Doctors Don't Tell (1941) User Reviews

They Keep Their Mouths Shut

[boblipton · 5/10 · 29 March 2020]

John Beal, Edward Norris, and Grady Sutton get their medical licenses and open up a practice in the slums. Amiable gangster Douglas Fowley bankrolls their practice, since there aren't any patients to do so. After Beal peels away to work for the Medical Examiner's office, Fowley's generosity becomes more practical, as Norris digs out bullets from dumb, psychotic henchman Ward Bond... and Bond shoots the pharmacist who shot him.

It's an all right medical/crime drama, with a nightclub act in which the songwriters come up with as many rhymes for 'bologna' as they can think of, and Florence Rice is there for the first two to fight over -- Sutton is there for some mild comic relief, afraid of anything to do with medicine.

It's a loan-out for director Jacques Tourneur, or perhaps he had already left Metro; certainly Republic is two steps down, even from the MGM shorts department. He would begin to move up again a couple of years later, working in Val Lewton's unit at RKO.

A decent time-passer.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 10 October 2023]

"Doctors Don't Tell" is a B-movie from Republic Studios, an outfit that specialized in making Bs....and the occasional A-picture.

When the story begins, three friends all have completed their training and are now doctors. However, they find the going tough and when they try to open a practice together, they can't find any patients. One decides to instead take a job working for the Medical Examiner's office. The other, his brother, makes a horrible decision and ends up working for some underworld thugs. Now this brother has plenty of patients...and plenty of problems! What's next? See the film.

The story, while familiar, is well told and interesting. My only quibble with the tale is the third doctor, played by Grady Sutton. He seems to be there just for comic relief and ends up dragging the story down at times because the story SEEMS realistic in most other ways. Eliminating this minor character would have improved the story a bit and it could have earned a 7.

Without a doubt, one of the goofiest crime thrillers I've ever seen!

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 16 April 2020]

The comedy in this film is mainly provided by Grady Sutton as a doctor afraid of actually treating any patients, but the film itself has such a lighthearted air about it that it is absolutely charming from start to finish. The film deals with two doctors (John Beal and Edward Norris) who after their internship has ended decide to go into partnership on Park Avenue and end up becoming involved in a protection racket ring. Beal, on his last day as an intern, took a chance and operated on car accident victim Florence Rice, and while this could have prevented him from moving on actually benefits him because of her excellent recovery. The protection racket is first seen threatening a drug store owner, and when a hot-headed thug pulls out a gun on the owner, he pulls out his own, and the thug is shot in the shoulder which leads Morris to perform a home operation on him, ultimately leading him to be utilized by the thugs to treat other gangsters who have been shot.

Morris and Beal both fall in love with Rice, a nightclub singer in an act with her brother Bill Shirley, and this put the string in their friendship. Ultimately, the trigger happy thug is brought to trial and Morris is unable to be located to testify against him. this leads to a very intense scene in court where he arrives at the last minute as another gangster prepares to open fire right in the middle of the Manhattan courtroom.

Rice and Shirley get to perform a couple of musical numbers, and if you recognize Shirley's voice, all you have to do is think of the prince in "Sleeping Beauty" and Freddy in the film version of "My Fair Lady". While these sequences do nothing but extend the running time to a brief 65 minutes, they are charming and add a different mood to the crime capers going on in the rest of the film. This is a film that had me hooked from the very beginning thanks to the story of the intern using a moral decision that could have ruined his career. It is quite different for a Republic film and actually very glossy. The mixture of comedy and crime may seem an odd way to structure a B film of this nature, but in the end, it all works, and is quite above average for a film of its kind.