Customer Reviews

Not As a Stranger [VHS]

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
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"Not as a Stranger" was an unexpected pleasure once I got past the shock of seeing Robert Mitchum, Frank Sinatra, and Lee Marvin (or his twin)as medical students staring down from tiered seating at a lecturing doctor. Oh, my, I thought, that is NOT a town in which to get sick! I was reeling from mis-casting shock for a number of minutes into the movie, but then Hollywood starting luring me into enjoyment of the performances of these actors cast against type. Bob Mitchum, the penniless son of a hopeless alcoholic (a very WELL-cast Lon Chaney, Jr., alas, in a sad role)wants to be a doctor more than any of his fellow colleagues, many of whom dream of big future salaries and big old 50's cars, in order to set the world right. This strikes me as a realistic characteristic of a child of an alcoholic, who's had chaos thrust upon him and wants to put it back in its place. The fact that Bob Mitchum doesn't look like any doctor most folks would imagine actually starts working for him--he does look Proletarian, he does look like someone who's had a rough time heretofore, and he definitely looks like someone with the physical strength to stand up to a doctor's rigorous career demands. Moreover, Frank Sinatra plays the indulged but basically good-hearted son of a rich man who is in med school to score money afterwards convincingly; he WAS a good actor and I came to enjoy his presence in the role. There is A LOT of information in the film about what a good doctor should know and how difficult the job is; done correctly, medical practice is a, don't laugh, noble calling and the film promotes this view. It also, however, acknowledges the presence of greed and mediocrity among medical men and hospital administrators, so there is a sensible balance between ideal and real. Now, as to the true love aspect, Olivia DeHaviland does a wonderful job as the Swedish-American nurse who loves and supports (and I do mean financially as well as emotionally)Bob Mitchum's young doctor. This is another one of those films in which the luminous, beautifully put-together Ms. DeHaviland is supposed to be, cough! cough!, plain--homely, declasse, etc. Yes, her platinum blonde hair is pulled tight enough to break and the make-up is laid on very sparingly, but for heavens sake why did Hollywood think this woman wasn't a raving beauty? I think perhaps the sincerity with which she played gentle women of character and responsibility is partly to blame for her being cast as un-glamorous. It apparently was as hard to reconcile "good" with "sexy" in olden Hollywood as it is now, sigh...Anyway, the nurse sincerely loves her doctor despite her growing awareness that he considers her more of a convenience than anything else, and for me the romantic tension was not so much in the doctor cheating with the horsy rich vavoom girl as in wondering if the fool man would ever realize what he has at home. Watch this beautifully shot, lush, 50's drama and find out. And enjoy all those character actors and actresses, such as Harry Morgan playing a flat-affected Swede with a wonderful poker face.

Although many of the scenes in this epic would be judged "hokey" by modern standards, "Not As a Stranger" was one of the first films to give viewers a factual look inside the medical profession and challenge the god-like nature of physicians. Mitchum plays a young man with many personal "issues," who tries to work them out by driving himself to become a stellar doctor. Sinatra plays an uncharacteristically "second banana" role as a stalwart physician-friend to Mitchum and DeHavilland. Broderick Crawford is the demanding and idealistic medical school professor who inspires Mitchum, Bickford is the long-suffering and self-sacrificing family doctor whose practice Mitchum joins, and DeHavilland and Grahame are the two women in his life. DeHavilland represents many doctors' wives through the decades, who were chosen as spouses because of the stability and respectability they offered... not because of love. The anguish this causes DeHavilland in the film is poignantly representative of many other real-life women in her position. Gloria Grahame is also another stereotype of the 1950s, playing a rich, bored, depressed widow who acts out on her pain with sexual promiscuity (which is only referenced in a veiled fashion in this movie). In the end, Mitchum fails himself and his friend and mentor, Bickford, by failing to save Bickford's life when he has a medical crisis of his own. The shattering effect this event has on Mitchum is emphasized by the fact that the only person he can turn to in his grief is his wife, DeHavilland, whom he does not love and who does not love him.

The film is a sleeper. Robert Mitchum is its star convincingly playing a man so determined to be a doctor and save lives that he doesn't care about the lives of those closest to him who love him. A great cast of actors and character actors: Robert Mitchum, Olivia DeHavilan, Frank Sinatra, Lee Marvin, Broderick Crawford, Charles Bickford, Gloria Grahame, Lon Chaney Jr., and Jesse White (the original TV Maytag repairman). It has terrific dialogue and one of the most passionate love scenes, although it only shows a kiss (and a pretty excited stallion).

I've always loved this movie. The one I purchased from amazon was in very good condition and I'm enjoying watching it over and over.

I just wish there would be a DVD available for this classic;I can't believe it hasn't happened yet!

Robert Mitchum, Frank Sinatra and Lee Marvin as medical students. Broderick Crawford as their tutor. Olivia de Havilland as a Swedish nurse. A smouldering Gloria Graham as the femme fatale. Charles Bickford as a country doctor. Lon Chaney Jr as Mitchum's father. I kid you not. This is wonderful entertainment and has been described as the forefather of every soap opera. The hospital sequences are convincing because the cast went to the bother of doing some research. Apparently, Mitchum got so involved he could have made the grade as an MD with a bit more time. Buy and enjoy.

A turgid, overlong soap opera, this 1955 social drama about ethics in the medical profession boasts a strong cast who seem at least a decade too old for their roles. This is Stanley Kramer's first film as a director, and his tendency toward preachy high-mindedness is already prevalent in this story of Lucas Marsh, a talented but selfish and arrogant student working his way through medical school. His only friend is his pragmatic roommate, caring cut-up Alfred Boone, though the focus of the plot is really the relationship between Marsh and Swedish nurse Kristina Hedvigson, a near-spinster with a $4,000 savings account (big money in the mid-1950's). Even though she is infatuated with him, Marsh does not reciprocate but still marries her to fund his education. His Machiavellian approach comes to a head when he graduates, becomes a small-town doctor, embarks on some indiscriminate behavior, and faces a failure that finally touches his long-untapped humanity.

All three leads were hovering around forty when they made this film, yet based on their absolutist behavior, the characters feel like they should be in their mid-twenties. In the same year he played the crazed religious fanatic in the classic The Night of the Hunter, Robert Mitchum is oddly miscast as Marsh since he reverts to his standard stoicism when he confronts his periodic crises of conscience. As Boone, Frank Sinatra is relegated to a supporting role who is little more than a plot device. Poor Olivia de Havilland, though top-billed, seems out of place with her male colleagues. As Kristina, she is back in Melanie mode as a selfless victim only coming to life near the end. There is more interesting work on the sidelines. Earlier in the film are effective turns by Broderick Crawford as the gruff medical school professor and Lee Marvin as a more carefree student. Arriving late in the movie, Charles Bickford as Marsh's small-town mentor and Gloria Grahame as a libidinous divorcee also make vivid impressions. With a few shots of surprising realism, the film looks like it inspired every medical TV drama that followed. What doesn't surprise me is that this film, despite its star-heavy cast, has not been transferred to DVD. It is simply that boring and contrived.

This story for a movie buff showsthe medical profession at it's best and worse. The story of a young man who grabs what he wants without counting the cost to those who love him. His ambition drives him. This movie from the book of the same name captures much of the realism of the medical profession of the late forties and early fifties. Robert Mitchum and Olivia de Havilland are well matched. Frank Sinatra plays it close to the vest and is very good as Mitchum's best friend.

This is an excellent movie, but a sad one. The talent in it is outstanding. I don't think you will be disappointed. I had seen it many years ago & it was as good as I remembered it. The story is excellent, the book was a best seller when it came out. ENJOY, as I know you will!

How can you go wrong with a Stanley Kramer film with Olivia DeHavilland, Robert Mitchum, Frank Sinatra, Gloria Grahame, Broderick Crawford, Charles Bickford, Lee Marvin, Lon Chaney Jr, Harry Morgan, and Mae Clarke? Watch "Not as a Stranger" and you'll see.

Let's start at the top.

Stanley Kramer was a great producer ("Champion", "Cyrano", "Death of a Salesman", "High Noon", "The Wild One", "The Caine Mutiny") but this was his first turn as a director. He would get better (e.g., "Inherit the Wind", "Judgment at Nuremberg") but that would come years later. As well as his first directorial job, Kramer had just left Columbia after years of trouble with Harry Cohn, so this was his first attempt at an independent production.

Olivia deHavilland is supposed to be an unattractive nurse. True, she was no longer the incredibly beautiful Maid Marion, nor the bewitching Arabella Bishop, and she had moved to more middle aged roles in films like "Snake Pit" (1949) and "The Heiress" (1949), but you can't watch Olivia deHavilland and think - homely.

Broderick Crawford as a top surgeon? Give me a break. Crawford was a great actor, but not as a surgeon. I remember him best from his TV days on "Highway Patrol" but he's most well known for winning the Oscar for "All the King's Men" (1949). His gruff manner and quick speech suited him for many roles, but not here.

Lee Marvin as a medical student. You gotta laugh. What is the king of B movie hard guys, the nasty piece of work in "The Big Heat" (1953), Brando's nemesis in "The Wild One" (1953) doing as a medical student?

Big Bob Mitchum as a physician? Mitchum was a great actor. Think of his performances in `Story of GI Joe", or "The Night of the Hunter" (1955), or "The Enemy Below" (1957) or "Cape Fear" (1991) and you'll see great ability, but nowhere is there a young medical student.

By the way, in 1955 Mitchum was 38 years old, Marvin was 31, and Sinatra was 40. Not exactly "student" types.

Not everything is terrible. Lon Chaney Jr. does his usual good work, this time as Mitchum's alcoholic father. And Harry Morgan is a hoot with his Swedish accent. And look for Mae Clarke as Nurse Odell. Clarke is best remembered as the woman that Cagney hit in the face with the grapefruit in "Public Enemy" (1931).