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Not
As a Stranger "Not As a Stranger" and image © MGM/UA Home Video 
Blink, and you're liable to miss Alfalfa in this one. He plays a patient who reacts with surprise to a diagnosis—given by two doctors played by Robert Mitchum and Charles Bickford—that is not revealed to the viewer. One guess is that he is reacting to news that his wife is pregnant. Whatever it is, Alfalfa is not happy. Alfalfa: You're kidding! Mitchum: Oh no we're not. Bickford: A great man once said: it's no worse than a broken leg. Alfalfa: Yeah, but— Mitchum plays an idealistic young doctor whose perfectionism alienates all around him in this often overlooked film. Director Stanley Kramer—who, three years later, would direct Alfalfa's final film, "The Defiant Ones"—achieved added authenticity to the operating room scenes by utilizing real surgeons and nurses. To do this, he needed special permission from the Screen Actors' Guild. Alfalfa also appeared with Mitchum in 1954'a "Track of the Cat", the film in which our hero played a 100-year-old Indian. Back to "Alfalfaddendum" main page |
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"Not As a Stranger" and images © MGM/UA Home Video Commentary © 4alfalfa.com |
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