The Young Doctors (film)

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The Young Doctors
Directed by	Phil Karlson
Produced by	Stuart Millar Lawrence Turman
Written by	Arthur Hailey (novel) Joseph Hayes
Starring	Ben Gazzara Fredric March
Music by	Elmer Bernstein
Cinematography	Arthur J. Ornitz
Editing by	Robert Swink
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date(s)	August 23, 1961
Running time	100 min.
Country	USA
Language	English
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IMDb profile

The Young Doctors is a 1961 film starring Ben Gazzara, Fredric March, Dick Clark, Ina Balin, Eddie Albert, Phyllis Love, Aline MacMahon, George Segal and Dolph Sweet. It was directed by Phil Karlson, from a novel by Arthur Hailey. Ronald Reagan was the narrator in the film.

[edit] Plot

David Coleman (Gazzara) is a young doctor hired by a hospital's pathology department. The head of the department, Dr. Joseph Pearson (March), sees Coleman as a rival, and they fight over many medical issues. Coleman falls in love with Cathy Hunt (Balin), a nurse at the hospital, who develops a tumor in her knee. Pearson believes that the tumor is malignant and that the leg should be amputated, but Coleman disagrees. Coleman orders three blood tests on Mrs. Alexander, an expectant mother whose baby may have hemolytic disease, but Pearson believes that the tests are excessive and cancels the third test. Mrs. Alexander is married to a young intern at the hospital (Clark), who, along with Coleman, tried to push for the third test. When the baby is born seriously ill, Dr. Charles Dornberger (Albert), Mrs. Alexander's OB/GYN, berates Pearson and conducts a blood transfusion to save the baby's life. Pearson's future at the hospital becomes uncertain, and he resigns. Coleman has changed his mind about Cathy's tumor and agrees with Pearson's decision, while Pearson says that Coleman reminds him of himself when he was young.