The Hospital   

By Tom Keogh

Paddy Chayefsky (Marty) wrote the script for this 1971 film that mixes--in Chayefsky tradition--absurdist satire with a touching, almost wistful love story. George C. Scott plays a cynical doctor battling bureaucratic superstructures on the one hand and hippie-dippy flakiness among some patients on the other. When he falls for an eccentric young woman (Diana Rigg) with an alternative view on everything, the road to liberation from burdensome responsibilities seems to open before him. Director Arthur Hiller (Love Story) doesn't do much more than bring the screenplay to life, though he does create a persuasive sense of urban chaos in the setting. Scott gives a good, thoughtful performance.

Academy Awards

The Hospital received an Academy Award for Writing (Best Story and Screenplay based on factual material or material not previously published or produced; Paddy Chayefsky). The Hospital also received an Academy Awards nomination for Actor (George C. Scott).

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