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Clip description
Kathy Jacquard (Susan Penhaligon) begins work at the private clinic of Dr Roget (Robert Helpmann). Matron Cassidy (Julia Blake) orders Sister Williams (Helen Hemingway) to take Kathy to room 15 to look after comatose patient Patrick (Robert Thompson).
Curator’s notes
Characters at the Roget Clinic are crisply cut during Kathy’s successful job interview at the Roget clinic. Like a schoolgirl called before the headmistress, sweet natured Kathy is sharply spoken to by snooty Matron Cassidy, ‘I am boss cocky in this hospital’. With the memorable opening line ‘Matron, have my frogs arrived yet?’, Dr Roget is stamped as an eccentric and potentially sinister presence. Kathy is introduced to Patrick by the friendly Sister Williams and feels an immediate kindness toward him. In one of the many clever quirks woven into Everett De Roche’s screenplay, Patrick is given a ‘motor nerve reflex’ spitting condition. His response to her warm overture is an arresting hint of what’s to come from the silent but deadly patient in room 15.
