Captain Newman, M.D. (1963)

In 1944, Capt. Josiah J. Newman is the doctor in charge of Ward 7, the neuropsychiatric ward, at an Army Air Corps hospital in Arizona. The hospital is under-resourced and Newman scrounges ... See full summary »

Director:

David Miller

Writers:

Richard L. Breen (screenplay), Phoebe Ephron (screenplay),

Stars:

Gregory Peck, Tony Curtis, Angie Dickinson

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gregory Peck	...	Capt. Josiah J. Newman, MD
Tony Curtis	...	Cpl. Jackson 'Jake' Leibowitz
Angie Dickinson	...	Lt. Francie Corum
Eddie Albert	...	Col. Norval Algate Bliss
James Gregory	...	Col. Edgar Pyser
Bethel Leslie	...	Mrs. Helene Winston
Robert Duvall	...	Capt. Paul Cabot Winston
Jane Withers	...	Lt. Grace Blodgett
Dick Sargent	...	Lt. Belden 'Barney' Alderson
Larry Storch	...	Cpl. Gavoni
Robert F. Simon	...	Lt. Col. M.B. Larrabee
Syl Lamont	...	Sgt. Kopp
Paul Carr	...	Arthur Werbel
Vito Scotti	...	Maj. Alfredo Fortuno
Crahan Denton	...	Maj. Gen. Snowden

Storyline

In 1944, Capt. Josiah J. Newman is the doctor in charge of Ward 7, the neuropsychiatric ward, at an Army Air Corps hospital in Arizona. The hospital is under-resourced and Newman scrounges what he needs with the help of his inventive staff, especially Cpl. Jake Leibowitz. The military in general is only just coming to accept psychiatric disorders as legitimate and Newman generally has 6 weeks to cure them or send them on to another facility. There are many patients in the ward and his latest include Colonel Norville Bliss who has dissociated from his past; Capt. Paul Winston who is nearly catatonic after spending 13 months hiding in a cellar behind enemy lines; and 20 year-old Cpl. Jim Tompkins who is severely traumatized after his aircraft was shot down. Others come and go, including Italian prisoners of war, but Newman and team all realize that their success means the men will return to their units and combat.

---

Plot Keywords:

colonel | captain | nurse | orderly | lieutenant | 

---

Taglines:

It speaks to you in the language of love, laughter and tears !...

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | War

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

25 December 1963 (USA)

Also Known As:

Captain Newman

Filming Locations:

Fort Huachuca, Arizona, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brentwood Productions, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Captain Newman states that in the psychiatric ward, no knives are permitted. Yet Corporals Leibowitz and Gavoni, both orderlies in the ward, had quite a large knife amongst the patients to cut up the salami.

---

Quotes

Capt. Josiah J. Newman, MD: You mustn't confuse sadness with depression, "professor."
Cpl. Jackson 'Jake' Leibowitz: Is there any difference? Can a man look sad and still be happy?
Capt. Josiah J. Newman, MD: Yes.
Cpl. Jackson 'Jake' Leibowitz: Example?
Capt. Josiah J. Newman, MD: You.

---

Connections

Version of Captain Newman, M.D. (1972)

---

Soundtracks

"Hava Naguilla"
Composed by A. Z. Idelsohn
Performed by the Italians POW

User Reviews

The Army Air Corp's Own Snake Pit

For reasons I don't understand Captain Newman MD has always been singled out for criticism, most particularly directed at Gregory Peck saying he's too stiff for comedy. I don't agree on a number of levels and this is one of my favorite films with him.

First and foremost Peck's role is not one of comedy. What he does in the film is serve as Tony Curtis's straight man. Now his role is a comic one and very funny indeed.

Peck runs the psychiatric ward in an Army Air Corps Hospital out in the Arizona desert during World War II. There's no way a man like Peck would be in the command of George S. Patton who just didn't believe in Peck's whole profession. And in Patton like fashion if someone isn't shipped back to command in twelve weeks, Peck hears about it.

Captain Newman, MD is a serious film about such people and they are at the heart of the story with Peck trying his best to fix the broken minds and psyches in our Armed Forces. Three of his cases are the drunken, guitar playing corporal Bobby Darin, the catatonic flier Robert Duvall, and Eddie Albert the colonel who has gone psychotic. Peck has a mixed record of success with these three and with others in his ward.

Bobby Darin got an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, it's a fine performance but he lost that year to Melvyn Douglas for Hud. But personally I feel that Eddie Albert stole Captain Newman, MD from the rest of the cast. It's a tossup between this role and Attack for the best performances of Albert's carer.

Robert Duvall always credited Peck with giving him a good start to his long career with key roles in To Kill A Mockingbird and Captain Newman, MD. Funny thing is that Duvall has little dialog here and none in To Kill A Mockingbird. Far from the well spoken attorney who was consigliere to The Godfather. He's matched in his performance by his wife played by Bethel Leslie who is apparently much influenced by Grace Kelly in her performance. She's his prim and proper wife who tries to stir his interest in an attempt at an unusual kind of shock therapy.

Aiding Peck in his treatment of his patients are nurses Angie Dickinson and Jane Withers and orderlies Tony Curtis and Larry Storch. In his memoirs Tony Curtis says that he got along very well with Gregory Peck who he says was one of the best class acts in Hollywood. He didn't get along all that well with director David Miller who wanted Curtis to be more ethnic in his interpretation of Corporal Jackson Leibowitz. Curtis won out and I think he was right in this case. A friend of Tony Curtis's since childhood is Larry Storch and because of that Storch appears in a few films with Curtis. As Peck was Tony's straight man, Storch becomes his comic foil in a couple of scenes and they work well together.

Captain Newman, MD is a classic film, both entertaining and thought provoking, about the treatment of mental breakdowns among our military. As we certainly now are a country at war, Captain Newman, MD has a relevancy today that is timely. Absolutely do not miss it when it is broadcast.