Where Does It Hurt?
Where Does it Hurt? is a 1972 American comedy film written and directed by Rod Amateau and starring Peter Sellers, Jo Ann Pflug, Rick Lenz, Pat Morita, and Harold Gould. The film is a darkly satirical look at capitalism in a hospital environment.[1]
Where Does It Hurt? | |
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Directed by | Rod Amateau |
Produced by | Rod Amateau William Schwartz executive Joseph Shaftel |
Screenplay by | Rod Amateau |
Based on | Novel by Rod Amateau Budd Robinson |
Starring | Peter Sellers Jo Ann Pflug Rick Lenz Pat Morita Harold Gould |
Music by | Keith Allison |
Cinematography | Brick Marquard |
Edited by | Mario Morra Stanley Rabjohn |
Production company | Josef Shaftel Productions Inc. |
Distributed by | Cinerama Releasing Corporation (1972, original) American International Pictures (re-release) |
Release date | September 29, 1972 (US) |
Running time | 87 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Plot
Sellers plays hospital administrator Albert T. Hopfnagel, who oversees a facility that is more interested in generating revenue than it is in providing sound medical care.
When construction worker Lester Hammond (Lenz) shows up needing nothing more than a chest X-ray, he is immediately admitted and subjected to a battery of tests. Hopfnagel rides the staff to perform more unnecessary surgeries and pad patient bills, while making time with multiple female staff members. When Hopfnagel finally ends up in jail for his devious deeds, he plots a revenge in which he will return to the hospital as a patient and be given an unnecessary operation that he can then sue the hospital over. But the plan backfires.
Cast
- Peter Sellers as Hopfnagel
- Jo Ann Pflug as Alice Gilligan
- Rick Lenz as Lester Hammond
- Harold Gould as Dr. Zerny
- Pat Morita as Nishimoto
Reception
TV Guide describes the film by writing, “The language is profane, the proceedings inane, and the story insane…If you hate doctors, Mexicans, homosexuals, blacks, females, Catholics, Jews, Italians, Japanese, insurance companies, hospitals, Poles, and humanity, you'll love this movie.”[4] Nonetheless, the film holds a 64% fresh rating, based on 144 reviews, on Rotten Tomatoes.[5]
See also
References
- WHERE DOES IT HURT? Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 39, Iss. 456, (Jan 1, 1972): 175.
- The 'Savages' Are Coming Up the Hudson: The 'Savages' By A. H. WEILER. New York Times (20 June 1971: D15.
- Sellers Leaves 3rd Wife at Home Los Angeles Times 8 July 1971: f11.
- "Where Does It Hurt?". TV Guide. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
- "Where Does It Hurt?". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved January 1, 2020.