The Carey Treatment

source: The Carey Treatment

Controversial Subject Matter (abortion) is at the Heart of this also Controversial Film that had Director Blake Edwards threatening to Walk, but His Cooler side prevailed against pointed Threats by the Studio and He Finished the Film (then walked). Constant Studio Interference was the problem. Fearing "Something" with the Hot Topic in 1972 the Movie was Tweaked and turned Tepid (or so the Studio thought). It still has enough Impact to deliver its Message about "Back Alley Abortions" and is Not a Bad Mystery/Thriller helped by the No Nonsense Actor James Coburn playing a No Nonsense Character. Not Everything Works to perfection in the Picture. The required Love Interest has a Clunky and Dated feel and doesn't do anything to Enhance the Plot, in Fact it's a Drag. But otherwise there are some Good Characters and the Lines between Hero and Villain are Realistically Rendered. It's a Forgotten Film and Deserves a Retro Re-Consideration considering the Subject and the more than Competent Professionals at Work here. Above Average and Thick with Timeless and Topical Considerations.

Dr. Peter Carey (James Coburn) is the new pathologist at a Boston hospital. He falls for Georgia Hightower (Jennifer O'Neill). Dr. David Tao (James Hong) calls him from prison when Karen Randall dies in emergency. Karen is the Chief of Staff J.D. Randall's daughter and she bled to death after an illegal abortion. However Tao claims he only treated her in emergency and didn't do the abortion even though he's done them in the past. Carey investigates which puts Randall and the police against him. The investigation is meandering and stalls several time. I like the setup but the follow through is deficient. The pathologist investigator genre has come a long way since then. Any number of TV show is better than this. However it moves just well enough despite some rather slow patches.

James Coburn is a doctor trying to help another doctor who's accused of a botched abortion that results in a death in "The Carey Treatment," a 1972 film that also stars Jennifer O'Neill, Pat Hingle, James Hong, Ed Herlihy, and Skye Aubrey. The movie was made on location, using a lot of exteriors of Mass General Hospital. The inside of the hospital looked very familiar as well, but it's been so many years, I couldn't place it. Having lived in Boston at one time, it was great to see all all of the location shots. The daughter of a hospital benefactor dies at 15 from a botched abortion, and a doctor who secretly performs abortions (Hong) because he's opposed to wire hangers is accused. His pathologist friend, Carey, a newcomer to the hospital, investigates, and the case takes another direction. The story is interesting but not very well done. There's a very late '60s, early '70s feel to the film (naturally, since that's when it was made) - but the plot, involving the abortion scenario, is dated as well. Coburn's character is also the flip, hip type that was prevalent at that time, embodied by someone like Peter Lawford. The beautiful Jennifer O'Neill is Carey's love interest, and she's fairly dreadful. She has a habit of really hitting a certain word in a sentence hard. "And the THINGS that I do..." "WHAT'S wrong" - once you become aware of it, it BECOMES very distracting. There was also one hole in the plot that wasn't explained - the young girl as she was dying apparently names the Hong character as her abortionist, according to her mother. I don't want to give anything away, but I'd love to know what all of that was about. The mention of that seemed like an excuse for Carey to visit a stereotypical character with whom he could be flip - the drunken socialite. It served no other purpose. This movie really doesn't either.

Curiously mediocre, middle-of-the-road film from director Blake Edwards, adapted from Michael Crichton's novel "A Case of Need," has James Coburn (cocky as ever, and enjoyably so) playing the new pathologist at a Boston hospital, sorting out the mystery of a young murder victim. Light drama keeps tongue-in-cheek yet has aspirations to be a whodunit and doesn't quite make the grade. Coburn's general panache is effortless, but he's just coasting through, and the role doesn't challenge him (or us) in any way. Jennifer O'Neill is attractive but (once again) underused as a romantic interest. Screenwriter Harriet Frank used the pseudonym James P. Bonner for the credits--just as original writer Crichton did (as Jeffrey Hudson) for his book! **1/2 from ****

Nicely shot around Boston and with a good performance by James Coburn. It's a tale of a humanitarian doctor, James Hong, imprisoned for performing abortions at a time when it was illegal -- just as it appears to be becoming now. The fifteen-year-old daughter of some high muck-a-muck expires during a crude attempt and Hong gets the blame. His friend and colleague, the pathologist Coburn, sets out to discover what really happened. It gets kind of twisted. It's competently directed by Blake Edwards but was evidently sliced and diced by various figures higher up the food chain that Edwards asked for his name to be removed from the credits. The three writers had a similar problem and their names were melded into one name representing a person who does not exist. I'm not sure why people were so embarrassed. I suppose in 1972, when this was released, it may have been too shocking (or not shocking enough) but compared to much recent Hollywood output -- "Sawbones" -- it's a treasure trove. In the course of finding the real culprit, Coburn gets to mouth some radical notions about cutting medical costs and eliminating corruption, but that has nothing to do with the story. In fact -- can I borrow a trope from Raymond Chandler? -- Coburn's outburst stands out like a tarantula on a slice of angel food cake. All doctors in the movies want to clean up the practice of medicine. I doubt that the AMA wants to see docs deprived of one of their three Ford Navigators. The docs in the socialized countries of Europe, like France, are reduced to only one or two Citroens. I'm joking about it but only because the question of medical costs is so much in the air as I write this. Also, I'm jealous. Unless they're old friends, every doctor calls every other doctor "Doctor." I have a PhD and nobody calls me "doctor." And I don't even have ONE Ford Navigator! At any rate, if it's sometimes confusing -- and it is -- it moves at a snappy pace. Coburn is fine as the bullheaded medico who puts friendship before institutional responsibilities. It takes Coburn the entire movie to track down the miscreant, who is not a doc. And at the end, two broken men face each other mano a mano, dripping blood. There's a wild but completely plausible car ride. There are no fireballs and no one's head is wrenched off. You'll probably enjoy it.

I remember seeing this movie when I was a kid and really liking it. At the time, a doctor-as-detective story was an original idea, and Coburn carries it off with typical aplomb. Blake Edwards has directed thrillers before ("Experiment in Terror") so it's not like he doesn't know what he's doing here. At the time abortion was a pretty hot topic, so a thriller on the subject was fairly touchy. It all may seem a little too "hip" now, but I'd give it at least 3 stars.

Hip, distinguished doctor James Coburn (as Peter Carey) arrives to accept a position as pathologist at a Boston hospital. Almost immediately, Mr. Coburn beds beautiful nutritionist Jennifer O'Neill (as Georgia Hightower). While sleeping with Ms. O'Neill, Coburn is awakened by an emergency involving a botched abortion - the fifteen-year-old who bleeds to death happens to be the daughter of the hospital's big donor, Dan O'Herlihy (as J.D. Randall). Coburn doesn't believe the man arrested, doctor pal James Hong (as David Tao), committed the crime; although, Mr. Hong admits to performing illegal abortions on the side. While trying to clear his friend, Coburn wades through a thickening plot **** The Carey Treatment (3/29/72) Blake Edwards ~ James Coburn, Jennifer O'Neill, Michael Blodgett, James Hong

Coburn was interesting as the plain spoken wild card pathologist Peter Carey who enters a new hospital brimming with problems. Right off the bat a fellow practitioner is accused of a crime which he couldn't possibly have committed. Carey must unravel criminal activities within the institution to clear his friend which puts him in the sights of a psychotic killer. So-so thriller/drama.

James Coburn makes an (initially) likable hero, Jennifer O'Neill is radiantly pretty and Blake Edwards proves to be surprisingly adept at handling the "serious" material, quite a change-of-pace for him after all the "Pink Panther" entries. But the film becomes bloody and unpleasant in the last 20 minutes, and near the climax it features a particularly distasteful, almost repulsive torture scene. (**1/2)