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The Hospital

Play trailer Poster for The Hospital PG-13 Released Dec 14, 1971 1h 44m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 13 Reviews 73% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Herbert Bock (George C. Scott), the chief of medicine in a New York City teaching hospital, is contemplating suicide; he's impotent, his wife has left him, and his children aren't speaking to him. His hospital is also suffering from a recent spate of inexplicable deaths. In the midst of these setbacks, Bock is romantically drawn to the much younger Barbara (Diana Rigg), whose father is a patient. As Barbara restores Bock's will to live, it turns out that the hospital deaths are murders.
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The Hospital

Critics Reviews

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Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times The Hospital is a better movie than you may have been led to believe. It has been criticized for switching tone in midstream, but maybe it's only heading for deeper, swifter waters. Rated: 3/4 Oct 23, 2004 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Paddy Chayefsky's Oscar-winning script is bilious and brutal in its look at the medical community. Rated: 3/4 Sep 18, 2021 Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews ...rife with compelling sequences and spellbinding performances... Rated: 3/4 Apr 2, 2021 Full Review C.H. Newell Father Son Holy Gore It will have you pondering the effectiveness of the American healthcare system, one that hasn't changed (too) much since '71. Rated: 4.5/5 May 7, 2019 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com This darkly humorous satire of an urban hospital is probably the only decent movie that Arthur Hiller had directed, benefiting from Chayefsky's Oscar winning script. Rated: B+ Jan 29, 2012 Full Review Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com Rated: 4/5 Apr 6, 2008 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member A consistently entertaining watch. The comedy mixed with the main mystery of the film is really what makes it so good Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/28/25 Full Review Bruce M Absolutely brilliant satire of the medical industry. George C Scott is perfectly cast and gives his best-ever performance, Diana Rigg is very good, and Paddy Chayefsky's Acadamy Award-winning script is perfect. Very well-directed and -shot. One of the best films of the 70s. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/01/25 Full Review Allan C A sharp, biting satire of the corporatization of hospitals and the health care system from writer/producer Paddy Chayefsky (NETWORK, MARTY) and director Arthur Hiller (THE IN-LAWS, LOVE STORY) was absurdist satire at the time but now seems prescient. The great George C. Scott plays a hospital chief of staff dealing with a string of deaths on his watch that seem to be the result of bureaucratic nonsense mostly. There’s some incredibly snappy dialogue, as you would expect from a Chayefsky screenplay, and Scott is MADE for reading this type of dialogue. Diana Rigg, Barnard Hughes, Richard Dysart, Roberts Blossom, and Katherine Helmond also appear in the film. THE HOSPITAL was the feature film debut of Stockard Channing (an uncredited ER Nurse), Christopher Guest (an uncredited resident), and Dennis Dugan (an uncredited ER doctor). There’s also an uncredited Tracey Walter as a man in the crown. This one is a satirical masterpiece that does not get talked about enough. I may even like this one better than NETWORK.  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/18/24 Full Review CodyZamboni Z Satire that mostly strikes true. Going in, I expected MASH type wackiness, But George C Scott changed that for me. He's a burnt out, suicidal doctor, He grounds the movie in a magnetic performance. His idealism in the face of bureaucracy and ineptitude, makes this watchable. The weakness of the movie are the annoying sub plots of murdered doctors, a Diana Rigg romance, and protest rallies. All of that is a waste of time, Because none of that is nearly as interesting as Scott's internal battle to regain his lost ideals. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/25 Full Review Tyler B One of the most monologue/line heavy movies I've ever seen but WOW. It's a blast. On one hand it's a journey about a man's falling to the point of oblivion and back up again, on the other it's a romance, then there's a commentary on how inept d oul be along with cultural struggles of the time, an there's even slasher elements in it. It shouldn't work as well as it did but what a masterpiece this is. My favorite George Scott performance an I love Rigg as well. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/14/23 Full Review Audience Member Chayefsky’s expertly written satire of the U.S. medical “entity” is as darkly prescient as his own ‘Network’. Scott’s performance is perfection, despite his mid-film epiphany being brought on in a morally reprehensible manner. #nitrosMovieChallenge Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/28/22 Full Review Read all reviews
The Hospital

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Movie Info

Synopsis Herbert Bock (George C. Scott), the chief of medicine in a New York City teaching hospital, is contemplating suicide; he's impotent, his wife has left him, and his children aren't speaking to him. His hospital is also suffering from a recent spate of inexplicable deaths. In the midst of these setbacks, Bock is romantically drawn to the much younger Barbara (Diana Rigg), whose father is a patient. As Barbara restores Bock's will to live, it turns out that the hospital deaths are murders.
Director
Arthur Hiller
Producer
Howard Gottfried
Screenwriter
Paddy Chayefsky
Distributor
United Artists
Production Co
Simcha Productions
Rating
PG-13
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 14, 1971, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 16, 2008
Runtime
1h 44m
Sound Mix
Mono
Aspect Ratio
35mm
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