget. While they view her as their “kid sister” things begin to change for Francine.

She begins to notice Moondoggie more and falls for him. Her summer at the beach that began with no intention of looking for romance is slowly changing. The question that comes to mind though is does Moondoggie have the same thing in mind as well or does he still see her as the kid he saved from drowning?

Like most beach movies the film takes a simplistic look at the times and the people involved offering little depth to them. The lone exception is Robertson’s character, an older man who left the world behind to surf the waves of the world and who the rest, mainly Moondoggie, look up to as an example of what they want to become, free and easy without a care in the world. Except that not all is as it seems.

The movie also differs from most in the genre in that it doesn’t play things strictly for laughs like the Frankie and Annette films did. There are no broadly played characters here on display. These seem like real people, as real as a beach movie can get, with real issues they’re trying to resolve. At the same time it is a time capsule for the period, a time when mom and dad were an integral part of their children’s lives while at the same time not understanding them or being there 24/7. It’s that wholesome style of film that many deride as far too fake but that makes for an enjoyable movie none the less.

Dee is wonderful here as the innocent young girl who is growing up while we watch. She has a charm and an appeal about her without being thought of as sexy. She’s the girl next door who you liked that would eventually blossom into a young woman. Darren does a fine job as well, playing the well to do son of a businessman who wants move in his future. And Robertson as the beach bum with a past shows why he was such a good actor.

The film resulted two sequels, neither of which starred Dee but both having Darren return. It also spawned a TV series with a young Sally Field in the title role. Later there were TV movies made with the character as well.

Twilight Time is offering this in their usual high quality style with a great picture on display here. Again, extras are limited. They include an isolated music track and the original theatrical trailer. As always they are limiting this to just 3,000 copies so if you’re a fan of beach movies or of Gidget then make sure you pick one up today.

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THE 3 WORLDS OF GULLIVER: NOT UP TO PAR

Growing up in the sixties I was one of those early fans of Ray Harryhausen films. I remember the first one I saw was JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS followed by MYTERIOUS ISLAND. I found the special effects in both to be fascinating and read what I could on how they were done. They were movies that captured my imagination and spurred me on to learn about Jules Verne and Greek mythology. Somehow THE THREE WORLDS OF GULLIVER eluded me and I looked forward to finally getting the chance to watch it.

Based on the GULLIVER’S TRAVELS by Jonathan Swift, the film uses only a portion of the novel here, the visits to Lilliput and Brobdingnag. Those familiar with the book will know that it was a political satire of the time that has been watered down over the years via first a cartoon version and lastly by a terrible Jack Black film. I’m sad to say this film doesn’t do it much better.

Gulliver is a doctor who wants to marry his girlfriend Elizabeth. But he refuses to do so until he can financially support her. With this in mind he leaves England for the high seas. To his chagrin Elizabeth has snuck on board as well. During a storm Gulliver is washed overboard and comes to on the shores of a country called Lilliput.

This may not seem odd except that the people of Lilliput stand about 6 inches tall compared to Gulliver. Mistaking him for an enemy they tie him down to the beach. He soon wins their favor and in return for help building a boat aids them when he can. But problems arise when they want him to defeat their enemies, the inhabitants of Blefuscu. It seems the two islands are at war over which end of an egg should be broken before it is eaten, the small or large end. Gulliver tows away the navy of Blefuscu thinking that will end things but the Lilliputian king wants them destroyed. Before leaving Gulliver must find a way to bring peace to the two countries.

He does eventually leave and ends up washed ashore once again, this time on the island of Brobdingnag. This time the reverse is true, Gulliver is now 6 inches tall compared to the inhabitants here. Fortunately Elizabeth was stranded here and the pair are reunited. But an envious court alchemist warns the king that Gulliver must be a witch. Gulliver is pitted in battle against a crocodile that seems giant to him. Their idyllic life threatened Gulliver and Elizabeth must find a way off the island before they are tossed aside or killed for witchcraft.

In watching the film the story of Gulliver as told in the novel is obviously too intricate to bring forth from the written word to the screen. The subtle nuance of the story is lost in the over the top production values given the costuming and acting among the characters of both islands. It just doesn’t work. Kerwin Matthews who had appeared in the earlier Harryhausen film THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINBAD seems more bored than anything here.

But the most disappointing thing is the special effects used here. I realize that CGI was far in the future when this film was made but the matting process used makes one image seem slightly soft and out of focus while the other is clear. And the most loved thing that Harryhausen did, the stop motion animation of his films, is used sparingly here with just a short sequence of a squirrel that wanders off with Gulliver and the aforementioned crocodile.

In reading the background on the film in the enclosed booklet the reason for these problems is apparent. Columbia had been working on the film prior to Harryhausen and his team being brought in rather than this being a project he worked on start to finish. It may not have been a case of his heart not being completely in it but the difference between this film and those classics he left behind is obvious.

The best part of this package from Twilight Time is the extras, something they don’t normally include much of. This time around we get an isolated score and effects track, an audio commentary track featuring film historians Randall Cook, C. Courtney Joyner and Steven C. Smith, THE MAKING OF THE 3 WORLDS OF GULLIVER short, THE HARRYHAUSEN CHRONICLES a short documentary on Harryhausen, THIS IS DYNAMATION! a short describing the process of stop motion animation Harryhausen used and the original theatrical trailer. The quality of the picture here is the usual top notch for any and all Twilight Time releases and once again is limited to just 3,000 copies. If you must have every Harryhausen film in your collection then you should make sure one of those copies is yours.

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