''The Bramble Bush'' is a 1960 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

, based on the controversial novel of the same name, directed by

Daniel Petrie Daniel Mannix Petrie (November 26, 1920 – August 22, 2004) was a Canadian film director, film, television director, television, and stage director who worked in Canada, Hollywood, and the United Kingdom; known for directing grounded human dram ...

and starring Richard Burton,

Angie Dickinson Angeline Dickinson (née Brown; born September 30, 1931) is an American actress. She began her career on television, appearing in many anthology series during the 1950s, before gaining her breakthrough role in ''Gun the Man Down'' (1956) wit ...

Barbara Rush Barbara Rush (born January 4, 1927) is an American actress. In 1954, Rush won the Golden Globe Award as most promising female newcomer for her role in the 1953 American science-fiction film ''It Came from Outer Space''.Warren 1982, pp. 151–6 ...

, Jack Carson and James Dunn. It was released by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

Plot

Dr. Guy Montford moves back to his seaside

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

hometown at the request of old friend Larry McFie, who is dying of cancer. Over the objections of Larry's father, Sam, hospital administrator Dr. Sol Kelsey puts the patient in Guy's personal care. Guy runs into Bert Mosley, an unscrupulous lawyer who is running for

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

. He is unaware that Mosley is having an affair with Kelsey's chief nurse, Fran, until one night he is summoned to a motel fire and finds that Bert and Fran were secretly meeting there. Larry knows his condition is terminal, despite Guy's mentions of a possible miracle drug. Larry's death-bed wish is that his wife, Margaret, will end up married to Guy, whom he trusts. Sam McFie, for some reason, does not want his son being treated by Guy. Margaret goes sailing with Guy, but is devoted to her husband. She is also unhappy with Guy's cruel treatment of a town drunk, Stew, until she learns that the man once had an illicit romance with Guy's mother, resulting in the suicide of his father. Margaret and Guy briefly become lovers. Fran has hopelessly fallen in love with Guy, but is being blackmailed by reporter Parker Welk, who knows of the motel affair and threatens to go public unless Fran poses for provocative photographs. Bert finds out about it and assaults Parker, who receives medical attention from Guy. Complications develop when Larry pleads with Guy to put him out of his misery and Margaret discovers she is pregnant from the one-night stand. Guy can't bear to see his friend in pain. He gives him a fatal overdose of morphine. Fran realizes what happened and tells Bert, who has Guy placed under arrest. Larry's father lies on the

witness stand A courtroom is the enclosed space in which courts of law are held in front of a judge. A number of courtrooms, which may also be known as "courts", may be housed in a courthouse. In recent years, courtrooms have been equipped with audiovisual ...

that his son feared for his life in Guy's care, believing the doctor was in love with his wife. Sol, however, testifies that he personally heard Larry beg Guy for

euthanasia Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eut ...

. A jury acquits Guy, who hopes he and Margaret can move beyond all that has happened someday.

Cast

* Richard Burton as Dr. Guy Montford *

as Fran * Jack Carson as Bert Mosley *

as Margaret * Frank Conroy as Sol Kelsey *

Carl Benton Reid Carl Benton Reid (August 14, 1893 – March 16, 1973) was an American actor. Early years Reid was born in Lansing, Michigan. He used his full name professionally because when he worked in radio, four other people in the business were named Ca ...

as Sam McFie *

Tom Drake Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in '' Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

as Larry McFie * Henry Jones as Parker Welk * James Dunn as Stew

Production

The film was based on a novel by

Charles Mergendahl Charles Mergendahl (February 23, 1919 – April 27, 1959) was an American writer, best known for his salacious 1958 novel ''The Bramble Bush'' (1958) and its The Bramble Bush, 1960 film adaptation. He also contributed original scripts and adaptat ...

which was published in 1958. Reviewers compared it with other novels about the underbelly of small towns such as '' Peyton Place'' and '' King's Row''. In August 1958, film rights were bought by Milton Sperling, who had a production unit, United States Pictures at Warner Bros. In January 1959 Richard Burton signed to play the male lead. Sperling wanted

Carolyn Jones Carolyn Sue Jones (April 28, 1930 – August 3, 1983) was an American actress of television and film. Jones began her film career in the early 1950s, and by the end of the decade had achieved recognition with a nomination for an Academy ...

to play the female lead. Eventually, the part went to

, who had just impressed in ''

Rio Bravo Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

''. In February

, best known for his work on television including adaptations of '' Wuthering Heights'', signed to direct. A support role was given to James Dunn, making his first film in eight years, and his first movie at Warners since 1935. Filming began 30 March 1959. The film was mostly shot at the studio, with a few days location work at Newport and Balboa to look like Cape Cod. During filming, Mergendahl died after a fall at his home. He was only 40 years old.

Bantam Books Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. ...

published 1.5 million editions of the novel to coincide with the release of the film. It was the largest order in Bantam's history.

Reception

The film earned rentals of $3 million in the United States and Canada.DAN PETRIE, THE "UNDERGROUND RAILWAY" FROM CANADA TO BROADWAY Moore, Jacqueline. Maclean's; Toronto, Canada Vol. 74, Iss. 11, (Jun 3, 1961): 24.

References

External links