The People vs. Dr. Kildare (1941)

Director:

Harold S. Bucquet

Writers:

Lawrence P. Bachmann (story) and
Max Brand (story) ...

Release Date:

2 May 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Kildare saves the life of an ice skater who was in an auto accident. But even though her broken leg has knit...

Plot Keywords:

Courtroom | Malpractice | Ice Skater | Lawyer | Sequel

Cast

Lew Ayres	...	Dr. James Kildare
Lionel Barrymore	...	Dr. Leonard Gillespie
Laraine Day	...	Nurse Mary Lamont
Bonita Granville	...	Frances Marlowe
Alma Kruger	...	Molly Byrd
Red Skelton	...	Vernon Briggs
Paul Stanton	...	Mr. Reynolds
Diana Lewis	...	Fay Lennox
Walter Kingsford	...	Dr. Walter Carew
Nell Craig	...	Nurse Parker
Tom Conway	...	Mr. Channing
Marie Blake	...	Sally
Eddie Acuff	...	Clifford Genet
George Reed	...	Conover (as George H. Reed)
Chick Chandler	...	Dan Morton

Also Known As:

My Life Is Yours (UK)

Runtime:

78 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | USA:Approved (PCA #7234)

Company:

Loew's

Trivia:

Pat O'Malley is supposed to be in this film as "Onlooker", but he does not appear.

Movie Connections:

Followed by Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant (1942)

Soundtrack:

Hinky Dinky Parlay Voo (Mad'moiselle from Armentieres)

Above average Kildare but still leaves a lot to be desired...

It's almost unbelievable to see just how grumpy and bitter Dr. Gillespie really is around everyone--including the staff of Blair General Hospital--and LIONEL BARRYMORE overdoes the grumpiness to the nth degree with some pretty bitter, contemptuous statements about doctors and lawyers.

And yet, this entry in the Dr. Kildare series is graced by a couple of fine points--namely, LEW AYRES and LARAINE DAY, who do nicely in the leads and a supporting cast that includes no less than RED SKELTON, BONITA GRANVILLE, DIANA LEWIS, TOM CONWAY and ALMA KRUGER, all doing reasonably well with standard Kildare material.

Bonita is at her loveliest as the skater who needs an emergency operation after a car wreck--but then discovers that she can no longer move her leg after Dr. Kildare operates. The rest of the film is devoted to whether or not she'll win the malpractice case against him.

The courtroom scenes have no real bearing on reality, with Dr. Gillespie's impractical plea to the jury being just one of the things we're forced to swallow. The humor is pretty lame, with most of the burden falling on the upcoming Red Skelton as a dumb hospital worker under the thumb of chronic complainer Alma Kruger.

However, it moves at a brisk pace and is no worse than any other Kildare saga in the series MGM used to promote Ayres and Day, as well as their upcoming talent. But be aware, much of it is politically incorrect and very dated by today's standards.