The preparation of l-phenyl-2-benzazepin-4-ones and-5-ones is discussed. The palladium- catalyzed coupling of an iodobenzophenone to a monosubstituted acetylene assembles the necessary atoms required for the benzazepine ring. Transformation of the acetylene group into a ketone with concomitant cyclization of the resulting fl-amino ketone completes the synthesis. The synthetic limitations and details are discussed.