Dr. Strange

TV movie (intended as a pilot for a possible series) about the Marvel magical superhero, Dr. Strange. Morgan LeFay (Jessica Walter) is sent to Earth by a demon to prevent an aging sorcerer (John Mills) from passing his power onto someone else. To this end she possesses a young woman named Clea (Anne-Marie Martin) and tries to get her to kill the sorcerer. Clea is traumatized by this, which leads her to being taken to the hospital where she is treated by psychiatrist Dr. Stephen Strange (Peter Hooten), who just so happens to be the sorcerer's intended successor.

While it's easy to dismiss this because it's a TV movie and those are largely cliché-ridden and forgettable today, I should point out that this wasn't always the case. In the 1970s TV movies were actually really good on the average, with a lot more creativity and variety than we see today where it's the same recycled soaps, thrillers, and romantic comedies over and over. This does have a limited budget, so those expecting things like Strange creator Steve Ditko's surreal imagery will be disappointed. But if you leave unrealistic expectations at the door and judge it on its own merits, I think you'll find it's a quality movie. Peter Hooten is a little wooden for a leading man but doesn't embarrass himself. Anne-Marie Martin (billed as Eddie Benton) is pretty good and very easy on the eyes. John Mills classes things up significantly. Jessica Walter is delicious fun as Morgan Le Fay. Perhaps the movie's greatest strength is Paul Chihara's score. Again, TV movies today just don't have this level of quality. Next to the Incredible Hulk TV series, this was the best of Marvel's efforts in the '70s and '80s to bring one of their heroes to life on the small or big screen, excluding cartoons. Those who can't enjoy TV movies or those who are fans of the comic book who can't see past their inflated expectations will not like it and should probably skip it altogether. I think most others who watch it will see it's very good for what it is.

This movie is, as far as I know, the first movie ever created based on a Marvel comic book. The first theatrically released one was "Howard The Duck" which didn't come out until 1986 and to this movie's credit, it is probably an improvement. I don't know as much about Dr. Strange as I do Spider-Man or Captain America, as he's simply not quite as well known. This movie mostly faults from waiting until 74 minutes into the movie to actually show the title character in his costume, which I could recognize. Now a lot of it actually was pretty faithful to the comics. You got to see some familiar characters.

Now the thing is, originally I was going to give this movie a lot lower rating, but I did realize something. This was in fact intended to be the pilot for a TV show that was never made. As cheesy as the film was, I actually could excuse its pacing for the fact that it wasn't really meant to be a full movie. The way it went slowly actually did make sense for what it was supposed to be. I never watched any live-action Marvel shows ever. The bad definitely outweighed the good, so it's best to just skip this and watch the awesome Marvel movies released in theaters. **

By itself, the film is a very dated and very cheesy 70s film about an evil sorceress who wants to defeat her magical rival. It's somewhat fun to watch. As an adaptation of Doctor Strange, it fails because it takes far too long to transform the titular character from a regular human to the sorcerer supreme. The setup has some decent suspense as a civilian is under the spell of the villain Morgan LeFay and Stephen Strange has to figure out what's going on, all while the current sorcerer is under threat. However, this drags on for too long and the payoff is anticlimactic as Doctor Strange learns his powers too quickly and the special effects are laughable.

Dr.Strange carries forward the legacy initiated by Kenneth Johnson on The Incredible Hulk Television Series and Pilot Movies. It takes a serious approach to the superhero genre, and reconstructs it for television. So with Dr.Strange, Writer/Director Philip De Guerre dispenses with alot of the important elements that made Stan Lee's/Steve Ditko's original Strange Tales Dr.Strange comic book stories so unique and exciting for a whole generation of readers, and comes up with a fresh approach for the times {1970's} and the climate {Network Television}. What is so amazing is that it works on almost every level.

Gone from the TV version of Dr Stephen Strange, is the arrogant, haunted persona so familiar with readers of Marvel comics. In its place is a man with a destiny to encompass the mystic arts. Perhaps a forerunner to the Highlander Movies, TV series and cartoons? What we have is a sincere, likeable sweet lead character akin more to Bill Bixby's performance of Dr David Banner. Strange is superbly played and realised by Peter Hooten. Hootens performance is refreshing with what was the norm on TV at the time. Hooten is ably backed up by the sinister Jessica Walter as Morgan Le Fay, and the evergreen John Mills as Thomas Lindmer {replacing the character of the Great One from the Marvel series}. Lindmer is a character reminiscent to Sean Connery's Ramirez in the aforementioned Highlander movies. Hooten and Mills share some genuine screen chemistry together and this movie serves as a fascinating glimpse as to what could have been had a series been commisioned.

The transfer from comics to TV is quite well realised despite the obvious limits of a TV budget. The production design, especially of those of the nightmare realms and Lindmers Castle are very efficient as is the near perfect realisation of Dr. Stranges costume from the comics pages {i actually prefer the TV Movie version}. On the down side the plot is a little cumbersome and slow burning. There doesn't seem to be too much movement, and the plot isn't too involving. It would perhaps have been a better idea to have incorporated more elements from the comics into a pliot movie of Strange's exploits.I think a good example of how fantasy can work on TV is Bill Bixby's The Magician TV series and pilot movie. Also, the special effects at times do look cheesy.Despite this, Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street seems to have incorporated alot of this movies elements into its screenplay, IE, people being haunted, killed or possesed from within a dream state, and a saviour entering that realm.

Having watched the movie again recently, it was nice to see the innocence in the movie. I can see how the occult theme may have been offensive at the time. But with the spot on performances, tight direction and nicely toned humour,{watch out for a neat cameo by Magician Larry Anderson at the end of the film} watching the film again only serves to re-emphersise my opinion that Dr.Strange was the greatest superhero TV Series NEVER made.

(1977) Spider-Man (1977) The Incredible Hulk (1977) The Incredible Hulk: Death in the Family (1878) Doctor Strange (1979) Captain America (1979) Captain America II: Death Too Soon

This was the "MCU" of the 1970s. As a kid,, I ate these up. Of them, Spider-Man and the Hulk went on to be series, the other entries did not. Spider-Man ran on Wednesday nights, and wasn't particularly good - the Hulk? Well everyone knows about how well THAT series did. In the case of Doctor Strange, it is particularly disappointing that it never jumped to a series, as it really was the next best entry after the Incredible Hulk.

Certainly, this tv movie has its issues, Dr. Strange being inexplicably transformed from a surgeon into a psychiatry resident among them. The effects are, of course, dated and we don't get a classic Dr. Strange villain - but that is the case with all of the other Marvel tv films of the era. What we do get though, is a well costumed, decent portrayal of the titular hero and a throwaway portrayal of his love interest Clea.

If you are a fan of the character of Doctor Strange, this little oddity is worth a watch. If your exposure to the character is limited to the FAR superior film with Benedict Cumberbatch, you will be disappointed. There is no fair way to compare the two. One is a failed pilot and the other a modern cinematic blockbuster. But, if you go into this with realistic expectations, you will find yourself enjoy it.