Category Archives: Diana Rigg

The Hospital – Bad Doc, No Biscuit! week

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The Hospital (1971) – Rated PG

George C. Scott stars in this black comedy as Herbert Bock, a suicidal doctor who struggles to find meaning in his life while a murderer stalks the halls of his hospital. Herbert’s life is on a downward spiral, but just as he contemplates killing himself, patients at the hospital begin dying — apparently from erroneous treatments they’re being mysteriously ministered. Diana Rigg co-stars in this Academy Award winner for Best Screenplay.

“These things happen”

“We stayed together through a process of attrition.”

I could fill this whole review with quotes pulled from this movie. Paddy Chayefsky’s snappy indictment of the hospital business (circa 1970) is the real star here. Yes there is a fair amount of psychobabble, a Hollywood relationship where two people meet and instantly fall in love and more than a few dated references but the damning of  the medical establishment remains pertinent now – more than four decades later and the dialogue is continuously quotable.

George C. Scott is a good orator and gives a powerful performance here as hospital administrator Dr. Bock. He was nominated for Best Actor but (justly) lost to Gene Hackman’s signature performance in The French Connection. Scott plays angry quite well, even while delivering the wonderful soliloquys that Chayefsky wrote for him. The Hospital has a large cast but Scott is the only one with significant screen time but it works due to his delightful performance.

Diana Rigg is radiant as a young oddball/radical/love interest. A young Frances Sternhagen has a brief but amusing role as Mrs. Cushing. Richard Dysart is enjoyable as the arrogant incompetent Dr. Welbeck. Other cast members were not particularly memorable.

Side note: One thing I really like about 70′s films is that it was okay for people to be ugly. People were just people, not supermodels. If this film were remade today, the cast would look like something on the CW network.

People Watch: Look for Stockard Channing, Christopher Guest, and SOAP’s Katherine Helmond in blink-and-you’ll miss them parts. Also Paddy Chayefsky is the opening narrator.

Shakespeare week – Theater of Blood

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This is Shakespeare week. Apparently when you fail to give an actor of the Bard his due, you may be in for some trouble. Theater of Blood is currently available on instant Netflix.

WATCH: Theater of Blood (1973) – NR

“Vincent Price channels his peerless talent for playing refined madmen into the character of Edward Lionheart, a proud London actor who goes dramatically bonkers when he fails to receive a coveted award. While riverside tramps foil his attempt to drown himself in the River Thames, the world believes he has met a watery end. The thespian uses this cover to exact grisly — and fitting — revenge on the critics who ignored his genius.”

“O pardon me thou bleeding piece of earth, that I am meek and gentle with these butchers.”

The concept of having a Shakespearean actor take poetic revenge on his critics is certainly a fun one and this one is milked for all it is worth beginning on the Ides of March. The murders are quite inventive and each is taken from a different Shakespeare play. They were gory for the time but seem quaint today.

Much as Richard III was yesterday, Theater of Blood is essentially a one-man show. If you do not enjoy the theatricality (or hamminess if you prefer) of a Vincent Price performance then you probably will not enjoy this. This is not his best performance (see Witchfinder General – also available on instant Netflix) but ranks up there with Dr. Phibes as one of his most enjoyable.

Diana Rigg acquits herself well in her second billed role as Edwina Lionheart, daughter of Edward. This is probably her best role after her fabulous stint as Emma Peel in The Avengers but no one steals a scene from Vincent.

Actress Coral Browne, who plays Miss Chloe Moon here, first met Vincent Price on this movie. They were married the following year and, unlike traditional Hollywood marriages, stayed married until her passing in 1991.

The rest of the cast reads like a list of Hammer supporting players – Madeline Smith (Vampire Lovers), Diana Dors (Hammer House of Horror), Ian Hendry (Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter), Michael Hordern (Demons of the Mind), Dennis Price (Twins of Evil) and even the voice of Charles Gray (The Devil Rides Out).

This film is a huge amount of fun and could be watched just for the early 70s fashion. The Shakespeare references are plentiful and much of his dialogue is included as well. Theater of Blood is a showcase for Vincent Price and he shines so watch it already. Besides which, where else are you going to see a swordfight on gym equipment?

People Watch: When Vincent Price retired from his stint of hosting Mystery for Masterpiece Theater, his co-star in this film, Diana Rigg, took over hosting duties.