Men in White (1934)

An idealistic doctor must make some hard choices between his dedication to the profession and his personal life.

Director:

Richard Boleslawski (as Richard Boleslavsky)

Writers:

Waldemar Young (screen play), Sidney Kingsley (from the play by)

Stars:

Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, Jean Hersholt

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Clark Gable	...	Dr. Ferguson
Myrna Loy	...	Laura
Jean Hersholt	...	Dr. Hochberg
Elizabeth Allan	...	Barbara
Otto Kruger	...	Dr. Levine
C. Henry Gordon	...	Dr. Cunningham
Russell Hardie	...	Dr. Michaelson
Wallace Ford	...	Shorty
Henry B. Walthall	...	Dr. McCabe
Russell Hopton	...	Pete
Samuel S. Hinds	...	Dr. Gordon
Frank Puglia	...	Dr. Vitale
Leo Chalzel	...	Dr. Wren
Donald Douglas	...	Mac

Storyline

A dedicated young doctor places his patients above everyone else in his life. Unfortunately, his social register fianceé can't accept the fact that he considers an appointment in the operating room more important that attending a cocktail party. He soon drifts into an affair with a pretty nurse who shares his passion for healing.

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Plot Keywords:

manipulative woman | self centered woman | pulitzer prize source | doctor | botched abortion | 

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Taglines:

HE SMOTHERED AMBITION WITH A WOMAN'S KISSES! (Print Ad- Advance-News, ((Ogdensburg, NY)) 15 April 1934)

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 April 1934 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alma de Médico

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$213,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

74 min 81 min (New York opening)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Second of seven films starring Myrna Loy and Clark Gable released from 1933 to 1938.

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Goofs

The close-ups and extreme close-ups of Eliabeth Allan and the young girl don't match.

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Quotes

Laura: You're right. you've always been right, you and Hochy. It's bigger than any of us... humanity!

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Connections

Featured in Nostalgia Critic: Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows (2011)

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Soundtracks

Blue Danube Waltz
(1866) (uncredited)
Written by Johann Strauss
Played as background music in a restaurant

User Reviews

Medical drama is forerunner of "Not as a Stranger"...

CLARK GABLE is a dedicated doctor conflicted by feelings involving the workplace and romance--almost the forerunner of the character ROBERT MITCHUM would play twenty years later (Luke) in NOT AS A STRANGER. The film deals with medicine much the way Stanley Kramer's film did, but it's based on a stage play and the static quality owes something to that and the lack of background music on the soundtrack.

Of course it's all very dated--a giveaway is interns supposedly making $20 a week!! MYRNA LOY is a selfish, wealthy young woman who wishes Gable would give her his undivided attention instead of dedicating himself to work. Gable has to assert himself at the hospital when an older physician overrules his instructions on insulin and puts a patient into shock. Gable's character here is reminiscent of Lucas Marsh in Morton Thompson's best-seller NOT AS A STRANGER as he pulls the syringe from the doctor's hand and takes charge of the procedure.

There are weak moments of comedy relief, mostly from WALLACE FORD, and a maudlin performance from OTTO KRUGER that is painfully overplayed. The dialog too, tends to be preachy about the medical profession.

Self-doubting and lonely, Gable shares some romantic scenes with pretty nurse ELIZABETH ALLAN who confides in him about her own uneasy feelings as a nurse dealing daily with life and death situations. The love scene is handled with such discretion it's hard to determine the plot developments that come swiftly afterwards, but after Allan's tragic death Gable resumes his romance with Loy, who realizes his work will always come first in his life.

Nothing deep here, just a routine medical drama with all of its stage bound ingredients intact. Music is only used once for a restaurant scene where violins are playing a Viennese waltz, which leaves a lot of the drama feeling flat and one-dimensional.

JEAN HERSHOLT has his usual role of an avuncular medical man under whom Gable intends to study abroad, but the focal point is the Gable/Loy/Allan romantic triangle.

Summing up: From any standpoint, a trifle in Gable's career and notable only in that he plays a more sensitive role than usual.