User Reviews

From the moment you see the Oscar Winning Susan Hayward as Dr. Maggie Cole, you know she is a special lady. She has come into a small airport to greet her doctor husband Richard Anderson who also happens to be able to fly a plane, and shockingly witnesses his death in a fiery plane crash after he has a heart attack. She moves from her small town hospital much against the wishes of boss Dane Clark (a nice cameo for a veteran actor from Hayward's heyday) to an unknown big city where he befriends practically everybody she meets. Gruff boss Darren McGavin is initially leery of her, but in spite of her initial mistakes, she fits right in, immediately befriending head nurse Maidie Norman ("What Ever Happened to Baby Jane's" Elvira) and the intelligent young Michelle Nichols who wants to become a doctor herself and learns a new medical term every day. Her patients adore her, and she becomes a mother figure to Nichols who ends up fighting for her life when diagnosed with leukemia.

What could fit into a half a year's worth of plots of "General Hospital" and "The Doctors" (the two hit medical daytime soaps of the time, one of which had their own Dr. Maggie) takes 75 minutes to unfold, and Hayward is excellent, tough yet compassionate, serious yet often funny. Beverly Garland has a nice supporting role as the wife of one of Hayward's patients who seems to do more talking for him than he does, and Jeanette Nolan is touching as Nichols' seemingly cold hearted grandmother.

I could easily have seen this as a TV series had Hayward not come down with her own life threatening illness (a brain tumor tied in with nuclear testing near a location shoot she did some 16 years before), and indeed, Hayward seemed to have plenty of stamina, having filled in for Barbara Stanwyck in another TV movie the same year as well as appearing in a big screen feature as well. The song sung over the credits by Dusty Springfield is very pretty, and the theme music continues throughout the film, eventually settling in on your heart as Hayward's dramas reach a tough conclusion as she once again faces loss. But this woman is strong and will persevere, although it is obvious that her memories will never be saying goodbye. Neither will the memories of this fabulous redhead who stands the test of time 45 years after her sad death.

I must have been between 8 and 10 years old when I first saw this movie with my mama as a little boy. My mama always made sure we watched certain movies ("required viewing" she used to call it) because of the lessons and wisdom contained within them. Say Goodbye Maggie Cole was one of those movies that told a life changing story about dealing with tragedy, coping with emotional issues, being courageous in the face of challenges, standing by those you love and the necessity of being able to let go so that you can go on. Miss Susan Hayworth and Darren McGavin and Michele Nichols as "Lisa" pulled me into this movie with outstanding performances and Dusty Springfield's singing of the theme song locked it forever in my heart to the degree that I still cry every time I watch it or listen to the theme song. And one of the most memorable scenes with Darren McGavin and Susan Hayworth near the end has encouraged me to face similar situations in life including the passing of my mama at the young age of 50. After trying desperately to catch it on TV, I found a VHS copy on ebay with the soundtrack album. Now I do with my kids what my mama did with me, passing on lessons and creating ties with the music and the movies that will be around longer than any of us. May the studio do a re-release on DVD in honor of Susan Hayworth as Say Goodbye Maggie Cole reaches 40.

It's nice to see other viewers' positive comments. But honestly I didn't feel this was a project worthy of Susan Hayward's unique talents. It felt like a run-of-the-mill version of Marcus Welby M.D., except without a real feminist angle, and the Maggie Cole character could just as easily have been a male doctor mourning the loss of his wife.

The various subplots were not too exciting, though they were sincerely acted. Kudos to Beverly Garland and Jeanette Nolan in particular.

Our star actress was perfectly dressed in every scene and sometimes it looked like she was modeling fashions more than she was playing a doctor. That's one reason I didn't feel this project was right for Hayward. Why make it about the medical profession? Why not have her running a modeling agency, or have her as a glamorous actress whose husband has died and she feels a need to help others? It would have been much more credible than having her play doctor, and quite frankly some of the medical jargon they gave her seemed as if Hayward was having trouble pronouncing those phrases. Again this was not the right fit, not the right scenario for her.

A lot of the dialogue was mediocre and uninspired, and a few things that played out on screen required a bit more from the writers. For instance, why spend time building up the girl's grandmother (Nolan) when that character is nowhere around in the hospital scenes. Surely she'd be there when her granddaughter was dying. Instead it was all about Maggie's grief. They didn't even call the grandmother to tell her that the girl had lapsed into a coma! Not realistic at all.

Also, how could Maggie just leave the hospital to go for a drive when the girl was dying, without Maggie signing out? And her male colleague also just left without signing out or at least telling one of the nurses on staff that he was stepping away. Again, highly unrealistic.

Speaking of nurses, the writers spent considerable time establishing Maidie Norman's character at the beginning but midway through, she just sort of disappears. It was like she became inconsequential.

The script needed more polishing, at least another rewrite. And Hayward deserved something more than this. SAY GOODBYE MAGGIE COLE is a far cry from the Oscar winning material she had in I WANT TO LIVE!

Another thing I want to mention is how medical stories have changed on television since 1972. This show has no resemblance to the high-octane emergency dramas that came later -- programs such as Chicago Hope or ER. In those later series the emphasis was on trauma. However, the Maggie Cole series focuses on feeling good about medical care and that hospitals are not a place to fear, that we can all have a peaceful place to go when we're not feeling well. It was as if the producers' goal was to make viewers feel positively about doctors and hospitals...it was all rather syrupy sweet even when someone was flatlining.