"I Thank a Fool" begins with a sick man in the hospital. You never know what he's suffering from, but it's exceptionally painful. Into the room comes his doctor (Susan Hayward) and she insists that she, not the nurse attending to him, give him a shot. Soon afterwords he dies and it is assumed she gave him an intentional lethal injection to ease his suffering. Next, she is in court--defending herself against a murder charge. She is convicted of a lesser charge, Manslaughter, and is sent to prison. When she gets out, she cannot find work and she is approached by the man who prosecuted her (Peter Finch)--he wants to hire her to help take care of his wife! It seems that the woman has some mental illness and of all people to choose, he picks this ex-doctor! While this setup for the story is difficult to believe, I did enjoy the euthanasia angle--it was pretty interesting and brings up a complex issue that is too seldom discussed. So where does all this go?
The idea is pretty intriguing and unusual--is what happens next worth your time? The answer is a definite yes--though the film does have a few plot holes here and there. You can't help but wonder why Hayward's character does some of the things she does--they aren't always very logical. Plus, there's the weird coming home scene in Ireland. I think I know what they were implying...but am not sure because it's so obtusely written. And, the very final scene is pretty bad. Still, despite these problems, the movie does keep you guessing and it is unusual. Not a great film but a very good one.
