Il caso Carey

This little known medical thriller seems like a second cousin to "Coma" and fans of that film should enjoy this one as well. Coburn is a free-living pathologist hired on at a large Boston hospital who almost immediately finds himself trying to disprove a murder rap placed on one of his colleagues. A fellow doctor (Hong, in one of his more substantial roles) is accused of performing an illegal abortion on a fifteen-year-old girl, which led to her death. That the girl is the daughter of the Chief of Staff is no small complication! Coburn must put all the pieces together to find out what actually happened while fending off his protective and commandeering boss (O'Herlihy.) He still finds time, however, to play with O'Neill (whose thankless part only offers one or two decent moments.) Some of the situations and dialogue are inherently "70's", but it is still engrossing entertainment. Coburn has one scene with the great Allen. This effortlessly sophisticated and witty actress partakes in some snappy repartee with him and sparks fly in the well written scene. Coburn also has a memorable run-in with Dreier who nonchalantly simmers some sauce while discussing his niece's death. The subject matter of the film is a bit unsettling and gets increasingly so (and more violent) as it nears its pretty gory climax. Some will view this as a good thing, others may be put off. One scene involving a masseuse and client is quite tense. This leads to some bloodletting and then a nail-biting, if a bit far-fetched, finale. Aubrey is the daughter of Phyllis Thaxter and looks much like her. Blake Edwards' daughter Jennifer has a small, but featured role as the dead girl's roommate. TV fans will note the presence of Hillerman and Mandan as doctors on staff. One complaint: With all the dramatics and hysterics during the resolution, it can be hard to hear what actually happened! Keep the remote handy for a rewind.

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 ****

I read that after Blake Edwards (The Pink Panther movies) turned this movie in some suit completely recut it. I can believe it. Sometimes it seems that the action sequences or suspenseful sequences are cut so as to reduce the excitement or suspense, that the set has just enough color so as not to be monochromatic, but is not lit so that the colorfulness of the set in some scenes (and the lack of it in other scenes) does not reinforce any emotion or theme in the movie. James Coburn puts on his super-cool persona, and that's fun to watch, but a super-cool pathologist is as common as a super-cool law librarian. Jennifer O'Neill is gorgeous and eminently watchable, but the way her romance is written, she must be very easy; no way. Michael Crichton (The Andromeda Strain writer, Westworld director) wrote the book on which the movie is based, and hid his name somewhere in the process like Edwards did. Quality writers John D.F. Black (Shaft) and the writing team of Harriet Frank, Jr. and Irving Ravetch (Norma Rae) worked on this, then hid their names. Many hospital drama tropes that are old hat now were fresh then, and that's fun. Should not be your first choice,except maybe to gaze at Jennifer O'Neill- better choices: Blake Edwards- Pink Panther, James Coburn- Magnificent Seven, Michael Crichton medical- Andromeda Strain, nonmedical Westworld.

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.

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.