The Man Called Back

Conrad Nagel is a doctor drinking off his disgrace in the South Seas. He is summoned to tend to Doris Kenyon's broken leg. The sight of her recalls his dignity to him and when she leaves, he proceeds to repair himself. One day, he is called to John Halliday's yacht to deal with its owner's appendicitis. Halliday decides to take him back to England and set him up in practice again. When Halliday brings Nagel to his home, he introduces the doctor to his wife: Doris Kenyon.

It's tightly plotted, which is a good thing, although the coincidences in the set-up and as the plot unwinds are a little too efficient. Conrad gives one of his bland, capable performances. Miss Kenyon is good, Halliday is very good as the nasty rich man, and there are some other good performances, like Reginald Owen as a society doctor and Alan Mowbray as a prosecuting attorney. It's not an unappreciated masterpiece of he Pre-Code era, but it is a good time-waster, with a nice mystery to cap it off -- which I figured out as soon as it was raised.