Dr. Strange

I had first seen this movie years ago on Sci Fi only part way thru and thought of it often but never took the time to try to hunt down a copy. When low and behold I ran into it at a video rental store where you can rent movies for less than $1.00 for three days.

I cant believe how much fun this movie is, I truly love movies from the 70's and this movie has some major 70's fashion going on. I was surprised at how well the cast got into there roles from Peter Hooten playing Dr. Strange and Jessica Walter playing Morgan they both made the movie a lot of fun and the scene's that there in together are great. This is 70's camp at it's very best, the story is not as strong as it could be and the dialogue is a bit goofy at times but the actors bring the movie to life. Oh and I have to mention the lovely Anne Marie Martin she looks great in this movie what a beautiful lady.

There is another review on this movie that states the Greatest Superhero TV series never made and I have to agree. I wonder if the producers were hoping to go to series, because of the way the movie ends. It certainly had some great potential. I hope that some company takes the time to release the 70's marvel movies other than The Incredible Hulk (I do like the hulk to it's just better know than the Dr. Strange and Captain America and Spderman series of the 70's). The kid inside me from the 70's still loves these movies and I hope that some day they can be released on DVD.

DR. STRANGE LIVE ON IN YOUR MYSTIC WORLD...

The current wave of live-action cinematic superheroes is nothing new to our screens. Since 'Superman' first revolutionised the comic book industry in 1939, there have been film adaptations. In the 1940's there were many serials (Batman, Superman, and Captain Marvel for example). Then in the 1950's and 1960's The Adventures of Superman (1952 - 1958) and the campy Batman (1966 - 1968) the superheroes became household names on television. Then, in the 1970's, DC comics, through the ABC television network, produced the highly successful Wonder Woman (1975 - 1979) series, with the Amazonian beauty of Linda Carter. With the prospects of DC's most famous character's big screen incarnation, in Richard Donner's Superman: The Movie (1978), Marvel, with their groundbreaking silver-age characters, needed a platform for their characters. Whilst they had success with their animated Saturday morning shows, live-action and the TV series was the place to promote them.

From 1977 to 1982, Universal television broadcast The Amazing Spider-man (1977 - 1979), The Incredible Hulk (1978 - 1982), and two TV movies, Captain America (1979) and Captain America II: Death Too Soon (also 1979). The quality was of course varied, and the Hulk was its most credible triumph. Then in 1978, writer/producer, Philip DeGuere, produced a feature length television movie of one of Marvels most "psychedelic", cerebral characters, Doctor Strange. Created by comic legend Steve Ditko, it seems like quite a huge leap of faith to create a plausible adaptation within the restrictions of television production. This leads to some of the more fantastical elements of the comic books to be altered, or left out entirely - but this is of course an understandable exclusion.

Doctor Stephen Strange (Peter Hooten), a Psychiatrist working in a New York hospital who has been chosen by Thomas Lindmer (John Mills) to take his place as the new Sorcerer Supreme of Earth. However, an evil Sorceress, Morgan LeFay (Jessica Walter), has plans to kill the Earth- bound magicians. After throwing Thomas off a bridge, Clea Lake (Eddie Benton), has been telepathically controlled by the evil witch, Morgan, and it is down to Dr. Strange to save her from the astral plain, then conquer the cosmic universe to become the sorcerer.

It does have the limitations of 1970's television production, and falls flat very often with the dialogue - including excruciatingly annoying laughter from Strange and Clea, as they laugh at their unfunny exchanges. However, it is an admirable effort to bring a more obscure Marvel character to a live-action context. With Stan Lee as a consultant (as with all the other aforementioned shows), Lee states that this was his most enjoyable experience out of all of them. It was intended as a pilot for a series, but this was never produced - a television interview with Morgan LeFay towards the end, actually gives clues as to the way the show could have gone, and to be honest, it seems like an incredibly good concept. Morgan LeFay would have indoctrinated into her realm of magic the youth of America, through the zeitgeist idea of the self-help programme, something that was big business in the '70's. Alas, the idea was never seen through.

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(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.

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.

"Thomas Lindmer" (John Mills) is a sorcerer who realizes his life is approaching its end. Because of this he needs to transfer his powers to somebody capable enough for his assigned tasks. That person just happens to be a young psychiatrist by the name of "Dr. Stephen Strange" (Peter Hooten) who has no idea of his potential psychic powers or the destiny that awaits him. To add to the situation is the fact that an evil sorceress named "Morgan LeFay" (Jessica Walter) has been released by a demon from her captivity in another dimension with the orders to kill Thomas Lindmer before he has a chance to convey his power to Dr. Strange. Now rather than reveal any more of this movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this was a decent attempt to portray the essence of the popular comic book onto the big screen. Unfortunately, some of the graphics weren't as well-developed as some of the others and as a result it gave the movie an uneven feel. The acting seemed adequate for the most part and the presence of Eddie Benton (as "Clea Lake") certainly didn't hurt the scenery in any way. All things considered I rate the film as average.