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The Interns (film)

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The Interns
Original film poster by Howard Terpning
Directed byDavid Swift
Screenplay byWalter Newman
David Swift
Based onThe Interns
1960 novel
by Richard Frede
Produced byRobert Cohn
StarringMichael Callan
Cliff Robertson
James MacArthur
Nick Adams
Suzy Parker
Haya Harareet
Anne Helm
Stefanie Powers
Buddy Ebsen
Telly Savalas
Kaye Stevens
CinematographyRussell Metty
Edited byAl Clark
Jerome Thoms
Music byLeith Stevens
Production
company
Robert Cohn Productions
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • August 8, 1962 (1962-08-08) (New York City)
Running time
120 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$9,230,769[1]

The Interns is a 1962 American drama film directed by David Swift and starring Michael Callan, Cliff Robertson, James MacArthur, Nick Adams, Haya Harareet and Suzy Parker.[2] The film was followed by a 1964 sequel, The New Interns, and a 1970–1971 television medical drama series, The Interns, that was based on the films. The Interns was directed by David Swift.[2]

Plot

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A class of interns arrives for their first year in training at a public city hospital, which serves patients from many different ethnic and socioeconomic groups. Close friends and classmates John Paul Otis and Lew Worship plan to become surgeons and open their own clinic together. They are less than thrilled about their assignment to obstetrics, feeling that delivering babies is not very difficult.

Lew becomes romantically involved with student nurse Gloria, while John becomes infatuated with fashion model Lisa Cardigan. Lisa dislikes the idea of dating a relatively impoverished young doctor, and is pregnant out of wedlock by another man. Although John offers to solve her problem by marrying her, she pressures him to illegally obtain pills for her in hopes of ending the pregnancy. He finally does so, and is caught and reported by Lew, ending their friendship and John's medical career.

Sid Lackland aspires to serve wealthy patients so he can make a lot of money. Then he becomes attached to Loara, a girl from a poor village in Southeast Asia, who is one of his patients. She has a rare medical condition and is scheduled for a serious operation. Loara resists his friendly overtures because she is sure she will die in the hospital. Sid is heartbroken when Loara dies during her surgery.

Alec Considine wants a residency under eminent psychiatrist Dr. Bonney, and secretly cheats on his wealthy fiancée Mildred with Dr. Bonney's longtime nurse Vicky Flynn in hopes of being introduced to the doctor. To keep up his medical duties and spend time with both women, Alec takes Dexedrine to stay awake. Although he does meet Dr. Bonney, who offers him a residency, Mildred discovers his affair and leaves him.

Madolyn Bruckner aspires to become a surgeon under abrasive Dr. Domenic Riccio. Despite her skills as an intern, Riccio discourages her because he is prejudiced against female doctors, assuming they will abandon their medical careers to get married and have children. Riccio later finds out Madolyn has already been married and has a child, yet is still pursuing her medical career as a single working mother.

At the end of the year, Alec, Lew, and several other interns come under suspicion when a terminally ill, immobile patient who has been begging to die is found dead of a barbiturate overdose. None of the involved interns can accept their residencies until the source of the drugs is found, creating a risk that the residency offers will be withdrawn. Alec, strung out on Dexedrine, has a nervous breakdown at the thought of losing his residency with Dr. Bonney. Lew and the other interns visit the patient's wife and find out that she gave him the drugs after being worn down by his constant pleas that if she really loved him, she would help him die. As a result, the interns are no longer under suspicion and can accept their offers.

Lew, having developed an interest in obstetrics after delivering a baby, accepts a residency at the same hospital, and convinces Gloria, who had planned to travel and see the world, to marry him, instead. Sid gets an offer from a wealthy hospital, but inspired by Loara, he goes to practice in impoverished Southeast Asia, instead. Riccio hires Madolyn as his resident assistant. John, now married to Lisa, visits his former classmates and tells Lew he respects him for his sense of ethics. A new class of interns arrives and Lew shows them the way to their dormitory, just as a doctor did for him the previous year.

Cast

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Production

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The film was based on a novel by 26-year-old Richard Frede, who had worked as an intern for two years. It was published in 1960 and became a best seller.[3][4] Film rights were bought for a reported $75,000 plus 15% of the profits.[5] It was optioned by producer Robert Cohn who set up the project at Columbia.[6]

Columbia offered the film to David Swift to direct. "it was the first property that had been presented to me and I thought I could make a fairly decent movie of it, a commercial script", said Swift. Among the changes Swift made was adding more comedy which "leavened the austerity and brutality of the hospital background", according to the director.[7]

A soundtrack album of the Leith Stevens scored, jazz-based music was released on Colpix Records.

Robert Wagner had signed a three-picture deal with Columbia, and announced he would play the role of Lew. "This won't be another Dr. Kildare picture, with the standard romance and the other stereotypes, I can assure you", said Wagner.[8] However his role ended up being played by James MacArthur.

Sidney Poitier was also announced for the cast[9] but did not appear in the final film.

Reception

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The movie originally ran for three hours but was cut down to two.[10]

Critical

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Variety said the film was "undistinguished" and "at times... comes perilously close to earning the nickname, Carry On, Intern."[11]

Box office

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The film grossed $9,230,769 at the box office,[1] earning $5 million in US theatrical rentals.[12][13] It was Columbia's biggest grossing film of the year.[10][14]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Box Office Information for The Interns. The Numbers. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  2. ^ a b "The Interns". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  3. ^ "BEST SELLERS". Los Angeles Times. June 26, 1960. p. B9.
  4. ^ FRANK G. SLAUGHTER (Apr 17, 1960). "Young Men In White: THE INTERNS. By Richard Frede. 374 pp. New York: Random House. $4.95". New York Times. p. BR25.
  5. ^ Lyon, Herb (23 June 1960). "TOWER TICKER". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 18.
  6. ^ Scott, John L (May 20, 1960). "Welles Choice for 'Chapman Report': Johansson Sought for "Interns'; Salome Gens Given New Contract". Los Angeles Times. p. A9.
  7. ^ Mayersberg, Paul (1967). Hollywood, the haunted house. Allen Lane, Penguin P. p. 81.
  8. ^ "WAGNER STEPS UP WORK IN MOVIES: Actor Forms Concern, Signs 3-Picture Columbia Deal". New York Times. Jan 21, 1961. p. 18.
  9. ^ EUGENE ARCHER (Mar 16, 1961). "FOX ABANDONING 'CLEOPATRA' SET: Studio Will Film Spectacle in Hollywood or Rome -- Comedy-Fantasy Opens". New York Times. p. 44.
  10. ^ a b Scheuer, Philip K. (Oct 4, 1962). "Swift Will Screen 'Cook for General': Director Tells Pace Secret; Marilyn Monroe Documented". Los Angeles Times. p. C13.
  11. ^ "The Interns". Variety. 13 June 1962. p. 7.
  12. ^ "All-Time Top Grossers". Variety. 8 January 1964. p. 69.
  13. ^ "Big Rental Pictures of 1962". Variety. 9 Jan 1963. p. 13. Please note these are rentals and not gross figures
  14. ^ Steinberg, Cobbett (1980). Film Facts. Facts on File. p. 24.
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