When kindly old Dr. Cook (Bing Crosby) is ailing, Dora contacts Dr. Tennyson (Frank Converse). After all, he is a young doctor who grew up in the same town and she is worried about Dr. Cook's heart. Naturally, Tennyson comes and offers to help out...but Cook assures him everything is fine. However, when he is home visiting, Tennyson notices something very odd...quite a few folks in the town have died from coronaries in recent years and none of them had cardiac histories. What's more telling...all the dead folks were jerks! Someone might be thinning the garden, so to speak...as the jerks do seem to have very short life expectancies! And, if this IS the case, kindly Dr. Cook is the likely culprit. This makes it tough...as Tennyson adores the man and owes him so much.
This film is worth seeing just because it's Crosby's last film--and he was an amazingly underrated actor. It also worth seeing because it is a very compelling film--much like the classic Warner Brothers film, "Kings Row". However, with "Dr. Cook's Garden", you have a nice, well-meaning killer doctor instead of the angry, vengeful doc in "Kings Row". He kills because the folks he bumps off are vicious, vile people who he simply deems unworthy to live!! However, once discovered, he's apparently willing to keep killing just to keep his secret...which doesn't exactly make him like Mother Theresa! I was impressed that Crosby would choose such a difficult role instead of playing something nice or safe.
Overall, this is a terrific installment of "The ABC Movie of the Week". A great story and filled with unusual twists! And, with a really cool ending!
This film is worth seeing just because it's Crosby's last film--and he was an amazingly underrated actor. It also worth seeing because it is a very compelling film--much like the classic Warner Brothers film, "Kings Row". However, with "Dr. Cook's Garden", you have a nice, well-meaning killer doctor instead of the angry, vengeful doc in "Kings Row". He kills because the folks he bumps off are vicious, vile people who he simply deems unworthy to live!! However, once discovered, he's apparently willing to keep killing just to keep his secret...which doesn't exactly make him like Mother Theresa! I was impressed that Crosby would choose such a difficult role instead of playing something nice or safe.
Overall, this is a terrific installment of "The ABC Movie of the Week". A great story and filled with unusual twists! And, with a really cool ending!