The Carey Treatment *** (1972, James Coburn, Jennifer O’Neill, Pat Hingle, Skye Aubrey, Dan O’Herlihy, Elizabeth Allen) – Classic Movie Review 7117

Oh doctor, I’m in trouble… Blake Edwards’s 1972 crime thriller The Carey Treatment got the MGM studio treatment. It was heavily cut and re-edited in post production, infuriating the director, who sued.

Director Blake Edwards’s 1972 American mystery crime thriller The Carey Treatment stars James Coburn as hospital pathologist Dr Carey, who investigates the fatal abortion case of the hospital director’s teenage daughter and tries to help his arrested friend and colleague by solving a murder. It is based on the 1968 novel A Case of Need by Michael Crichton, writing under the pseudonym of Jeffery Hudson. Unfortunately, it was heavily edited by the studio MGM.

The vital performances of a savoury cast and robust direction in Edwards’s Boston-set medical mystery turn a complex, adult yarn into a resilient and involving thriller. The Carey Treatment goes to show once again that Edwards’s thrillers were almost all spot-on, ironically when his reputation rests on his comedies.

The screenplay by John D F Black, Harriet Frank Jr and Irving Ravetch (all writing as James P Bonner) is based on the 1968 novel The Case of Need by Michael Crichton (writing as Jeffery Hudson).

Also in the cast are Jennifer O’Neill, Skye Aubrey, Pat Hingle, Dan O’Herlihy, Elizabeth Allen, Alex Dreier, James Hong, Regis Toomey, Michael Blodgett, John Fink, John Hillerman, Steve Carlson, Jennifer Edwards and Robert Mandan, who plays Dr Barr.

It was heavily re-edited by the studio MGM and cut to 101 minutes, infuriating Edwards, whose films Darling Lili and Wild Rovers had also been similarly cut before this, which he satirised in his 1981 comedy S.O.B. Edwards launched a breach of contract suit against MGM and president James T Aubrey for their post-production editing.

Edwards recalled: ‘The whole experience was extraordinarily destructive. The temper and tantrums from my producer, William Belasco, were such that he insulted me in front of the cast and crew and offered to bet me $1,000 that I’d never work in Hollywood again if I didn’t do everything his and Aubrey’s way. They told me that they didn’t want quality, just a viewable film.’

Coburn recalled: ‘I don’t mind that film. I liked my work on it. There again the studio fucked it up. They cut ten days out of the schedule. They pulled the plug on us early. It’s too bad. We did shoot the film on location in Boston though.’

The Carey Treatment is directed by Blake Edwards, runs 101 minutes, is released by MGM, is written by John D F Black, Harriet Frank Jr and Irving Ravetch (all writing as James P Bonner), based on the novel The Case of Need by Michael Crichton (writing as Jeffery Hudson),  is shot by Frank Stanley, is produced by William Belasco, and is scored by Roy Budd, with art direction by Alfred Sweeney.

The cast are James Coburn as Dr Peter Carey, Jennifer O’Neill as Georgia Hightower, Pat Hingle as Captain Pearson, Skye Aubrey as Nurse Angela Holder, Elizabeth Allen as Evelyn Randall, John Fink as Chief Surgeon Andrew Murphy, Dan O’Herlihy as J D Randall, James Hong as David Tao, Alex Dreier as Dr Joshua Randall, Michael Blodgett as Roger Hudson, Regis Toomey as Sanderson the pathologist, Steve Carlson as Walding, Rosemary Edelman as Janet Tao, Jennifer Edwards as Lydia Barrett, John Hillerman as Jenkins and Robert Mandan as Dr Barr.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7117

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