''Dr. Cook's Garden'' is a play by

Ira Levin Ira Marvin Levin (August 27, 1929 – November 12, 2007) was an American novelist, playwright, and songwriter. His works include the novels '' A Kiss Before Dying'' (1953), '' Rosemary's Baby'' (1967), '' The Stepford Wives'' (1972), '' This Perf ...

. It was adapted as a TV movie in 1971 starring

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

Plot

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

The play opened on Broadway at the

Belasco Theatre The Belasco Theatre is a Broadway theater at 111 West 44th Street, between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Originally known as the Stuyvesant Theatre, it was bu ...

on September 25, 1967, with a cast including

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American Folk music, folk singer and actor with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his o ...

as Cook and

Keir Dullea Keir Atwood Dullea ( ; born May 30, 1936) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of astronaut David Bowman in the 1968 film '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' and its 1984 sequel, '' 2010: The Year We Make Contact''. His other film rol ...

as Tennyson.

George C. Scott George Campbell Scott (October 18, 1927 – September 22, 1999) was an American actor. He had a celebrated career on both stage and screen. With a gruff demeanor and commanding presence, Scott became known for his portrayal of stern but complex ...

was meant to direct but was replaced during rehearsals by Levin. The play's Broadway production was covered in

William Goldman William Goldman (August 12, 1931 – November 16, 2018) was an American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He first came to prominence in the 1950s as a novelist before turning to screenwriting. Among other accolades, Goldman won two Aca ...

's book on Broadway '' The Season: A Candid Look at Broadway''.

Television film

The play was adapted for television in 1971 with

in the title role and

Frank Converse Frank Converse (born May 22, 1938) is an American actor. Early life Converse was born in 1938 in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1962, he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in drama at Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) in ...

as Dr. Tennyson. It was well received, with ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' 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."''Variety''. January 27, 1971. ;Cast *

as Dr. Leonard Cook *

as Jimmy Tennyson *

Blythe Danner Blythe Katherine Danner (born February 3, 1943) is an American actress. Accolades she has received include two Primetime Emmy Awards for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, Best Supporting Actress in a Dra ...

as Janey Rausch *

Bethel Leslie Jane Bethel Leslie (August 3, 1929 – November 28, 1999) was an American actress and screenwriter. In a career spanning half a century, she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurel Award in 1964, a Tony Award in 1986, and a CableA ...

as Essie Bullitt *

Barnard Hughes Bernard “Barnard” Aloysius Kiernan Hughes (July 16, 1915 – July 11, 2006) was an American TV, theater, and film actor. Hughes became famous for a variety of roles: his most notable came after middle age, and he was often cast as a dith ...

as Elias Hart *Carol Morley as Mary Booth *

Staats Cotsworth Staats Cotsworth (February 17, 1908 – April 9, 1979) was an American actor in old-time radio.DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. ...

as Ted Rausch *Jordan Reed as Billy *Abby Lewis as Dora Ludlow *Fred Burrell as Harry Bullitt *Thomas Barbour as Reverend *

Helen Stenborg Helen Joan Stenborg (January 24, 1925 – March 22, 2011) was an American actress of stage, screen, and television. She occasionally acted with her husband, actor Barnard Hughes (1915–2006), to whom she was married for 56 years from 1950 until ...

as Ruth Hart

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Doctor Cook's Garden 1967 plays American plays adapted into films Broadway plays Plays by Ira Levin Plays set in Vermont Thriller plays Works about physicians 1970s American films 1970s serial killer films 1971 thriller films 1971 drama films 1971 films 1971 television films ABC Movie of the Week American drama television films American films based on plays American serial killer films American thriller television films Films about physicians Films based on works by Ira Levin Films directed by Ted Post Films scored by Robert Drasnin Films set in Vermont Films shot in Vermont Paramount Pictures films

Plot

Original production

Television film

See also

References

External links