• Rating:
• Genre: Drama
• Movie Type: Medical Drama, Prime-Time Drama
• Director: David Lowell Rich
• Release Year: 1968
• Country: US
• Run Time: 100 minutes

Plot

The launching pad for the long-running ABC medical series Marcus Welby, M.D. was this feature-length pilot film, first aired March 26, 1969. Robert Young of course stars as Dr. Welby, a crusty but golden-hearted general practitioner forced by a mild coronary to take on a partner. At first, Welby and his new assistant, long-haired, doggedly independent motorcycle fancier Dr. Steven Kiley (James Brolin), are about as compatible as oil and water, but the two quickly become friends and confidants during an unexpected medical crisis. Originally, Anne Baxter as Welby's erstwhile lady friend, Myra Sherwood, and Sheila Larkin as the doctor's daughter, Sandy, were supposed to have been regulars, along with Penny Santon as Welby and Kiley's no-nonsense nurse/secretary Consuelo. But by the time the project graduated to series status, only Consuelo remained, played by Elena Verdugo. In syndication, Marcus Welby, M.D. was retitled A Matter of Humanities. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast

Lew Ayres
Anne Baxter - Myra Sherwood
Tom Bosley
James Brolin
Larry Linville
Susan Strasberg
Robert Young - Dr. Marcus Welby

Credit

David Lowell Rich - Director; Leonard Rosenman - Composer (Music Score)