The People vs. Dr. Kildare (1941)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

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:

Follows The Secret of Dr. Kildare (1939)

Soundtrack:

Hinky Dinky Parlay Voo (Mad'moiselle from Armentieres)

The doctor's curse, malpractice

Dr. Kildare faces a whopping $100,000 malpractice suit in "The People vs. Dr. Kildare," also starring Lionel Barrymore, Laraine Day, Alma Kruger, Benita Granville, Tom Conway, and Red Skelton. MGM used this series and the later Dr. Gillespie series as training ground for its young actors - often, seeing them today, they seem to have very important casts that have included people like Donna Reed, Van Johnson, Keye Luke, and Ava Gardner.

When a young ice skater (Granville) is paralyzed in one leg after an emergency roadside operation done by Kildare, he becomes the target of a malpractice suit. Today it would be for $100 million, but back in 1941, $100,000 was a chunk of change that put Kildare's career on the line.

This entry into the series isn't as good as some of the others. It was directed with a sledgehammer - the normally good Granville overacts like crazy, and Barrymore is off the charts with bad temper. Red Skelton is supposed to provide comic relief but doesn't really have the material to do it. And we again have to listen to Nurse Byrd lamenting the man who got away and the lack of fulfillment she has because she never married. Thanks for drumming that into my mother's head in film after film. Also, because of Court TV, the courtroom scenes aren't very credible.

Nevertheless, you can't help liking some of the characters and relationships, and especially Dr. Kildare and Mary. Ayres and Day are delightful in their roles.