The New Interns (1964)

The New Interns is a 1964 drama that served as a sequel to the 1962 film The Interns. The movie stars a group of young talented actors whose careers would take off in later television and film roles. Cast includes Dean Jones, Barbara Eden, George Segal, Dawn Wells, and Inger Stevens. Telly Savalas, Stefanie Powers, Michael Callan, and Kaye Stevens reprise their roles from the first film.

The film plays very much like the medical television shows we see on television today and it was actually transformed into a television show called The Interns in the 1970's. Each intern deals with personal and professional dilemmas and, especially, romantic entanglements while they learn their craft.

There are spoilers about Inger's character and her story ahead so read at your own risk. (If you want to watch the movie and then come back, it was actually posted to Youtube 3 years ago and can be found here.)

Inger plays Nancy Terman and Nancy's story is the most heartbreaking and powerful in the film. I'm rewatching the film as I type and it is honestly difficult knowing how her story turns out.

Nancy is a new social worker who is still fragile and emotional when dealing with her first dying patient. When the patient asks when he will get to return home to his family, Nancy's face reveals that he will never be going home. He becomes hysterical when he realizes his illness is terminal and a distraught Nancy breaks down in the hospital. Intern Tony Parelli (George Segal) confronts her for upsetting his patient and tells her that his patient needs ¨professional care, not sloppy sentiment.¨

Later, Tony runs into Nancy in his old neighborhood. Nancy is paying a house call to her client and Tony apologizes for yelling at her at the hospital. They decide to go out for a drink, but are first accosted by a gang that Tony was once a member of as a teen. The three men threaten Tony and Nancy, but Tony later tells Nancy not to worry because ¨they were bored. Just looking for a few kicks.¨

But Tony is wrong. The gang holds a grudge for their former member-turned-respectable doctor and decide to hurt him by hurting Nancy, with whom Tony has fallen in love.

On a late night in the field, Nancy is alone and getting into her car when the three men grab her and force her into the backseat. They tell the terror-stricken Nancy that all three of them are going to have their way with her and the gang rape then occurs offscreen. The scene is brutal to watch because of Inger's eyes; you see the fight, then the panic, then the absolute realization of what is about to take place. It is powerfully acted.

Tony finds out about the rape when Nancy is admitted to the hospital with extreme physical injuries.

Soon, Tony is able to visit the healing Nancy. She is happy to see Tony and is smiling and making jokes. On another visit, Nancy puts on makeup and says she cannot change the past but she does not want to dwell on what happened, she wants to look to the future with him.

Nancy decides to go to one of the intern's parties (a baby shower with lots of booze). She's having a great time chatting with the other ladies, but the guests get drunker and rowdier. When a drunk man pulls Nancy onto the dance floor and chases her when she says no, Nancy is completely triggered. Reminded of the brutality of her rape, Nancy's eyes go vacant and her body limp. Dr. Considine (Michael Callan) sees this and gets her to the hospital.

After weeks of treatment, Nancy remains in a non-communicative state. She is non-verbal and non-responsive. The attending doctor writes Nancy and her recovery off completely. This scene infuriates me! The film's treatment of a rape victim is hard to watch for a modern viewer. The doctor blames Nancy's tenderness as the reason for her post-traumatic stress. He basically tells Tony that Nancy is a lost cause and that the rape is a minor issue; he insists that the major issue at play is that Nancy is unstable. I was shocked watching the scene on my first viewing and I'm just plain angry at the way Nancy is discussed and discarded on my second viewing. Here's what the attending doctor says:

Even if we could get her out of this catatonic state, she'd still require years of intense treatment to find out the real cause of her instability...Without going into a lengthy diagnosis, I think it's safe to say that Nancy is an unstable personality. She's one of those tender people who cannot deal with stress and pressures...Give her up, Tony. The prognosis is not good.

I want to scream at the screen, "She was traumatized! She's worth years of intense treatment! Help her!"

Despite this, Inger plays each of her scenes with vulnerability and sincerity. All of the other characters' storylines are much easier and enjoyable to watch (despite some parts that would not fly today concerning the male interns trying to seduce female interns) and the acting throughout is quite good. However, Inger's performance stands out as the most compelling and I highly recommend watching it. She blows you away and breaks your heart at the same time.