Captain Newman, M.D. (1963)

I wanted to but couldn't!

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Even though Gregory Peck is the lead of Captain Newman, M.D., the performance generally remembered from this film is Bobby Darin's. He was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1964, beaten out by Melvyn Douglas in a "sentimental favorite" Oscar. Bobby had taken a couple of dramatic roles prior to this one, but the Academy saw fit to honor this role, in which he plays one of the patients in the psychiatric ward that Gregory Peck oversees.As is typical in movies that take place solely in a hospital, the new doctor arrives at the start of the film. There's a seasoned co-worker to show him the ropes and warn him of a few patients, thereby explaining the situation to the audience as well. Greg plays the doctor, the title character, and Tony Curtis and Angie Dickinson help him adjust to his new life in the short-staffed army hospital. I like these types of movies because the characterization is always very varied, and you'll usually be able to find someone you like.Bobby Darin does an excellent job portraying a shell-shocked soldier, and he's joined by Robert Duvall and Eddie Albert in often overlooked supporting roles. It's a staple of Gregory Peck movies; who doesn't want to see him playing a concerned doctor trying to help people? If you're like me and often watch movies solely to appreciate the acting, this is a great one.

Just watched Captain Newman MD, what a wonderful film.Although a keen movie watcher just nearing my 70th year I've never seen this film at the cinema or on TV before.I was wondering,whilst watching,why I had not seen or heard of this film before and came to the conclusion(wrongly)that maybe because of the subject matter,ie battle fatigue ,which in certain quarters was not recognised,the film was not generally released.I found it sympathetic,tearful,thought provoking and funny with all the characters adding to a great film.I wish I had recorded this so I could watch it again,but did not,so I will have to see where I can buy it.

Gregory Peck is probably best know for playing strong, benevolent types like Atticus Finch, and in many ways, the title role in this film does not take him far from that. What makes this film memorable is not Peck so much as it is his outstanding supporting cast. Bobby Darin, best known as a singer, show acting chops here few thought he possessed. Tony Curtis is strong and fits his role perfectly,Angie Dickinson as a nurse with brains and beauty, and Eddie Albert as you've never seen him. His performance alone merits watching this movie, but enjoy the story and the entire cast in a film that gives those who missed it a glimpse into what Hollywood was putting out in the 60s.

If anything positive can be said for 1963's Captain Newman, MD, it's that it is a compassionate film. It is not a coherent one, nor is it ever sure if it's a WWII drama or a stale service-comedy.CNMD boasts a lot of very familiar faces doing and saying ridiculous things: Gregory Peck is not a man for light comedy (and when he's falling-down drunk, you'll want him to just go to bed and sleep it off, not laugh at him as he pratfalls about with Angie Dickinson). Dickinson is embarrassing as Peck's sort of love interest; she's given little to do but look good and look concerned (which erupts into very controlled weeping when the news from the front gets bad). Tony Curtis wears the outfit of street-wise non-com who keeps telling Peck how easy psychiatry is, dog-robbing the top of a Christmas tree, and herding sheep. Robert Duvall reprises his Boo Radley role from To Kill a Mockingbird, Bobby Darin chews, smacks, and gulps the scenery as a B-17 gunner whose got a bad case of survivor's guilt, and Eddie Albert manages to be the only actor who exceeds the bare minimum of acting expectations here. His Army Air Force colonel is suffering from sending too many youngsters to their deaths, and watching him break up and shatter is the only saving grace in this shoddy mess.Yet, the movie is a compassionate one. It's very madness-of-war and stick-it-to-the-man in its treatment of combat-related mental illness. CNMD is full of 11th grade psychology (so that the audience will get it; God help the trained professional who watches this), cutesy characters, and tedious situation drama and comedy. It reminded me of the first three or four years of M*A*S*H on TV (before Alan Alda decided to inject the series with an overdose of deep). Everyone is running about, trying their best to get the message out to you that WAR IS HELL, but it's nuttier still, and the only way to win it is to be cutesy and compassionate.I like my war-movies-with-a-message a bit more sure of themselves. Just watch Tom Hanks pull himself together three quarters of the way through Saving Private Ryan or the movie M*A*S*H wherein Bobby Troupe keeps confronting the idiocies inherent in soldiering by simply hanging his hands over the steering wheel of a jeep and muttering, "Goddamned army!" Leave the head-shrinking to the professionals.