Review of Captain Newman, M.D. (1963) by Ryan G — 21 Aug 2011

This is the story of a military doctor working at a mental hospital in Arizona catering to soldiers during World War II, and all of the various tuff he has to deal with, from suffering patients, to an oddball new orderly, and a relationship with one of the nurses.

The thing that immediately caught my attention was the cast: Gregory Peck, Tony Curtis, Angie Dickinson, Eddie Albert. Dick Sargenym and supporting roles by Bobby Darin and Robert Duvall. The cast alone makes this a hell of a picture.

It's not just the cast, though. There's a good story here. It's a nice little melodrama typical of the times filled with humor, romance, and sadness, but the cast holds it together. I was really happy with how they were able to blend the laughs with some of the more serious stuff and keep it from being too corny.

The cast are great, and so are their performances. Peck is in typical Peck mode, but that's just fine. Curtis is a real scene stealer, providing some of the best laugh moments, a lot of which are caused just because of goofy faces he makes. The real drama is brought by Darin, Albert, and Duvall who all have some terrific moments of real, moving acting.

This is just a nice good old fashioned film, but that's okay. I liked it. It's entertaining, yet it tries to do a little more.