Once a Doctor

This was obviously made inexpensively and not a big budget movie. It just turned up on Turner Classics.

It's very well written and performed and touches on philosophical matters of honor in an unsentimental fashion rare for its time.

When brilliant intern Donald Woods covers up for foster brother Gordon Oliver one last time, he is kicked out of medicine and has to make his way back into the profession as a male nurse at a free clinic, where he performs an illegal operation and is found guilty of manslaughter.

This Warner B looks like it was produced as a substitute for MGM's first Doctor Kildare movie, INTERNS CAN'T TAKE MONEY. It is, alas, not very well done, with stiff acting, tired lines like "Brain surgery is important" and a plethora of hackneyed medical movie tropes.

Perhaps if this had been expanded to fill an A movie slot, it might be more interesting and less telegraphic than it is at 57 minutes. However, had that been the case, it would have had a better director than perennial B header William Clemens.

Once A Doctor is the tale of two physician stepbrothers Donald Woods and Gordon Oliver both of whom like nurse Jean Muir. Woods has a promise of greatness in him, Oliver however likes to party and Woods is always covering for him.

Once too often however and when Oliver won't fess up in a situation it's Woods that gets his license yanked. Another situation lands him a year in jail.

But it all works out in the end, though with some exciting climax footage of Woods trying to get from one ship at sea to another to save a life during a storm.

Nice competent ensemble cast in this B film from Warner Brothers.

Donald Woods and Gordon Oliver are doctors. "foster" brothers, as they carefully point out at the very beginning of the film. It's a warner brothers shortie, at only 57 minutes. the brothers play hanky panky with the paperwork, and it comes back to bite them later. they break so many rules and laws, I wouldn't want either one as a doctor. Jean Muir is Paula, the focal point in our story, as the brothers fight over her. Directed by William Clemens. he directed some very okay films... some Falcon mysteries, Torchy Blane, and Philo Vance in the 1930s and 1940s. All very lightweight stuff. THIS one is also no biggie. not much meat on the bones, made in between wars. it shows now and then on Turner Classics, but as we can tell by the cast and the director, this ain't no shakespeare.