The Doctor's Dilemma | |
---|---|
Directed by | Anthony Asquith |
Written by | Anatole de Grunwald |
Based on | play by George Bernard Shaw |
Produced by | Anatole de Grunwald |
Starring | Leslie Caron Dirk Bogarde Alastair Sim Robert Morley Terence Alexander |
Cinematography | Robert Krasker |
Edited by | Gordon Hales |
Music by | Joseph Kosma |
Production companies | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer British Studios De Grunwald Productions |
Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release dates |
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Running time | 99 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Budget | $576,000 [1] |
Box office | $725,000 [1] |
The Doctor's Dilemma is a 1958 British comedy-drama film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Leslie Caron, Dirk Bogarde, Alastair Sim, and Robert Morley. It is based on the 1906 play The Doctor's Dilemma by George Bernard Shaw. [2] A satire on the pretensions of the medical profession and their concentration on treating patients who can pay well, it contrasts their world of imperfect science, always bumping up against unknowns, with the boundless spheres of love and beauty.
In London in 1906, some colleagues rush round to the Harley Street house of the unmarried Dr. Ridgeon to congratulate him on being awarded a knighthood for his claim that he can cure tuberculosis (though in reality at that time there was no certain cure). Among them is Dr. Blenkinsop, who was at medical school with him, but now looks after poor patients who cannot afford to pay much, and is himself infected with tuberculosis. Waiting in his hall is the young and lovely Jennifer Dubedat who, having heard of his alleged cure, wants him to treat her husband Louis, a penniless artist. Struck by the beauty and charm of Jennifer, and by the quality of her husband's drawings which she shows him, he lets her believe he will try to save Louis, but stresses that his treatment is long and expensive, and that he can only handle ten patients at a time. So that he can meet Louis, and see more of Jennifer, he invites the two to a celebration dinner he is hosting that night.
While Louis is like his wife good-looking and charming, it emerges that he scorns all trappings of conventional morality, being a feckless liar, thief and seducer (a waitress recognises him as her vanished husband). Now highly doubtful about Louis, Ridgeon arranges with colleagues to visit the studio where he lives and assess his case. Recognising that his TB is far advanced, Ridgeon passes him on to a colleague and decides to take Blenkinsop instead. To Jennifer this is treachery and she begins to hate Ridgeon, while he hopes that he might marry her as soon as she is a widow. Beyond cure, Louis soon dies and in a moving last speech states his belief that love and beauty surpass all of conventional morality. He also begs Jennifer not to mourn, but to marry again and be happy.
In a postscript, Ridgeon attends the one-man exhibition of Louis' works, which are selling well. Jennifer refuses to let him buy a painting and leaves with her new husband.
Gabriel Pascal announced in 1946 he would make the film for Alexander Korda and starring Deborah Kerr. [3] However, it was not made.
Anatole de Grunwald and Anthony Asquith had been developing a film about T. E. Lawrence to star Dirk Bogarde, but it was cancelled at the last minute. This film was offered to Bogarde as an alternative. [4]
In the opening scene, there are two historical errors: Felix Aylmer is seen walking towards the Harley Street of Edwardian days; yet, on a distant wall behind him is a commemorative blue plaque; as he turns into the street, a George the VI letter box awaits him.
The film was a success in the US, but not Britain. Bogarde later theorised this may have been due to the fact audiences were annoyed to discover the film was not one of the "Doctor" film series. [4] However according to Kinematograph Weekly the film performed "better than average" at the British box office in 1959. [5]
According to MGM records, the film only earned $275,000 in the US and Canada, and $450,000 elsewhere, resulting in a loss of $299,000. [1]
Sir Dirk Bogarde was an English actor, novelist and screenwriter. Initially a matinée idol in films such as Doctor in the House (1954) for the Rank Organisation, he later acted in art house films, evolving from "heartthrob to icon of edginess".
The Night Porter is a 1974 Italian psychological war drama film co-written and directed by Liliana Cavani. It stars Dirk Bogarde and Charlotte Rampling, with Philippe Leroy, Gabriele Ferzetti and Isa Miranda in supporting roles. Set in Vienna in 1957, the film centers on the sadomasochistic relationship between a former Nazi concentration camp officer (Bogarde) and one of his inmates (Rampling).
The Doctor's Dilemma is a play by George Bernard Shaw first staged in 1906. It was published in 1909. It is a problem play about the moral dilemmas created by limited medical resources, and the conflicts between the demands of private medicine as a business and a vocation.
Doctor in the House is a 1954 British comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Dirk Bogarde, Kenneth More, Donald Sinden, Donald Houston and James Robertson Justice. It was produced by Betty Box. The screenplay, by Nicholas Phipps, Richard Gordon and Ronald Wilkinson, is based on the 1952 novel Doctor in the House by Gordon, and follows a group of students through medical school.
The Password Is Courage is a 1962 British comedy-drama war film written, produced, and directed by Andrew L. Stone and starring Dirk Bogarde, Maria Perschy, and Alfred Lynch. It was based on the 1954 World War II biography of the same name of Sergeant-Major Charles Coward by Ronald Payne and John Williams Garrod. It was distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
So Long at the Fair is a 1950 British thriller film directed by Terence Fisher and Antony Darnborough, and starring Jean Simmons and Dirk Bogarde. It was adapted from the 1947 novel of the same name by Anthony Thorne.
Cast a Dark Shadow is a 1955 British suspense film noir directed by Lewis Gilbert and written by John Cresswell, based on the 1952 play Murder Mistaken by Janet Green. It stars Dirk Bogarde, Margaret Lockwood, Kay Walsh, Kathleen Harrison and Robert Flemyng. The film released on 20 September 1955, distributed by Eros Films Ltd. in the United Kingdom and Distributors Corporation of America in the United States. The story concerns a husband who murders his wife.
A Kid For Two Farthings is a 1955 British comedy-drama film directed by Carol Reed. The screenplay was adapted by Wolf Mankowitz from his 1953 novel of the same name. The title is a reference to the traditional Passover song, "Chad Gadya", which begins "One little goat which my father bought for two zuzim". At the end of the film, Mr. Kandinsky softly sings fragments of an English translation of the song.
Libel is a 1959 British drama film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Olivia de Havilland, Dirk Bogarde, Paul Massie, Wilfrid Hyde-White and Robert Morley. The screenplay was by Anatole de Grunwald and Karl Tunberg from a 1935 play of the same name by Edward Wooll.
Trio is a 1950 British anthology film based on three short stories by W. Somerset Maugham: "The Verger", "Mr Know-All" and "Sanatorium". Ken Annakin directed "The Verger" and "Mr Know-All", while Harold French was responsible for "Sanatorium".
The Sleeping Tiger is a 1954 British film noir directed by Joseph Losey and starring Alexis Smith, Dirk Bogarde and Alexander Knox. It was Losey's first British feature, which he directed under the pseudonym of Victor Hanbury due to being blacklisted in the McCarthy Era. It was shot at Walton Studios and on location in London. The film's sets were designed by the art director John Stoll. It was released by Anglo-Amalgamated while in America it was distributed by Astor Pictures.
The Spanish Gardener is a 1956 VistaVision and Technicolor film based on the 1950 eponymous novel by A. J. Cronin. The film, which stars Dirk Bogarde and Jon Whiteley, was directed by Philip Leacock.
The Captain's Table is a 1959 British comedy film directed by Jack Lee and starring John Gregson, Donald Sinden, Peggy Cummins and Nadia Gray. The film is based on the 1954 novel of the same title by Richard Gordon, later adapted into the 1971 German film The Captain starring Heinz Rühmann.
Hot Enough for June is a 1964 British spy comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas, and starring Dirk Bogarde with Sylva Koscina in her English film debut, Robert Morley and Leo McKern. It is based on the 1960 novel The Night of Wenceslas by Lionel Davidson. The film was cut by twenty minutes and retitled Agent 8+3⁄4 for the US release by the American distributor Continental Distributing.
Doctor in Distress is a 1963 British comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Dirk Bogarde, James Robertson Justice, and Samantha Eggar. It is the fifth of the seven films in the Doctor series. After a one-film absence, it was the final return to the role of Simon Sparrow by Dirk Bogarde, and also the return of Donald Houston. The film uses some of the characters in Richard Gordon's Doctor novels, but is not based on any of them.
Our Mother's House is a 1967 British drama thriller film directed by Jack Clayton. It nominally stars Dirk Bogarde and principally features a cast of seven juvenile actors, including Pamela Franklin, Phoebe Nicholls and Mark Lester, with popular British actress Yootha Joyce in a supporting role. The screenplay was written by Jeremy Brooks and Haya Harareet, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Julian Gloag.
Earl St. John was an American film producer in overall charge of production for The Rank Organisation at Pinewood Studios from 1950 to 1964, and was credited as executive producer on 131 films. He was known as the "Earl of Pinewood". John Davis of Rank called him "the greatest showman that The Rank Organisation has ever had, and probably the greatest showman to have lived in this country. "
Penny Princess is a 1952 British Technicolor comedy film written and directed by Val Guest and starring Yolande Donlan, Dirk Bogarde and A. E. Matthews. It was made by Guest for his own production company, Conquest Productions. The film stars his future wife Donlan, who was Guest's production company partner, and features Reginald Beckwith, the other partner in Conquest Productions. It was released by General Film Distributors. It was distributed in America the following year by Universal Pictures.
For Better, for Worse is a 1954 British comedy film in Eastmancolor directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Dirk Bogarde, Susan Stephen and Cecil Parker. It was written by Thompson, Peter Myers and Alec Grahame based on Arthur Watkyn's 1948 play For Better, for Worse.
The Wind Cannot Read is a 1958 British drama film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Dirk Bogarde, Yoko Tani, Ronald Lewis and John Fraser. It was based on the 1946 novel by Richard Mason, who also wrote the screenplay.