User Reviews

Gregory Peck can handle a good comedy, even one without covert dramatic intentions. He was fine in the frothy "Roman Holiday." And he was almost as good in "Designing Woman". This comedy in larded with serious incidents and ought to be well within his range. It is, but he and the rest of the cast are undone by a cornball script involving a paternalistic Peck as Captain Newman, in charge of an Air Force psychiatric ward in 1944, and Tony Curtis as the same kind of Jewish scrounger and manipulator that he'd been in "Operation Petticoat."

The film begins with a naive conception of a military psychiatric ward. The patients are out of a comic book. The first one we meet is a jokester who plays around until somebody touches the sailor hat he insists on wearing. At that point, the patient snatches the hat away and shrieks that he shouldn't be in the Air Force; he should be in the Navy, protecting his brother. He breaks down and sobs. It's supposed to be a shocking scene. Zzzzz.

Too many of the supposedly funny scenes are so corny they could have been dreamed up by a high school wit in some tiny rural town, the kind of kid whose Yearbook caption reads, "Yazoo City's Answer to Bob Hope". Curtis stands on a chair and gets the patients to sing "Old MacDonald". (Funny.) He steals a salami for them. He gives himself a surgical scrub before refilling a tubular container of little plastic cups. He steals part of the general's Christmas tree. I busted a gut laughing. Each of these scenes is treated by the director as if it's hilarious. Curtis is a fine comic actor, among the best in the business, but who could grapple with writing like this and come away the winner?

There is one dramatic scene that clicks. It's less because of the way it's written than the juice Bobby Darin injects into it. I won't describe it, but I saw this film in New York when it was released and it's the only resonant scene that has stuck with me, partly because of all the energy. I won't describe it. I clearly remember only one other scene, in which Eddy Albert, as a mad and tormented Army colonel, refers to himself in the third person as "Mister Future" and, in a rare moment of lucidity, asks Peck, with a sideways stare, "Is he -- incurable?" The movie's overall level of sophistication is such that the question actually has meaning within its narrative frame. As if you were "sick" until you were "cured."

Robert Duvall, another skilled actor, has a lesser role and gives a credible performance as a schizophrenic. In a catatonic state, a patient may sit for hours without moving. If the patient is moved into another position, he'll hold that one too, even if it's unusual. It's called waxy flexibility, cerea flexibilitas in the text books, and I assume that's what was being shown in the shot in which Nurse Angie Dickonson unfolds Duvall's fingers and places them in a more relaxed position.

It just occurred to me that Peck and Duvall worked together in "To Kill a Mockingbird", and that Peck and Eddie Albert were pals in "Roman Holiday." Just had to throw that in. Well, while I'm dealing out trivia, more than one of the officers shown in the film are wearing the UN Korea campaign ribbon, not issued until 1950. Here's another glitch. (These non sequiturs are as easy to pitch as bocce balls.) Peck gets fourteen wounded Italian POWs and when he objects the general shouts that "we happen to be at war with Italy!" Of course, we weren't. Italy had overthrown Mussolini and dropped out of the war in 1943.

But who cares about facts when you're desperate for comic situations? One of the comic situations has Curtis teaching the Italians an "ancient Indian song" to sing at the Christmas party -- "Hava Naghila." The movie has too many clichés to count and it's pitched at a low level, but it's not insulting to the viewer and it may be worth a watch.

Gregory Peck plays an Army doctor (the title character) that heads up Ward 7, the psychiatric unit, at a U. S. Military base in Arizona in 1944. Not unlike Operation Petticoat (1959) before it, nor MASH (1970) after, this story uses war as a backdrop for a comedy with dramatic elements. Though this one is set far from enemy lines, it incorporates many of the same elements and themes by telling the stories of the patients, combat weary soldiers, and those that treat them in order that they might fight again one day.

Tony Curtis plays an orderly working for Peck, and provides most of the comic relief, even borrowing on the "person who can obtain anything surreptitiously" character he played in Operation Petticoat (1959). Another thing that holds one's attention while watching this particular film is the plethora of recognizable actors (particularly from television) who appear in many of the scenes.

James Gregory (from TV's Barney Miller) plays Colonel Pyser, the officer that runs the hospital, who's skeptical about the work Peck et al do, even suspecting that he may be conspiring to help the patients avoid returning to active duty. In fact, Dick Sargent (from TV's Bewitched) has arrived to investigate the alarming increase in the number of soldiers receiving psychiatric treatment. However, after following the doctor (Peck) on his rounds, Sargent's character becomes a believer. He witnesses Newman administer both "kids gloves" and "tough love", whichever is required, to the patients which include Ted Bessell (from TV's That Girl), uncredited. Larry Storch (from TV's F Troop) also plays an orderly, and the straight man for Curtis's antics.

Angie Dickinson plays a Lieutenant in another ward (3, I believe) that Peck recruits to work in Ward 7 because he says she'll "remind them (the patients) what they're fighting for", though it's clear he respects her professionally, even if he's attracted to her personally. Jane Withers plays the other, competent nurse, Lieutenant Blodgett. Like an extended episode of (TV's) M*A*S*H, the movie follows several patients from beginning to end (?).

There's Eddie Albert as Colonel Bliss, a troubled officer who serves as an intellectual "opponent" for Peck, as he tries to figure out what's caused him to split into "Mr. Past" and "Mr. Future". Also, Bobby Darin plays a country boy who's slow to admit he has a problem, but reveals it under a Sodium Pentothal induced retelling. And then there's Robert Duvall appearing, with Peck again, in his second film (after To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)). Duvall's character was recently discovered behind enemy lines in a cellar, where he'd been for 13 months. However, all the techniques which normally work have failed to bring him out of his vegetable-like stupor. When Peck sends for his wife (Bethel Leslie), it seems to make things worse.

Curtis's character, who is "stolen" by a desperate Newman needing orderlies from Dickinson's ward initially, becomes a quick study and shows himself to be an entrepreneur when it comes to obtaining things for Ward 7. He befriends and helps the patients in ways Storch's character could not. He's from the streets of New York, so naturally he can speak 6 languages, which comes in handy when Colonel Pyser assigns some Italian P.O.W.'s to the ward, because it's the only one in the hospital where the patients are locked up. Naturally, Vito Scotti (from TV's The Flying Nun, among others) is the officer among the prisoners.

The screenplay was co-written by Henry & Phoebe Ephron, parents of Nora, and Richard Breen and received an Oscar nomination. Darin received his only Academy Award nomination (Supporting Actor) for his role; the film's Sound was also nominated.

The men and women who care for the sick and wounded are an essential part of any fighting force, but relatively few films have been made about the work of the Army Medical Corps. The best-known is probably "M*A*S*H*", a cinema adaptation of a satirical television black comedy, but other examples include "The Men"(Marlon Brando's film debut) and "Captain Newman, M. D."

The action takes place in 1944 on a US Army Air Force base in Arizona. The main character, Captain Josiah Newman, is head of the neuro-psychiatric ward 7 at the base's military hospital. Newman is a fictitious character, but he is loosely based upon a real-life doctor, Ralph Greenson, who after serving in the Army Air Force's medical branch during the war went on to become a well-known psychiatrist who included several Hollywood stars among his patients.

The Wikipedia entry for the film calls it a "comedy drama", but that is not a description I would use. Certain scenes, especially those featuring Newman's wisecracking orderly, Corporal Jackson Leibowitz, seem to have been intended as comic relief, but overall the tone is fairly serious. Leibowitz is played by Tony Curtis; by this stage of his career he was well established as a leading man, and I wonder if he agreed to take this supporting role out of a sense of gratitude to Greenson. (Curtis had been one of Greenson's patients in real life).

The film deals with Newman's attempts to treat his many patients, especially Colonel Norval Bliss, Corporal Jim Tompkins and Captain Paul Winston, all of whom have been mentally affected or traumatised by the strains and stresses of war. Greenson was an adherent of the Freudian school of analysis, which places stress upon sexual development and early sexual experiences, but there is little mention of this here, possibly because the studio felt that in 1963 neither audiences nor the Hays Office would feel comfortable with too much talk about sex. (The Production Code was still in force at that date). Instead, Newman concentrates upon what we would today call post-traumatic stress disorder and his patients' wartime experiences.

A unifying factor is that Bliss, Tompkins and Winston are all suffering from a guilt complex- Bliss, a mission planner, over the men he has sent to their deaths, Tompkins over an incident in which a friend died in a burning plane and Winston over a lengthy period he spent hiding behind enemy lines after being shot down. Objectively speaking, none of the men has anything to reproach himself with; Bliss was only doing his duty, Tompkins could not have done anything to save his friend, and Winston had no realistic chance of escape. This does not mean, however, that the men's feelings of guilt and their mental traumas are not real. Newman's task is a difficult one, because even when he can diagnose the cause of his patients' disorder, this does not always mean that he can successfully treat them. Colonel Bliss ends up committing suicide. When Newman's treatment is successful, as it is with Tompkins, this does not automatically lead to a happy ending, because Tompkins's cure means that he is now fit again for active duty, and at risk of being killed.

Newman is played by Gregory Peck in his first film after "To Kill a Mockingbird", probably his best performance and the one that one him an Oscar. As in that film, Peck plays a calm, rational, humane and intelligent man, a type of role to which he was very well suited. Curtis is not really at his best here, but there is another good performance from Bobby Darin as Tompkins, for which he received a "Best Supporting Actor" Oscar nomination. Darin was best known as a singer, and made only a handful of films, but does enough here to suggest that his could have been a great career if he had concentrated on acting. (His poor health probably prevented this).

The film is not really in the same class as "To Kill a Mockingbird"- few films are- but it is a well-made account of men who have cracked under the strains of war and of the attempt to heal them. It reminded me of the 1990s British drama "Regeneration", another film about a caring and compassionate military psychiatrist. 7/10.

This is a film with an outstanding cast: Gregory Peck (Capt. Josiah J. Newman, MD), Tony Curtis (Cpl. Jackson 'Jake' Leibowitz), Angie Dickenson (Lt. Francie Corum) and Robert Duvall (Capt. Paul Cabot Winston), to name a few. What is interesting is there are really two films in one. The first involves Dr. Newman trying to treat three patients Col. Norval Algate Bliss (Eddie Albert), Corporal Jim Tompkins (Bobby Darin), and Cabot, all of which have severe psychological disorders (The worst being Bliss who commits suicide). The other involves the relationship between Newman and Jake. It is very similar to the relationship that Curtis had with with Cary Grant in "Operation Petticoat", where his Lt. Holden was the comic con man serving under Lt. Commander Sherman. The only differences were the fact Jake is clearly Jewish, comes from a lower socio-economic background and they will both end up in a different setting then the career Navy men in "Petticoat." Essentially Jake will turn Newman's life upside down, and to be honest for the better. Newman is a career Army man, who never got promoted higher despite always doing the right thing (Such as trying to stop Bliss from active duty, because he is insane, or trying to go through correct channels to get needed things). Spoilers: He had an real eye for Francine because of looks and ability, and it was Jake who showed him how to get her, and she eventually becomes his fiancé. Jake also recommended that Newman quit the military and start his own practice, and when he mentioned it to Francine, she liked the idea. As she said "I want to be having babies." Finally when the Army realized what an asset he was, and wanted him to stay, with a promotion he said no. I think a big part of his decision involved his patients: Bliss in part, died because of the difficulty in overcoming bureaucracy to get him in a hospital. Tompkins who although gets cured by Newman, ends up getting killed in the war,and to make it worse, has no next of kin, so he named Newman. Last but not least is Winston, who Newman admitted to his wife Helene (Bethel Leslie) "That I can't cure him only you can." "Including not dressing like an old maid." Note: Winston came from a upscale family and their marriage was political, and he did not believe she really loved him, and that his mental illness and hiding for two years shamed the family. At first she is offended, but she realizes Newman is right,and listened to him. So, although there is a long way back for Winston, the film shows he is on his way (One scene where Jake has Itallian POW's singing "Hava Nagila" and both Winston's are smiling is proof). Taking this back to Newman, he knew that he would be better off having some happiness in his life with Francie (He particularly did not want to end up like Tompkins (What happened with him shook him up)), and by bringing Jake with him (Jake was the one who saw the problems in Thompkins), he could help even more people than before. It is an interesting film. 8/10 stars.

Just saw this today for the first time in my memory. Although 1963 was 40 years ago (okay, 41) so I might have seen it and forgotten. I found it compelling and a well made drama for the early 1960's.

Bobby Darin's performance was astonishing. He allowed himself to go fully into the character and I was glad to know he had this in him and that it was preserved on film. Robert Duvall is always good; early in his career, mid-way and later. It doesn't matter. He's wonderful to watch. And Eddie Albert inhabits Col. Norval Algate Bliss. Gutwrenchingly.

One respondent thought Angie Dickenson wasn't very good. Given the time the movie was made, she was perfect. Gorgeous, tender hearted, sympathetic and a good back-up for Gregory Peck.

Tony Curtis' character was delightful and reminded me a lot of Jamie Farr's Klinger on M.A.S.H. Ethnic, bright, funny and mischievous to everyone's benefit. A good lift in spirit after some very heavy scenes.

Remember this is not what we're/you're used to in 2004. But for its time, it's a very good movie. Well cast and carried out. Perhaps the best lighthearted moment in the movie is the inclusion of the runaway sheep. Such an unexpected event and delightful.

Worth seeing again.