The House of God (1984)

Follow a group of interns in a large teaching hospital. When Jo, Chief Resident, has a breakdown the interns are reluctantly placed under the tutelage of the senior resident known as The ... See full summary »

Director:

Donald Wrye

Writers:

Samuel Shem (based on the novel by) (as Samuel Shem M.D.), Donald Wrye (screenplay)

Stars:

Tim Matheson, Charles Haid, Michael Sacks

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tim Matheson	...	Roy Basch
Charles Haid	...	Fats (The Fatman)
Michael Sacks	...	Wayne Potts
Lisa Pelikan	...	Jo Miller
Bess Armstrong	...	Cissy Anderson
George Coe	...	Dr. Leggo
James Cromwell	...	Officer Quick
Ossie Davis	...	Dr. Sanders
Richard Brestoff	...	Howie Greenspoon
Leo Burmester	...	Dr. Gath
Kathryn Dowling	...	Molly
Charles Fleischer	...	Hyper Hooper
Malachy McCourt	...	Officer Gillheeny
Joe Piscopo	...	Dr. Fishberg
Michael Richards	...	Dr. Pinkus

Storyline

Follow a group of interns in a large teaching hospital. When Jo, Chief Resident, has a breakdown the interns are reluctantly placed under the tutelage of the senior resident known as The Fatman. Like "M*A*S*H," "The Hospital" and "St. Elsewhere" (which is drawn from this story) this film is closer to the truth than the public wants to know.

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Plot Keywords:

intern | teaching hospital | nudity | bare breasts | erotica | 

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Taglines:

Every year in July, 6,000 young Men and Women leave the comfort and safety of medical school confident in the knowledge that they will become interns in the greatest system of medical care in the History of the universe. Some actually survive.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 March 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Isten háza

Filming Locations:

Boston Massachusetts, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

United Artists

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

Never released theatrically; it debuted on cable TV.

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Goofs

The Fat Man refers to a bed position where the head of the bed is lower than the foot as "the Hindenburg." The proper term for this bed position is "Trendelenburg."

User Reviews

A Terrific Movie

My cousin is a neurologist, and I roomed with him and one of his friends when I first heard of the book House of God. I also heard that it had been made into a movie which had never been released. Apparently it was run on cable television a couple of times, and copies circulated among doctors, nurses and interns. I met more doctors as a result of them coming over to our apartment to see this movie.

I haven't seen it in years, but I remember that I was very impressed with the adaptation. It is an 'inside' movie, in that those who are not doctors will not get as much out of it as those who are part of the profession, one reason perhaps why the film was not released. It was also pretty loose as far as plot and story, but so was the book. Lord knows there are a lot of movies that are far worse that did make it to theaters. The collapse of UA at the time was icing on the cake.

I distinctly remember my cousin telling me that the scenes in the ER were the most realistic he'd seen. Of course thanks to TV such scenes in the ER are a lot more plentiful.

Certainly worth seeing, and worth releasing on DVD.