''Dr. Cook's Garden'' is a play by

Ira Levin Ira Marvin Levin (August 27, 1929 – November 12, 2007) was an American novelist, playwright, and songwriter. His works include the novels ''A Kiss Before Dying (novel), A Kiss Before Dying'' (1953), ''Rosemary's Baby (novel), Rosemary's Baby'' ...

. It was adapted as a TV movie in 1971 starring

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

Plot

James Tennyson is a young and idealistic physician who returns to his hometown of Greenfield to work with Doctor Leonard Cook, his mentor who is a father figure to him. Tennyson's father was an abusive brute who broke his arm in a drunken rage. Doctor Cook seems to be a positive role model to Tennyson and a pillar of the community who welcomes his young protégé home. Cook's housekeeper Dora tells Tennyson of Doctor Cook's heart troubles and how he needs an assistant. Upon his homecoming, Tennyson is reunited with Jamey Roush, his childhood sweetheart, and in the process begins to become suspicious of Doctor Cook's activities. He discovers that many of his patients have died suddenly and mysteriously. He also discovers in the doctor's medicine cabinet a large supply of poisons. The town constable tells Tennyson that he feels that the Lord has blessed the town because the "nice" people have lived to an old age and the mean ones have died off. He begins to look through the doctor's files and finds a mysterious code "R", which he notices is also in the doctor's garden, and he interprets it to mean removal of those that the doctor considers unworthy people. Tennyson confronts his mentor, who freely admits to euthanizing those that he considers unworthy. He tells him of killing his abusive father and considers his actions to be of community service, using his beautiful garden as a metaphor. Cook attempts to poison Tennyson, and they wage a battle to the death, which ends in Cook suffering a heart attack and dying after Tennyson refuses to bring him his medicine in a perverse act of final mercy.

Original production

The play premiered on Broadway in 1967 with a cast including

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...

and

Keir Dullea Keir Atwood Dullea (; born May 30, 1936) is an American actor. He played astronaut David Bowman in the 1968 film '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' and its 1984 sequel, '' 2010: The Year We Make Contact''. His other film roles include '' David and Lisa ...

George C. Scott George Campbell Scott (October 18, 1927 – September 22, 1999) was an American actor, director, and producer who had a celebrated career on both stage and screen. With a gruff demeanor and commanding presence, Scott became known for his port ...

was meant to direct but was replaced during rehearsals by Levin. The play's Broadway production was covered in

William Goldman William Goldman (August 12, 1931 – November 16, 2018) was an American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He first came to prominence in the 1950s as a novelist before turning to screenwriting. He won Academy Awards for his screenplays '' ...

's book on Broadway '' The Season: A Candid Look at Broadway''.

Television film

The play was adapted for television in 1971 with

in the title role and

Frank Converse Frank Converse (born May 22, 1938) is an American actor. Early life Converse was born in 1938 in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1962, he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in drama at Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) in ...

as Dr. Tennyson. It was well received with ''Variety'' stating: "''Doctor Cook's Garden'' was an unusually satisfying entry in ABC's ‘Movie of the Week’ series...For Bing Crosby, the title role was an acting triumph. In his long list of films, ''Garden'' was only his second straight acting role (the other was '' The Country Girl'' in 1955) and he has indeed come a long way since his first ‘doctor’ film – ''

Doctor Rhythm ''Doctor Rhythm'' is a 1938 American musical comedy film directed by Frank Tuttle and starring Bing Crosby, Mary Carlisle, Beatrice Lillie, and Andy Devine. Based on the 1907 short story ''The Badge of Policeman O'Roon'' by O. Henry, the film i ...

'' in 1938. Playing a part that easily could have been hammed-up, Crosby let the fictive character take over—no small trick for a star with a forty-year identity as a singer and light comedy artist." ;Cast *

as Dr. Leonard Cook *

as Jimmy Tennyson *

Blythe Danner Blythe Katherine Danner (born February 3, 1943) is an American actress. Accolades she has received include two Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Izzy Huffstodt on '' Huff'' (2004–2006), and a ...

as Janey Rausch *

Barnard Hughes Bernard Aloysius Kiernan Hughes (July 16, 1915 – July 11, 2006), known professionally as Barnard Hughes, was an American actor of television, theater and film. Hughes became famous for a variety of roles; his most notable roles came after mid ...

as Elias Hart *

Bethel Leslie Jane Bethel Leslie (August 3, 1929 – November 28, 1999) was an American actress and screenwriter. In her career spanning half a century, she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurel Award in 1964, a Tony Award in 1986, and a Cable ...

as Essie Bullitt

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Doctor Cook's Garden 1967 plays 1971 television films 1971 films ABC Movie of the Week 1971 drama films Films directed by Ted Post Paramount Pictures films American drama television films 1970s American films Horror plays

Plot

Original production

Television film

See also

References

External links