House Calls
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DVD Cover Information Actor: Art Carney, Candice Azzara, Glenda Jackson, Richard Benjamin, Walter Matthau Director: Howard Zieff Brand: Universal Studios Producer: Alex Winitsky Producer: Arlene Sellers Writer: Alan Mandel Writer: Charles Shyer Writer: Henri-Pierre Roché Writer: Julius J. Epstein Writer: Max Shulman DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language) Format: Color, DVD, NTSC Picture Format: 1.85:1 Running Time: 98 minutes DVD Release Date: 2005-05-31 Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Studio: Universal Studios |
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Movie Reviews of House Calls
Movie Review: Entertaining Romantic Comedy That Inspired A Short-Lived TV Sitcom
Summary: 4 Stars
The 1978 film "House Calls", directed by Howard Zieff (who also directed the 1980 comedy "Private Benjamin"), is an romantic entertaining comedy focused around the lives of several doctors working in a fictitious hospital in California. The main character, Dr. Charley Nichols, who was played by the wonderful actor Walter Matthau (1920-2000), is a recent widower who begins to have a series of short romantic interludes with a number of women until he happens across a woman in the hospital that has a minor jaw fracture and is being treated by the hospital's aging & increasingly senile chief-of-staff, Dr. Amos Willoughby (Art Carney, 1918-2003, who is often remembered for playing the character "Ralph" in the mid-1950's sitcom "The Honeymooners"). The woman, Ann Atkinson (Glenda Jackson), quickly agrees to allow Dr. Nichols to treat her instead of Dr. Willoughby. Later, Ann & Dr. Nichols are each invited to a medical debate on a PBS talk show and eventually end up dating each other; but, can Dr. Nichols give up running around with other women? Throw into this the death of a prominent patient at the hospital, whose grieving widow (Candice Azzara) is threatening to sue the hospital if the hospital accepts a donation from her dead husband's estate, as well as Dr. Willoughby desperately wanting to keep his position as chief-of-staff and you have the recipe for a very entertaining film.
With a funny plot and engaging characters, "House Calls" deserves a rating of 4 out of 5 stars. Though not nominated for any major awards, it inspired the creation of a television sitcom of the same name that ran for three seasons between 1979 to 1982 with Wayne Rogers taking on Walter Matthau's role from the film. Other memorable characters from the film include Dr. Norman Solomon (Richard Benjamin) and Irwin Owett (Dick O'Neill, 1928-1998).