Long before he slaved away at a typewriter to create the pivotal novel Jurassic Park, and even a year before his notable thriller The Andromeda Strain, author Michael Crichton was trying something a little different under the pseudonym Jeffery Hudson. With his 1968 fourth novel A Case Of Need, Crichton took the hardboiled crime world and brought it to the medical field. This tale of obfuscation and deception was bold enough to capture the attention of Hollywood, who snapped up the rights and brought on director Blake Edwards (the Pink Panther films, Victor/Victoria) to direct.
While Edwards was a director capable of adapting to different genres, at this time he was being royally screwed by the system with several films in a row wrestled away from him and chopped up in the editing room. When what was eventually known as The Carey Treatment hit the screen in 1972, it had unfortunately suffered the same fate. Such was the madness that Edwards felt that it inspired him to channel the experience into his Hollywood satire S.O.B., which you can read about in great detail here. While we might never know what Edwards intended for this film to look like, we are intrigued to gauge how this film works today.
James Coburn (The Last Of Sheila) transforms the lead character of the novel into an effortlessly cool tough guy named Dr. Peter Carey. The pathologist has just moved to Boston from sunny California; when asked why he made the change by a colleague, he so bluntly says it was for the money that it seems like a slap to the face. Yet, Peter is not a complete stranger to his new surroundings, as he is old friends with Dr. Tao (James Hong, Blade Runner), a brilliant surgeon. Even if he wasn’t, Peter is shown to make friends quickly – at least certain kinds of friends. His cafeteria meeting with the fetching Georgia (Jennifer O’Neill, L’Innocente) is straight out of a fantasy with the instant attraction, but the chemistry between these two beautiful people admittedly gets your pulse racing.
The drama of a hot shot doctor acclimating to working with hospital president Dr. J.D. Randall (Dan O’Herlihy, The Last Starfighter) might be enough to sustain a different movie, but this one has crime on its mind. It’s strange how fate brings certain things across your path at the most suspicious moments. I viewed this film the night after the recent leak of the Supreme Court documents concerning Roe v. Wade that has rightfully been dominating the cultural conversation. It was quite striking to find this film hinging on a botched abortion that sends Randall’s daughter to the morgue and puts Dr. Tao on the hook for doing it illegally. While this narrative finds Peter convinced that there is more to this story, ultimately setting him on a path to exonerate his friend, the film’s advocacy for safe and legal abortions is especially refreshing coming from this era.
The most difficult part of sticking with this movie is remembering that Peter is indeed a doctor and not a cop. One of the most memorable sequences involves Peter (rather inappropriately) questioning the roommate of the deceased girl, eventually escalating to a high-speed nightmare meant to scare the girl into sharing what she knows in exchange for not dying in a fiery crash. The technical execution of this scene is immensely impressive and thrilling as the audience is strapped into the passenger’s seat that goes from the highway to a public beach with no regard for anyone’ safety. Likewise, the burgeoning sleuth gets himself into a sticky situation at a massage parlor as he questions a person of interest in a most peculiar manner. These scenes are constructed for maximum palpable tension.
For as many issues as Edwards had with the studio in post-production, the film we got is pretty entertaining for the most part. The most likely disagreements would come with the script and tone; while this is a serious subject, there are moments of bizarre levity that seem straight out of the mind of Blake Edwards. Certain interactions do not aid in getting us to the conclusion of the investigation, but they provide rich character moments that keep things from being completely dry and formulaic. There are many moments that simply do not come together, but the failures of the script are far from a travesty.
Judging by the historical reception of this feature, it would appear that I might be more of a fan than most. The core mystery is nothing revolutionary, and anyone who has seen even a handful of detective films could likely guess the outcome, but there is a certain flavor and fearlessness to the filmmaking that makes it interesting. This is a world where the stakes feel real, as if anyone could lose their life at any moment if they happen to turn down the wrong path. With a terrific cast and a serviceable narrative, Blake Edwards created something that the studios may have fouled up more than necessary, but nonetheless manages to be a project that should not evoke shame by any means. This is a solid investigative thriller.
Video Quality
The Carey Treatment debuts on Blu-Ray with a 1080p transfer sourced from a new 2022 HD master that is very impressive. The transfer maintains the perfect amount of natural film grain, which lends itself to detailed backgrounds and clothing. The image throughout the disc is almost entirely free from dirt or print damage, as well as pesky digital anomalies such as compression artifacting or banding. Skin tones look natural throughout this transfer. The content that takes place at night is accompanied by deep black levels free of any crush. The transfer represents some of these stark locations in a way that is stunning. While not a film absolutely bursting with color, there are some elements in the production design that radiate off the screen quite nicely. Warner Archive did not cut any corners with this transfer as it ranks as a top notch effort. I have not seen the ancient DVD, but I can only imagine that this new transfer completely blows that disc out of the water.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray release comes with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that sounds perfect for the story. The delivery of the dialogue always comes through crystal clear even when characters mumble or are in distress. None of the sound effects or the score from Roy Budd ever overpowers the dialogue on this release. There are not a great number of sequences that are kinetic here, but there are a handful of sequences involving cars that really make an impact in the mix. The film also showcases numerous environmental details that are appropriately lively in the speakers. There does not appear to be any damage or age related wear to the track. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles available on the disc for those who need it. Overall, this is an excellent audio presentation that suits the material really well.
Special Features
- Theatrical Trailer: The two-minute trailer is provided for the film.
Final Thoughts
The Carey Treatment is a historically troubled production behind the scenes, but all of the elements come together well enough in the final product to thoroughly entertain. James Coburn is a cool enough customer that you feel as if he should have had an even bigger career than he already had. Not everything comes together perfectly, and it is apparent that there were too many cooks in the kitchen, but there is no mistaking that this is a Blake Edwards film with its own unique identity. Warner Archive has released a Blu-Ray featuring a virtually flawless A/V presentation and next to nothing in the way of special features. If you enjoy a steady mystery, you could do worse than this. Recommended
The Carey Treatment can be purchased directly through the Warner Archive Amazon Store or various other online retailers.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Warner Archive has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.