Ben Casey

Seasons

1961

USA

7.1

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.

Episode List

S1 • E1

To the Pure

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.

S1 • E2

But Linda Only Smiled

A woman prevents Dr. Casey from treating her daughter's medical condition because of her religious beliefs.

S1 • E3

The Insolent Heart

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.

S1 • E4

I Remember a Lemon Tree

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.

S1 • E5

An Expensive Glass of Water

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.

S1 • E6

The Sound of Laughter

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.

S1 • E7

A Few Brief Lines for Dave

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.

S1 • E8

Pavane for a Gentle Lady

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.

S1 • E9

My Good Friend Krikor

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?

S1 • E10

The Sweet Kiss of Madness

Dr. Reynolds learns that a young patient received his injuries from his own father, but withholds the information from Dr. Casey.

S1 • E11

A Certain Time, a Certain Darkness

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.

S1 • E12

Dark Night for Billy Harris

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.

S1 • E13

And If I Die

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.

S1 • E14

A Memory of Candy Stripes

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.

S1 • E15

Imagine a Long Bright Corridor

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.

S1 • E16

A Story to Be Softly Told

Gerry and Lee Bramson's marriage is shaky, partly because their son is mentally handicapped.

S1 • E17

The Big Trouble with Charlie

Dr. Casey suspects that a fellow resident on his service, Dr. Charlie Kozelka, performed an illegal abortion.

S1 • E18

Give My Hands an Epitaph

Casey's predecessor, former chief resident Dr. Philip Walton has developed a new method of doing a craniectomy in children. However, when Casey learns that Walton has Parkinson's Disease, he tries to prevent him from operating on a child.

S1 • E19

Victory Wears a Cruel Smile

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.

S1 • E20

Odyssey of a Proud Suitcase

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.

S1 • E21

Behold a Pale Horse

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?

S1 • E22

For the Ladybug, One Dozen Roses

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.

S1 • E23

To a Grand and Natural Finale

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.

S1 • E24

Monument to an Aged Hunter

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?

S1 • E25

All the Clocks Are Ticking

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.

S1 • E26

Among Others, a Girl Named Abilene

Dr. Casey spends a Saturday on Outside Medical Relief while the Neurosurgical staff, thinking Casey needs money, take up a collection for him.

S1 • E27

A Pleasant Thing for the Eyes

Aiko Tanaka suffers from a ruptured spinal disk and blindness caused by a school fire. She insists that Casey perform brain surgery to restore her sight, but he refuses, convinced that her blindness is psychological.

S1 • E28

And Eve Wore a Veil of Tears

Nurse Anna Olsen and patient Eve Porter deal with menopause.

S1 • E29

Preferably, the Less-Used Arm

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.

S1 • E30

An Uncommonly Innocent Killing

Gene Bilstrom is a leading business man of the community but a series of incidents causes his family concern. Bilstrom is admitted to the hospital for a complete mental evaluation but there is a fear of the stigma involved.

S1 • E31

So Oft It Chances in Particular Men

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.

S1 • E32

When You See an Evil Man

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.