I find much of the subject matter addressed in this film, such as the marketing of pharmaceuticals resonant with the problems of health care in the U.S. today. I'm surprised there isn't much traffic regarding this provocative film. I would rate this movie as recommended.
shareI haven't seen this film since I was a very young man (1959), but it has left a profound impression with me.
I recall the gritty realism of the street scenes, but most of all I remember the satiric treatment of "modern" medicine with its gadgets. In a memorable scene, the successful physician shows Muni's honorable doctor a new machine with a prominent blinking light. The physician explains that the light does nothing at all but that patients find it very impressive and happily pay whatever he asks. This ruse is in contrast with the doctor's commitment to his patients and their suffering, all done for no fee and a mess of troubles.
Billy Dee Williams has a brain tumor, and it makes him a dangerously suffering young man. He is frightening in his vehemence and pain and the danger he poses for the doctor who seeks to help him. This liberal trope may sag for us, but there is truth to it in its time and place.
I suspect the film would seem loaded with social message today, but Muni's performance is powerful and ironic and teaches all the right things about what has gone wrong with us. Sadly, the film is difficult to locate -- no netflix for this gem.