Gregory Peck, military man

TCM's salute to Star of the Month Gregory Peck contines this evening with several movies in which Peck plays a member of the military. Among these is Captain Newman, M.D., at 10:00 PM ET.

Peck plays the title character, an Army psychiatrist at a medical base in Arizona during World War II. Newman's running the place, and his job is to put the soldiers back together mentally so that they can return to combat duty, preferably immediately if not sooner. Of course, there's a war on, making running the place a bit difficult, especially when you consider that many of the higher ups think you should just tough it out -- the views on combat fatigue weren't what they are today. Helping Capt. Newman fight the bureaucracy is Corporal Jake Leibowitz (Tony Curtis), a man who isn't that much different from Tony Curtis' character in Operation Petticoat; namely that of a schemer who uses skills of dubious legality to get things done. Among the nurses are Angie Dickinson and Jane Withers.

Captain Newman, M.D. is partly about the tribulations the staff faces from the military bureaucracy, from higher-ups who think they know better how to run the place than the doctors, to finding themselves with a bunch of Italian POWs on hand. But the patients are just as important. Among them are Eddie Albert, a colonel who's suffered a nervous breakdown; a catatonic Robert Duvall; and Bobby Darin, who is clearly suffering from what would now be called post traumatic stress disorder. He gives an almost harrowing portrayal when Captain Newman puts him under truth serum to reveal what it is that he's been repressing.

Captain Newman, M.D. walks a fine line between comedy and drama, and for the most part, does it pretty well. Gregory Peck wasn't a comic actor, but he's not really expected to be one here, either. Instead, he's the foil for all the antics of Tony Curtis' character, and Peck pulls off the part of poor put-upon Captain Newman well. Tony Curtis, on the other hand, was quite adept at comedy and, already having played a similar role, portrays Leibowitz with ease. The three main patients are all quite good, and the nurses are adequate, although not the most important part of the movie.

Apparently, Captain Newman, M.D. hasn't been released to DVD, and remains one of Peck's lesser-known movies. That's a shame, because it's really a pretty good movie.