Dr. Kildare - Verhängnisvolle Diagnose

The wedding of Dr. Kildare and nurse Mary Lamont is fast approaching, and Mary's brother, Doug (Robert Young) has come for a visit. He has drawn up plans for a philanthropic concern that needs the backing of a rich person, and so he has come to New York for two reasons - to meet his future brother-in-law and also to ask Dr. Kildare to introduce him to a rich man who is indebted to Kildare. During the visit, Kildare notices that Doug seems to be hearing things followed by a period of extreme energy and confidence. For reasons that are beyond me, Kildare thinks that this behavior could amount to some dread disease and won't stop until he uncovers said dread disease. Complications ensue.

The disease that is suspected is epilepsy, and as with most illnesses mentioned in this series, it is given an excessively bad rap. It is said it leads to insanity unless the person lives a very calm uneventful existence, it is said that the person eventually becomes an invalid, and because it is often inherited, it could mean that Mary has it too. But wait, wouldn't that mean that their parents would have it too, that it wouldn't just suddenly crop up in Doug and Mary? This is never mentioned.

So the diagnostic/treatment portion of this film is a bit of a mess, but then I'd expect that from a film that is 85 years old. The entries on melanoma and diabetes were all wrong medically too, but they were still enjoyable films. The key to its enjoyability is the consistency of the supporting characters - Molly Bird, Nat Pendleton as lovable but strong as an ox Joe, Nell Craig as the persistently terrified Nurse Parker, and Marie Blake as Sally the hospital receptionist and switchboard operator.

Marriage proposals are spreading in the hospital. Doctor James Kildare (Lew Ayres) proposes to nurse Mary Lamont (Laraine Day). Mary's brother Douglas (Robert Young) comes for a visit. He is looking for a patron for his charity from one of Kildare's former patient. Kildare has concerns for his health. Dr. Leonard Gillespie (Lionel Barrymore) remains the irascible mentor.

This is another Kildare episode. The war would eventually disrupt the series, but not yet. This is still a series with some juice and the characters remain. The medical aspect is a bit suspect in this one. I'm no doctor and I'm certainly no expert with medical care at this time. That part seems like the weakest link although nurse Lamont's reaction is a close second. She is very melodramatic. I slowly grew frustrated with her. Well, she is part of the crisis.

Although the description of the causes and treatment of epilepsy make this a below par entry in the Dr. Kildare series, Dr. Kildare's Crisis is as much personal as medical in this film. He gets to deal with the potential in-laws in this film.

Robert Young playing Laraine Day's brother arrives at Blair General Hospital exhibiting some strange behavior and something of a new attitude toward life. He sounds like a motivational speaker from today as he wants to pitch an idea about training schools for people not learning any trades because of the Great Depression.

Given some of the symptoms Ayres suspects epilepsy and for some strange reason doesn't want to confide in Day which puts one great strain on the relationship. It ain't nearing and endearing him to Young either, but Ayres wants to be sure.

Kildare films usually go one of two ways either Kildare makes a right diagnosis and Lionel Barrymore as Dr. Gillespie backs him up, or he's on the wrong track and Barrymore has to set him straight. If you watch the film, you'll find out which it is.

Dr. Kildare's Crisis was one of his own making, he should have sent Young to a specialist post haste. But that would be how it was done in the real world.

A subpar Kildare film from MGM.

Thanks to Turner Classic Movies, I have been enjoying the series, never having seen them before. The Dr. Kildare series was the precursor of shows like Medical Center, Marcus Welby, M*A*S*H*, ER, and Grey's Anatomy, and a slew of other shows I am sure as well.

I found this series entry to be worth viewing. Another reviewer made some valid points about the weakness of some character motivations, but I still can see why Mary could react the way she does when discovering the truth, which Jimmy Kildare has kept from her.

Robert Young turns in an excellent performance as Mary's brother, proving how versatile an actor he was. He wasn't always the boring and stable father from Father Knows Best (and later on becoming the Dr. Welby mentioned above).

We learn a bit more about Dr. Gillespie's past; he had a brother who died. We also learn a bit more about how and why he feels special towards Molly Byrd.

Overall, another entry worth watching and enjoying.

Dr. K, Dr. Gillespie, and nurse Mary are all involved in "Dr. Kildare's Crisis," a 1940 "Dr. Kildare" film which stars regulars Lew Ayres as Kildare, Laraine Day as Mary, Lionel Barrymore as Dr. Gillepsie, Alma Kruger as the nursing supervisor. Robert Young appears as Mary's brother Doug.

Kildare and Mary are planning their wedding when Douglas comes to visit. He has a plan to help unskilled labor become skilled, and needs the support of one of Kildare's grateful ex-patients.

Unfortunately it's downhill from there, due to a very weak script. Kildare, without examining Mary's brother, decides he has epilepsy on the basis that Douglas sometimes seems to hear noises no one else hears.

This makes Mary afraid to marry Kildare for fear of having him end up with a sick wife or epileptic children. She becomes hysterical and wants to return home with her brother.

Well, this plot line is so pathetic that the New York Medical Society wrote a letter in protest about the way epilepsy is treated in the film - that it's curable, that it can be inherited, and that it can lead to insanity.

Also, how could Mary, a trained nurse, go so crazy and insist on dumping Kildare, whom she's been chasing for years? Really preposterous behavior on the part of the characters. The audience knows them by now and it's pretty bewildering.

The series would be over in 1942 and become the "Dr. Gillespie" series, which retained Barrymore and Alma Kruger. Lew Ayres was persona non grata for being a conscientious objector in World War II, though he did work on the front lines as a medic. MGM didn't care, they just wanted to be rid of him.

When he returned from the war, the handsome Ayres did some of his best work, receiving an Oscar nomination for "Johnny Belinda," and continuing his career until 1994.

Laraine Day, though MGM never seemed to know what to do with her,(happily, she was loaned out a lot) is lovely as Mary, and of course, due to her involvement with Kildare, Mary becomes a casualty in this series.

Dr. Gillespie, starring in his own movie series, would mellow. Both the Kildare and Gillespie series were very popular. It's a shame that this film seems so out of place.