Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment


Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment is a 1966 comedy film made by British Lion. It was directed by Karel Reisz and produced by Leon Clore from a screenplay by David Mercer, based on his BBC television play A Suitable Case for Treatment, the leading role at that time being played by Ian Hendry.
The film stars David Warner, Vanessa Redgrave, and Robert Stephens, with Irene Handl and Bernard Bresslaw.

Plot

Morgan Delt is a failed artist, who was raised as a communist by his parents. His upper-class wife, Leonie, has given up on him and is in the process of getting a divorce in order to marry Charles Napier, an art gallery owner of her own social standing. Locked into a personal world of fantasy, Morgan performs a series of bizarre stunts in a campaign to win back Leonie, including putting a skeleton in her bed and blowing up the bed as her mother sits on it. When these stunts fail, Morgan secures the help of Wally "The Gorilla", a wrestler friend of his mother, to kidnap Leonie, who still nurtures residual feelings of love tinged with pity for Morgan. The plan fails, and Morgan is arrested and imprisoned.
After escaping, he crashes the wedding reception of Leonie and Charles dressed as a gorilla. Morgan flees the wedding on a motorcycle with his gorilla suit on fire, and subsequently is committed to an insane asylum, where Leonie visits him looking visibly pregnant. With a wink, Leonie tells him he is the child's father. Morgan returns to tending a flowerbed, as the camera pulls out to a longshot of the entire circular flowerbed with the enclosed flowers arranged into a hammer and sickle.

Cast

The film was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role and Best Costume Design, Black-and-White.
The film was also nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival and Redgrave was awarded Best Actress.
A film poster for Morgan is prominently shown in the 2016 film High-Rise.