A Matter Of Humanities (1969)

After suffering a heart attack, a doctor (Robert Young) is reluctantly coerced into taking a younger doctor (James Brolin) into his general practice to relieve some of the work burden. While they clash over ideas, one particular case stands out: a young wife (Susan Strasberg) seems unable to handle the trauma of her husband's (Peter Duel) aphasia and wants to have him committed. Directed by David Lowell Rich (MADAME X), this telefilm was the basis for the TV series MARCUS WELBY MD which went on to have a seven year run. It's not very interesting and from the movie, I can't see why anyone would think it would make for a compelling TV series and indeed, the film itself plays out like an extended TV episode. The most interesting aspect was seeing a romantic relationship including love scenes between two very mature characters: Young and Anne Baxter as a real estate agent. It's very rare to see such scenes with "elderly" people. There would be some changes in the TV show from the movie. The character of Young's daughter (Sheila Larken) was eliminated entirely from the series while Welby's nurse played by Penny Santon was replaced by the more attractive Elena Verdugo. With Lew Ayres, Tom Bosley and Richard Loo.