Welcome to Movie of the Week (of the Month), a monthly chlopinions column about forgotten or underappreciated TV movies. First up is Dr. Cook's Garden, which let Bing Crosby finally play the bad guy:
It took Bing Crosby the entirety of his movie career to get truly dark. There were flirtations, sure—he won plaudits for his role as an alcoholic has-been actor inin 1954, and for playing the bitter divorcé determined to retain custody of his child through whatever means necessary in—but nothing to seriously undermine his persona as a silky-voiced crooner with a heart of gold. Still, by 1971, Crosby was 68 and ready to try something new.
Because it’s not quite as simple as just “tell the police.” For one thing, the citizens of Greenfield—including the police chief Cook appointed—are so grateful to Dr. Cook that it’s impossible to imagine them believing such an outlandish-sounding story. Most importantly though, Jimloves this deranged old man. Cook was his childhood physician, and the two developed a father/son bond after Dr. Cook fixed the arm that Jim’s abusive biological dad broke.
When Dr. Cook realizes that he might actually be in jeopardy from his former protegee, Crosby’s already excellent performance finds an extra level. It would be easy to play such a character BIG, to coast on the grabbiness of that elevator pitch as a cartoon villain, but Crosby makes Dr. Cook’s downward spiral into despotism disconcertingly understandable. We never doubt that he believes he’s doing the right thing.
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