The Good Doctor (1978)

A Russian writer (Richard Chamberlain) narrates seven of his short stories. Based on the 1973 play by Neil Simon (adapted from Anton Chekhov's short stories) and directed by Jack O'Brien. Perhaps Neil Simon's most atypical play and one of his least successful (it closed after 208 performances). It's not particularly good Simon and it's not good Chekhov either. Six actors (Chamberlain, Marsha Mason, Lee Grant, Edward Asner, Bob Dishy, Gary Dontzig) play various roles in each of the seven tales. My favorite of the stories is THE GOVERNESS where the lady of the house (Grant) attempts to bully and cheat her governess (Mason) out of her salary. In A DEFENSELESS CREATURE, Chamberlain as a bank manager lacks the ability to do physical comedy which is necessary which weakens the story. I appreciate the attempt but it misses more than it hits. Still, Chamberlain aside, the acting is pretty good.