DOCTOR STRANGE (1978)

DOCTOR STRANGE is a 1978 American superhero television film based on the Marvel Comics fictional character of the same name, co-created by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee. Philip DeGuere directed the film and wrote it specifically for television, and produced the film along with Alex Beaton and Gregory Hoblit.[1] Stan Lee served as a consultant on the film, which was created as a pilot for a proposed television series.[2] Dr. Strange stars Peter Hooten in the title role, along with Jessica Walter, Eddie Benton, Clyde Kusatsu, Philip Sterling, and John Mills. The film aired on September 6, 1978, in a two-hour block from 8pm to 10pm on CBS,[3] the same network that, at that time, aired The Amazing Spider-Man and The Incredible Hulk; CBS did not pick up Dr. Strange as a series.

Plot
An evil entity tells Morgan le Fay she has been prevented from breaking through to the earthly realm by a great wizard, and that she has three days to defeat the wizard and win over his successor to her master's side.

Le Fay possesses a young woman named Clea Lake and uses her as a weapon against Thomas Lindmer, the "Sorcerer Supreme". She pushes him off a bridge to his death, but he magically heals himself. His friend, Wong, looks after him and locates Lake. Suffering from nightmares of le Fay, Lake is under the care of psychiatrist Dr. Stephen Strange at a psychiatric hospital. Strange has the potential to become Lindmer's successor through inherited items from his father, including a signet ring. Strange intuitively senses something wrong, sharing Lake's nightmares.

Lindmer contacts Strange at the hospital and tells him Lake needs more help than can be offered by medical science. Strange takes Lindmer's card, which bears the same symbol as his ring. Meanwhile, le Fay possesses a cat and tries to enter Lindmer's house, but magical barriers repel it.

At the hospital, the head of Strange's department sedates Lake, and she slips into a coma. Strange visits Lindmer, and Le Fay declines an opportunity to kill him.

Lindmer tells Strange that his ignorance is a form of protection, and asks him whether he wants to know the truth. Strange demands the truth, and Lindmer says he knows about Strange's parents dying when he was eighteen. He says there are different realms, and that Lake is trapped in them and only Strange can save her. Strange is dispatched to the astral plane and confronts the demon Balzaroth sent by le Fay. Strange and Lake return to the physical world.

The evil entity asks le Fay why she spared Strange. She confesses to being attracted to him, and the demon threatens to turn her into an elderly woman. Strange checks on Lake, and agrees to dinner with her. He goes to see Lindmer and rejects magic. As he leaves, he tries to remove his father's ring and finds he cannot. He accidentally lets the possessed cat in, which allows le Fay to best Wong. She defeats Lindmer, and summons Asmodeus to take him to the demon realms.

Strange visits Lake, but le Fay interrupts, promising not to harm Lake if he comes with her to the demon realm. Once there, he appears to be under her command. She attempts to seduce him, and asks him to remove his ring, claiming he can do it. He refuses and defeats her, rescues Lindmer, and returns them to the earthly realm, where he also revives Wong. The evil entity transforms le Fay into an old hag.

Lindmer explains that Strange must choose between remaining mortal or becoming the Sorcerer Supreme, forgoing ignorance, offspring, and a painless death. Strange decides to protect humanity, and Lindmer's power is transferred to him. Wong then warns him that, while he now has Lindmer's powers, he does not yet have the knowledge or wisdom to use them correctly, and can harm himself or others.

Strange is then shown at the hospital, where many patients have been discharged. He leaves with Lake, who seems to have no memory of what happened. Le Fay is shown on television, young again, posing as a self-help guru. The film closes with Strange playing a trick on a street magician, turning the flowers the magician was going to produce using sleight-of-hand into a dove.

Cast
Peter Hooten as Dr. Stephen Strange, a psychiatrist, who becomes the new Sorcerer Supreme to safeguard the Earth from Morgan Le Fay.
Jessica Walter as Morgan Le Fay, an evil sorceress from the "fourth dimension", who plans to invade Earth.
Anne-Marie Martin (credited as "Eddie Benton") as Clea Lake, Strange's patient.
Clyde Kusatsu as Wong
Philip Sterling as Dr. Frank Taylor
John Mills as Thomas Lindmer, Dr. Strange's mentor and the original Sorcerer Supreme.
June Barrett as Sarah.
Sarah Rush as a Nurse.
Diana Webster as the Head Nurse.
Bob Delegall as an Intern.
Larry Anderson as a Magician.
Blake Marion as the Department Chief.
Lady Rowlands as Mrs. Sullivan.
Inez Pedroza as the Announcer.
Michael Clark as a Taxi Driver.
Frank Catalano as an Orderly.
Michael Ansara as the voice of Yao/Ancient One; uncredited.
Ted Cassidy as the voice of the demon Balzaroth; uncredited.
David Hooks as The Nameless One; uncredited.