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Dr. Cook's Garden

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Dr. Cook's Garden
Written byIra Levin
Directed byIra Levin
Date premieredSeptember 25, 1967
Place premieredNew York
Original languageEnglish

Dr. Cook's Garden is a play by Ira Levin. It was adapted as a TV movie in 1971 starring Bing Crosby.

Plot

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James Tennyson is a young and idealistic physician who returns to his hometown of Greenfield, Vermont to work with his mentor Dr. Leonard Cook, who is a father figure to him. Tennyson's real father was an abusive brute who broke his arm in a drunken rage. Dr. Cook seems to be a positive role model to Tennyson and a pillar of the community who welcomes his young protégé home. Cook's housekeeper Dora tells Tennyson of her employer's heart troubles and how he needs an assistant. Upon his homecoming, Tennyson is reunited with Jane Rausch, his childhood sweetheart, and in the process begins to become suspicious of Cook's activities. He discovers that many of his patients have died suddenly and mysteriously. He also discovers in the doctor's medicine cabinet a large supply of poisons. The town constable tells Tennyson that he feels that the Lord has blessed the town because the "nice" people have lived to an old age and the mean ones have died off. He begins to look through the doctor's files and finds a mysterious code "R", which he notices is also in the doctor's garden, and he interprets it to mean removal of those that the doctor considers unworthy people. Tennyson confronts his mentor, who freely admits to euthanizing those that he considers unworthy. He tells Cook of killing his abusive father and defends his actions as a form of community service, using his beautiful garden as a metaphor. Tennyson promises not to turn Cook in to the authorities, on the condition that Cook immediately retire from medical practice. After pretending to agree to the plan, Cook attempts to poison Tennyson, and they wage a battle to the death, which ends in Cook suffering a heart attack and dying after Tennyson refuses to bring him his medicine in a perverse act of final mercy.

Original production

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The play opened on Broadway at the Belasco Theatre on September 25, 1967, with a cast including Burl Ives as Cook and Keir Dullea as Tennyson. George C. Scott was meant to direct[1] but was replaced during rehearsals by Levin.[2]

The play's Broadway production was covered in William Goldman's book on Broadway The Season: A Candid Look at Broadway.

Television film

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Dr. Cook's Garden
Based onDr. Cook's Garden
by Ira Levin
Written byArt Wallace
Directed byTed Post
StarringBing Crosby
Frank Converse
Blythe Danner
Barnard Hughes
Bethel Leslie
Music byRobert Drasnin
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducerBob Markell
CinematographyUrs Furrer
EditorJohn McSweeney
Running time75 minutes
Production companyParamount Television
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseJanuary 19, 1971 (1971-01-19)

The play was adapted for television in 1971 with Bing Crosby in the title role and Frank Converse as Dr. Tennyson. It was well received, with Variety stating: "Doctor Cook's Garden was an unusually satisfying entry in ABC's ‘Movie of the Week’ series...For Bing Crosby, the title role was an acting triumph. In his long list of films, Garden was only his second straight acting role (the other was The Country Girl in 1955) and he has indeed come a long way since his first ‘doctor’ film – Doctor Rhythm in 1938. Playing a part that easily could have been hammed-up, Crosby let the fictive character take over—no small trick for a star with a forty-year identity as a singer and light comedy artist."[3]

Cast

See also

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References

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  1. ^ LEWIS FUNKE (Aug 27, 1967). "News of the Rialto: So Many Busy People". New York Times. p. D1.
  2. ^ Playbill for 1967 production accessed 15 June 2013
  3. ^ Variety. January 27, 1971.
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