Ben Casey
Gritty realistic hospital drama featuring manly Dr. Casey against the medical establishment, at first, under the watchful eye of Dr. Zorba, and later under the thumb of Chief of Surgery Dr. Freeland.
- 1961-1966
- 5 seasons
- ABC
- Drama
Gritty realistic hospital drama featuring manly Dr. Casey against the medical establishment, at first, under the watchful eye of Dr. Zorba, and later under the thumb of Chief of Surgery Dr. Freeland.
Season 1 Episode Guide
32 Episodes 1961 - 1962
Episode 1
To the Pure
Mon, Oct 2, 1961 60 mins
Chief Resident Ben Casey, M.D. is introduced as a brilliant but headstrong neurosurgeon at County General Hospital. When a young boy is admitted with a serious illness, Dr. Casey recommends a series of operations that could cure him. When the senior doctors at the hospital refuse to let him operate, he ignores them and goes directly to the boys mother, who authorizes the surgery. After the first surgery is a success, the administration agrees to let him continue the surgeries but an accidental exposure to the rabies virus threatens not only his career, but his life.
Episode 2
But Linda Only Smiled
Mon, Oct 9, 1961 60 mins
A woman prevents Dr. Casey from treating her daughter's medical condition because of her religious beliefs.
Episode 3
The Insolent Heart
Mon, Oct 16, 1961 60 mins
Though a young woman's life cannot be saved, there is a chance that the life of a severely challenged old colleague,Dr Waldman, can be prolonged somewhat through experimental surgery.
Episode 4
I Remember a Lemon Tree
Mon, Oct 23, 1961 60 mins
A skilled young neurosurgeon hides that he has a fatal illness and that he is using morphine to cope, behaves rudely to colleagues. and asks his pregnant wife for a divorce.
Episode 5
An Expensive Glass of Water
Mon, Oct 30, 1961 60 mins
A ruthless tycoon, used to throwing his weight around in the boardroom, tries to do the same in the hospital, when told by Zorba to check in for possible neurosurgery.
Episode 6
The Sound of Laughter
Mon, Nov 6, 1961 60 mins
A middling night club comic struggles to get back on his feet and regain his ability to laugh at life, when his brain operation results in some loss of motor control.
Episode 7
A Few Brief Lines for Dave
Mon, Nov 13, 1961 60 mins
Casey gives a doctor returning from private practice to his old comfort zone as a resident a hard time.In a parallel story a patient that doctor tries to help is a female hypochondriac falling back as well on the hospital as a crutch.
Episode 8
Pavanne for a Gentle Lady
Mon, Nov 20, 1961 60 mins
Dr. Casey is trying to ease the pain of an older patient by convincing her to undergo a dangerous operation, while simultaneously holding off on operating on a child while other pediatricians pressure him to make a decision.
Episode 9
My Good Friend Krikor
Mon, Nov 27, 1961 60 mins
Nick convinces Casey to visit a psych ward patient whose family wants to put him away.Is that patient's erratic behavior possibly caused by a growth that neurosurgery can try to remove?
Episode 10
The Sweet Kiss of Madness
Mon, Dec 4, 1961 60 mins
Dr. Reynolds learns that a young patient received his injuries from his own father, but withholds the information from Dr. Casey.
Episode 11
A Certain Time, a Certain Darkness
Mon, Dec 11, 1961 60 mins
Casey tells off a lackluster new intern and convinces a sad young epileptic that being abandoned by her spouse, losing her baby, and being kept out of sight by stuffy parents is not the end of things.
Episode 12
Dark Night for Billy Harris
Mon, Dec 18, 1961 60 mins
Billy Harris is shot three times while holding up a liquor store. He and the cop who shot him tell Dr. Casey two different versions of the shooting.
Episode 13
And If I Die
Mon, Jan 1, 1962 60 mins
A 38 year old woman is pregnant, and she's having fainting spells. The doctors determine she has a brain tumor that must be operated on immediately, but the risk to her or the baby is great.
Episode 14
A Memory of Candy Stripes
Mon, Jan 8, 1962 60 mins
Casey puts a new patient, an alcoholic former doctor, to work doing blood tests while a volunteer candy striper learns not to become too attached to another patient.
Episode 15
Imagine a Long Bright Corridor
Mon, Jan 15, 1962 60 mins
Ben Casey is the doctor in charge for a night in the Main Admitting Room; among others, he examines a withdrawn girl, a stabbing victim, and a juvenile delinquent.
Episode 16
A Story to Be Softly Told
Mon, Jan 22, 1962 60 mins
Gerry and Lee Bramson's marriage is shaky, partly because their son is mentally handicapped.
Episode 17
The Big Trouble with Charlie
Mon, Jan 29, 1962 60 mins
Dr. Casey suspects that a fellow resident on his service, Dr. Charlie Kozelka, performed an illegal abortion.
Episode 18
Give My Hands an Epitaph
Mon, Feb 5, 1962 60 mins
Casey's friend and predecessor, former chief resident Dr. Philip Walton, has developed a fixative agent for use during craniectomies on children. However, when Casey learns that Walton has Parkinson's Disease, he tries to prevent Walton from operating on a child, which could jeopardize their friendship.
Episode 19
Victory Wears a Cruel Smile
Mon, Feb 12, 1962 60 mins
When a novice needs hospital care after seeing double, Casey uncovers malpractice by her assigned doctor and risks going to court on a slander charge for exposing the quack.
Episode 20
Odyssey of a Proud Suitcase
Mon, Feb 19, 1962 60 mins
An Austrian émigré doctor with 3 decades of experience bristles with resentment that he is required to do a long US hospital retraining residency and only gradually opens up to relearning from Casey and others.
Episode 21
Behold a Pale Horse
Mon, Feb 26, 1962 60 mins
A pushy businessman injures himself trying to prevent his daughter's marriage.What is her harmful secret that he has hidden for 14 years and kept her in the dark about?
Episode 22
For the Ladybug....One Dozen Roses
Mon, Mar 5, 1962 60 mins
A decorated veteran hiding his identity puts off having a 13th surgery for his back due to superstition. A Navajo boy making hospital deliveries who he bonds with is similarly afraid of the number 4.
Episode 23
To a Grand and Natural Finale
Mon, Mar 12, 1962 60 mins
A high strung little girl recuperating near a depressed elderly man is tempted to help him kill himself. An injured black boxer avoids care and surgery as it may end his rising career.
Episode 24
Monument to an Aged Hunter
Mon, Mar 19, 1962 60 mins
A famed aged hunter and a youth of no fame have fatal infections resisting antibiotics.A new supply of an experimental drug is enough for only one of them.Who should Casey, Zorba, and the hunter's regular doctor choose to get treatment?
Episode 25
All the Clocks Are Ticking
Mon, Mar 26, 1962 60 mins
While his friend Dr Hoffman is sidelined with strange symptoms, Casey deals with an injured middle aged ex-heiress with delusions of grandeur, who refuses to face the facts of a biopsy.
Episode 26
Among Others, a Girl Named Abilene
Mon, Apr 2, 1962 60 mins
Dr. Casey spends a Saturday on Outside Medical Relief while the Neurosurgical staff, thinking Casey needs money, take up a collection for him.
Episode 27
A Pleasant Thing for the Eyes
Mon, Apr 16, 1962 60 mins
Aiko Tanaka, who survived the Hiroshima bombing as a child, suffers from a ruptured spinal disk and blindness caused by a school fire. Casey performs surgery on her spine, but she also insists that Casey perform brain surgery to restore her sight. He refuses, convinced that her blindness is psychological.
Episode 28
And Eve Wore a Veil of Tears
Mon, Apr 23, 1962 60 mins
Nurse Anna Olsen and patient Eve Porter deal with menopause.
Episode 29
Preferably, the Less-Used Arm
Mon, Apr 30, 1962 60 mins
Man with head wound is put in neurosurgery ward. An intern notices he has smallpox. The ward is put in quarantine. Authorities race to vaccinate anyone who came in contact.
Episode 30
An Uncommonly Innocent Killing
Mon, May 7, 1962 60 mins
Gene Billstrom, a leading business man of the community, suddenly goes berserk and kills his closest friend at a board meeting. Billstrom is admitted to the hospital for a complete mental evaluation but there is resistance from the prosecutor and Billstrom himself.
Episode 31
So Oft It Chances in Particular Men
Mon, May 21, 1962 60 mins
Brilliant chemist John Wickware is seemingly catatonic since his wife spent the night at a friend's house. The wife's parents want John committed . Casey thinks there is an organic cause.
Episode 32
When You See an Evil Man
Mon, May 28, 1962 60 mins
Casey's patient and acquaintance Alma Gardner confesses to police that she killed her husband, former staff neurologist Dr. Paul Gardner, and then attempted suicide by shooting herself in the head.
