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IMDbPro

Calling Dr. Gillespie

  • 19421942
  • PassedPassed
  • 1h 24m
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
385
YOUR RATING
Lionel Barrymore, Donna Reed, Phil Brown, and Philip Dorn in Calling Dr. Gillespie (1942)
CrimeDramaThriller
Dr. Gillespie is called in to investigate when a young man suffering from mental problems disappears on a killing spree.Dr. Gillespie is called in to investigate when a young man suffering from mental problems disappears on a killing spree.Dr. Gillespie is called in to investigate when a young man suffering from mental problems disappears on a killing spree.
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
385
YOUR RATING
    • Harold S. Bucquet
  • Writers
    • Max Brand(characters)
    • Kubec Glasmon(story)
    • Willis Goldbeck(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Lionel Barrymore
    • Donna Reed
    • Philip Dorn
    • Harold S. Bucquet
  • Writers
    • Max Brand(characters)
    • Kubec Glasmon(story)
    • Willis Goldbeck(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Lionel Barrymore
    • Donna Reed
    • Philip Dorn
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 10User reviews
    • 3Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos7

    Donna Reed and Phil Brown in Calling Dr. Gillespie (1942)
    Lionel Barrymore, Donna Reed, Phil Brown, Philip Dorn, and Nat Pendleton in Calling Dr. Gillespie (1942)
    Lionel Barrymore and Philip Dorn in Calling Dr. Gillespie (1942)
    Donna Reed and Philip Dorn in Calling Dr. Gillespie (1942)
    Lionel Barrymore, Donna Reed, and Philip Dorn in Calling Dr. Gillespie (1942)
    Lionel Barrymore, Donna Reed, and Philip Dorn in Calling Dr. Gillespie (1942)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Lionel Barrymore
    Lionel Barrymore
    • Dr. Leonard Gillespie
    Donna Reed
    Donna Reed
    • Marcia Bradburn
    Philip Dorn
    Philip Dorn
    • Dr. John Hunter Gerniede
    Phil Brown
    Phil Brown
    • Roy Todwell
    Nat Pendleton
    Nat Pendleton
    • Joe Wayman
    Alma Kruger
    Alma Kruger
    • Molly Byrd
    Mary Nash
    Mary Nash
    • Emma Hope
    Walter Kingsford
    Walter Kingsford
    • Dr. Walter Carew
    Nell Craig
    Nell Craig
    • Nurse 'Nosey' Parker
    Ruth Tobey
    • Susan May 'Susie' Prentiss
    Jonathan Hale
    Jonathan Hale
    • Frank Marshall Todwell
    Charles Dingle
    Charles Dingle
    • Dr. Ward O. Kenwood
    Marie Blake
    Marie Blake
    • Sally, Receptionist
    Nana Bryant
    Nana Bryant
    • Mrs. Marshall Todwell
    Eddie Acuff
    Eddie Acuff
    • Clifford Genet
    Robin Raymond
    Robin Raymond
    • Bubbles
    Ernie Alexander
    • Hospital Elevator Boy
    • (uncredited)
    William Bailey
    William Bailey
    • Restaurant Patron
    • (uncredited)
      • Harold S. Bucquet
    • Writers
      • Max Brand(characters)
      • Kubec Glasmon(story)
      • Willis Goldbeck(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The movie initially was called "Born to Be Bad" with Lew Ayres again starring as Dr. Kildare. After principal shooting had been completed, Ayres announced he was a conscientious objector to World War II in which America was then involved. Fearing adverse publicity, MGM scrapped his footage, replaced him with Philip Dorn and changed the title.
    • Quotes

      Dr. Leonard Gillespie: To be successful in love you've got to be a doggone good liar. I mean it, both before and after marriage.

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

    User reviews10

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    "It must have been a great honor to have been entertained by John Quincy Adams."
    Dr. Gillespie (Lionel Barrymore) is asked by an old friend for help with a young man named Roy Todwell (Phil Brown) who may be going crazy. Along with psychiatrist Dr. Gerniede (Philip Dorn), Gillespie tries to convince Roy's parents that he needs medical help before he hurts someone. But they are resistant and soon Roy has gone on a full-blown killing spree, with every intention of making Dr. Gillespie his next victim.

    The first of MGM's Dr. Gillespie series starring Lionel Barrymore. The series is a continuation of the Dr. Kildare series without star Lew Ayres. This movie attempts to set up a possible replacement for Ayres in thickly-accented Philip Dorn, but it doesn't click. Dorn is fine but the mentor/mentee relationship between Gillespie and Kildare isn't there. Phil Brown makes for a really creepy psychopath. The movie wastes no time showing us how nuts he is -- he kills a little dog in his first scene! Lovely Donna Reed appears as the object of the psycho's affections. Most of the regular supporting cast from the Kildare series is still around here and enjoyable as ever. This includes Alma Kruger, Nat Pendleton, Nell Craig, and Marie Blake. Ava Gardner has a bit part with a couple of lines near the end.

    There's a lot of nitpicking of the Kildare/Gillespie movies by some modern viewers who are indignant that a movie made in the 1940s has outdated medical knowledge. This seems especially true whenever the movies addressed psychological cases, such as with this one. I, for one, find these parts of the film interesting as historical curiosities. It gives us a window into how such things were viewed in the past. Why hold it to a modern standard just to mock it is beyond me. This is my favorite of the Gillespie series. Possibly my favorite from both series. A later movie, Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case, would follow up on the events in this one.
    helpful•3
    0
    • utgard14
    • Dec 14, 2014

    Details

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    • Release date
      • August 1942 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 24 minutes
      • Black and White

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    Lionel Barrymore, Donna Reed, Phil Brown, and Philip Dorn in Calling Dr. Gillespie (1942)
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