The Young Doctors (1961)

The story represents an idealistic clash between two pathologists, one (Fredric March) the veteran department head whose ideals and perspective have been mellowed and blunted somewhat by ... See full summary »

Director:

Phil Karlson

Writers:

Arthur Hailey (novel), Joseph Hayes

Stars:

Fredric March, Ben Gazzara, Dick Clark

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Fredric March	...	Dr. Joseph Pearson
Ben Gazzara	...	Dr. David Coleman
Dick Clark	...	Dr. Alexander
Ina Balin	...	Cathy Hunt
Eddie Albert	...	Dr, Charles Dornberger
Phyllis Love	...	Mrs. Elizabeth Alexander
Edward Andrews	...	Jim Bannister
Aline MacMahon	...	Dr. Lucy Grainger
Arthur Hill	...	Tomaselli
Rosemary Murphy	...	Miss Graves
Barnard Hughes	...	Dr. Kent O'Donnell
Joseph Bova	...	Dr. Shawcross
George Segal	...	Dr. Howard
Matt Crowley	...	Dr. Rufus
Dick Button	...	Operating Intern

Storyline

The story represents an idealistic clash between two pathologists, one (Fredric March) the veteran department head whose ideals and perspective have been mellowed and blunted somewhat by years of red tape and day-to-day frustration, the other (Ben Gazzara), his new assistant, young, aggressive, up-to-date and meticulous in his approach to the job. The conflict is dramatically illustrated via two critical cases in which both are pretty intimately involved.

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Plot Keywords:

based on novel | independent film

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Taglines:

What these men know about life... what their women discover about love... sets them apart from all others!

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 December 1961 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Chefarzt Dr. Pearson

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Millar/Turman Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

The taxi first shown hurrying Dick Clark and his pregnant wife to the hospital is a 1959 model Ford. The taxi they arrive in a 1960 Ford, a distinctly different looking model.

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Connections

Referenced in Hilde (2009)

User Reviews

Poignant moments that still resonate.

Watching The Young Doctors again after many years, I was struck by the film's no nonsense approach to the vagaries of medicine. While circumstances-and science have changed in the intervening 47 years since the movies' initial release, the drama of life and death in a hospital, as trite as that sounds, plays out with earnestness and poignancy. Ben Gazarra plays pathologist David Coleman, assigned to a lab headed by the incumbent Doctor Pearson.(Fredric March.) Pearson, (played to perfection by March), resents the younger man's attempts to modernize the antiquated path lab. The push-pull dynamic between the two men is believable,even if it does, at times, creep toward cheesiness. Coleman's budding relationship with nurse Cathy Hunt (Ina Balin), has to hit the right note, as their interaction figures prominently in the climax of the story. Both actors are up to the task, especially Gazarra, who makes his character live and breathe-and be real. The poignant scene of an exhausted Eddie Albert as a doctor trying to give a dying infant a chance at life resonates-even today. I found the film compelling and genuinely moving, just as I did when I saw it for the first time.