The Carey Treatment (1972)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Blake Edwards

Writers:

Michael Crichton (novel)
Harriet Frank Jr. (writer)

Release Date:

17 November 1972 (Denmark)

Genre:

Mystery

Tagline:

Peter Carey M.D.: arrives from the coast - finds hypocrisy in a big Boston hospital - and a brilliant surgeon accused of abortion that turns to murder.

Plot:

Dr. Peter Carey is a pathologist at a Boston hospital. The daughter of the hospital's Chief of Staff dies after an illegal abortion goes wrong...

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman | Doctor | Based On Novel | Character Name In Title

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

James Coburn	...	Dr. Peter Carey
Jennifer O'Neill	...	Georgia Hightower
Pat Hingle	...	Capt. Pearson
Skye Aubrey	...	Nurse Angela Holder
Elizabeth Allen	...	Evelyn Randall
John Fink	...	Chief Surgeon Andrew Murphy
Dan O'Herlihy	...	J.D. Randall
James Hong	...	David Tao
Alex Dreier	...	Dr. Joshua Randall
Michael Blodgett	...	Roger Hudson
Regis Toomey	...	Sanderson the Pathologist
Steve Carlson	...	Walding
Rosemary Edelman	...	Janet Tao
Jennifer Edwards	...	Lydia Barrett
John Hillerman	...	Jenkins

Also Known As:

A Case of Murder (Australia)
Emergency Ward

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | UK:X (original rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Geoffrey Productions

Trivia:

Working title: "A Case of Need".

Goofs:

Continuity: When Dr. Carey drives erratically to intimidate his passenger into telling him what she knows about the murder, her passenger side window alternates between completely open and completely closed.

Quotes:

Dr. Peter Carey: Will you keep your eyes on my goods?

Vehicle for a Rising Star

Coburn proves here he can do casual self-assurance as well as anyone. His Dr. Carey, however, goes beyond that breezy stage to an egotism that ends in one of Hollywood's dreariest clichés— the hero as infallible master of every situation. However, the effortless mastery does get tiresome. Still and all, it's not required of a good movie that the central character be likable. A film may rise or fall on merits other than personality. The trouble is this movie has few redeeming merits. The biggest problem, as others point out, is a ragged script with more holes than a kitchen sieve. Had the screenplay played up the mystery, closed some of the holes (why did Karen falsely implicate Dr. Tao, an event that triggers the entire storyline?), and tightened up the suspense, we would have had a more memorable result. Instead, there's the ridiculous wild car ride, the pointless banter with O'Neill, and several flabby scenes (the autopsy, for one). Whatever director Edwards' proved skills with comedy (The Pink Panther, et al.), that same skill is not in evidence with a thriller like this one. My guess is that compromises were made to turn the movie into a vehicle for Coburn. But whatever the reason, the result is disappointing.