''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 ...

, 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, television, and stage director who worked in Canada, Hollywood, and the United Kingdom; known for directing grounded human dramas often dealing with taboo subject ...

and starring

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...

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,

Jack Carson John Elmer Carson (October 27, 1910 – January 2, 1963) was a Canadian-born American film actor. Carson often played the role of comedic friend in films of the 1940s and 1950s, including ''The Strawberry Blonde'' (1941) with James Cagney and ...

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. D ...

Plot

Dr. Guy Montford moves back to his seaside

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hometown at the request of old friend Larry McFie, who is dying of cancer. Over the objections of Larry's father, 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. 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 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. A jury acquits Guy, who hopes he and Margaret can move beyond all that has happened someday.

Cast

as Dr. Guy Montford *

as Fran *

as Bert Mosley * Barbara Rush as Margaret * Frank Conroy as Sol Kelsey * Carl Benton Reid as Sam McFie * Tom Drake as Larry McFie * Henry Jones as Parker Welk * James Dunn as Stew

Production

The film was based on a novel by Charles Mergendahl 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 to play the female lead. Eventually the part went to

, who had just impressed in '' Rio Bravo''. In February

, best known for his work on television including adaptations of ''

Wuthering Heights ''Wuthering Heights'' is an 1847 novel by Emily Brontë, initially published under her pen name Ellis Bell. It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moors, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, and their turbulent re ...

'', 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 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

''The Bramble Bush''
at

TCMDB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of A ...