''The Interns'' is a 1962 American

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

film directed by David Swift and starring

Michael Callan Michael Callan (born Martin Harris Calinieff; November 22, 1935 – October 10, 2022) was an American actor best known for originating the role of Riff in ''West Side Story'' on Broadway, and for his film roles for Columbia Pictures, notably ' ...

Cliff Robertson Clifford Parker Robertson III (September 9, 1923 – September 10, 2011) was an American actor whose career in film and television spanned over six decades. Robertson portrayed a young John F. Kennedy in the 1963 film '' PT 109'', and won the 196 ...

James MacArthur James Gordon MacArthur (December 8, 1937 – October 28, 2010) was an American actor with a long career in both movies and television. MacArthur's early work was predominantly in supporting roles in films. Later, he had a starring role as ...

, Nick Adams, Haya Harareet and

Suzy Parker Suzy Parker (born Cecilia Ann Renee Parker; October 28, 1932 – May 3, 2003) was an American model and actress active from 1947 until 1970. Her modeling career reached its zenith during the 1950s, when she appeared on the covers of dozens of ma ...

. The film was followed by a 1964 sequel, ''

The New Interns ''The New Interns'' is a 1964 American drama film directed by John Rich, and the sequel to the 1962 film '' The Interns'', itself based on the novel of the same name by Richard Frede. It stars Michael Callan and Dean Jones. For his performance, ...

'', and a 1970–1971 television

medical drama A medical drama is a television show or film in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television), dramatic programming go beyond the events pertaining to the chara ...

series, '' The Interns'', that was based on the films. ''The Interns'' was directed by David Swift.

Plot

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 (Robertson) and Lew Worship (

) plan to become

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

s and open their own clinic together. They are less than thrilled about their assignment to

obstetrics Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...

, feeling that delivering babies is not very difficult. Lew becomes romantically involved with student nurse Gloria (

Stefanie Powers Stefanie Powers (born November 2, 1942) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Jennifer Hart on the mystery television series ''Hart to Hart'' (1979–1984), for which she received nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards a ...

), 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 ( Nick Adams) aspires to serve wealthy patients so he can make a lot of money. Then he becomes attached to Loara (Ellen Davalos), 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 (Callan) wants a residency under eminent psychiatrist Dr. Bonney, and secretly cheats on his wealthy fiancée Mildred (

Anne Helm Anne Helm (born September 12, 1938) is a retired Canadian-born actress and children's author (as Annie Helm), who primarily appeared in guest roles on episodes of various American television series. Her few film roles include playing Elvis Presl ...

) 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 Dextroamphetamine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant and an amphetamine enantiomer that is prescribed for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy. It is also used as an athletic performance and c ...

to stay awake. Although he does meet Dr. Bonney, who offers him a residency, Mildred discovers his affair and leaves him. Madolyn Bruckner ( Haya Harareet) aspires to become a surgeon under abrasive Dr. Domenic Riccio (Savalas). 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 Barbiturates are a class of depressant drugs that are chemically derived from barbituric acid. They are effective when used medically as anxiolytics, hypnotics, and anticonvulsants, but have physical and psychological addiction potential as we ...

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 A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

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

as Dr. Alec Considine *

as Dr. John Paul Otis *

as Dr. Lew Worship * Nick Adams as Dr. Sid Lackland *

as Lisa Cardigan * Haya Harareet as Dr. Madolyn Bruckner *

as Mildred *

as Nurse Gloria Mead *

Buddy Ebsen Buddy Ebsen (born Christian Ludolf Ebsen Jr., April 2, 1908 – July 6, 2003), also known as Frank "Buddy" Ebsen, was an American actor and dancer, whose career spanned seven decades. One of his most famous roles was as Jed Clampett in the CBS ...

as Dr. Sidney Wohl *

Telly Savalas Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas (January 21, 1922 – January 22, 1994) was an American actor and singer whose career spanned four decades. Noted for his bald head and deep, resonant voice, he is perhaps best known for portraying Lt. Theo Kojak on th ...

as Dr. Dominic Riccio *

Katharine Bard Katharine Bard (October 19, 1916 – July 28, 1983) was an American actress. She appeared in the films '' The Decks Ran Red'', '' The Interns'', ''Johnny Cool'', ''Inside Daisy Clover'' and ''How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life''. She appea ...

as Nurse Vicky Flynn *

Kaye Stevens Kaye Stevens (born Catherine Louise Stephens, also sometimes spelled Kay Stevens, July 21, 1932 – December 28, 2011) was an American singer and actress. Her big break in show business came at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas, when the headliner ...

as Nurse Didi Loomis * Gregory Morton as Dr. Hugo Grandchard * Angela Clarke as Mrs. Emma Auer *

Connie Gilchrist Rose Constance Gilchrist (July 17, 1895 – March 3, 1985) was an American stage, film, and television actress. Among her screen credits are her roles in the Hollywood productions '' Cry 'Havoc (1943), ''A Letter to Three Wives'' (1949), ' ...

az Nurse Connue Dean * Ellen Davalos as Loara * Carroll Harrison as Nurse Olga *

John Banner John Banner (born Johann Banner, January 28, 1910 – January 28, 1973) was an Austrian-born American actor, best known for his role as Sergeant Schultz in the situation comedy ''Hogan's Heroes'' (1965–1971). Schultz, constantly encou ...

as Dr. Duane * Mari Lynn as Samantha Simon *

Brian G. Hutton Brian Geoffrey Hutton (January 1, 1935 – August 19, 2014) was an American actor and film director whose notable credits are for the action films '' Where Eagles Dare'' (1968) and ''Kelly's Heroes'' (1970). Acting career Hutton was born in New Y ...

as Dr. Joe Parelli (as Brian Button) * J. Edward McKinley as Dr. Robert Bonny * Bobo Lewis as Gwen * Ira Barmak as Second Intern * Bill Gunn as Rosco (uncredited)

Production

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. Film rights were bought for a reported $75,000 plus 15% of the profits. It was optioned by producer Robert Cohn who set up the project at Columbia. 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.

Robert Wagner Robert John Wagner Jr. (born February 10, 1930) is an American actor of stage, screen, and television. He is known for starring in the television shows '' It Takes a Thief'' (1968–1970), ''Switch'' (1975–1978), and ''Hart to Hart'' (1979– ...

had signed a three-picture deal with Columbia, and announced he would play the role of Lew. "This won't be another

Dr. Kildare Dr. James Kildare is a fictional American medical doctor, originally created in the 1930s by the author Frederick Schiller Faust under the pen name Max Brand. Shortly after the character's first appearance in a magazine story, Paramount Pictur ...

picture, with the standard romance and the other stereotypes, I can assure you", said Wagner. However his role ended up being played by James MacArthur.

Sidney Poitier Sidney Poitier ( ; February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was an American actor, film director, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. He received two competitive ...

was also announced for the cast but did not appear in the final film.

Reception

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

Box office

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

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Interns 1962 films 1962 drama films American black-and-white films American drama films Columbia Pictures films 1960s English-language films Films based on American novels Films directed by David Swift Films scored by Leith Stevens Medical-themed films Films with screenplays by Walter Newman (screenwriter) Films set in hospitals 1960s American films