By Violet LeVoit
The Secret of Dr. Kildare
Brief Synopsis
A young doctor tries to help a woman suffering from psychosomatic blindness.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Harold S. Bucquet
Director
Lew Ayres
Dr. James Kildare
Lionel Barrymore
Dr. Leonard Gillespie
Lionel Atwill
Paul Messenger
Helen Gilbert
Nancy Messenger
Nat Pendleton
Wayman
Film Details
Genre
Drama
Release Date
Nov
24,
1939
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.
Distribution Company
Loew's Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the story "The Secret of Dr. Kildare" by Max Brand in Hearst's International-Cosmpolitan (Sep 1939).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 24m
Sound
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
9 reels
Synopsis
Dr. Leonard Gillespie and his assistant, Dr. James Kildare are about to undertake an important research project to develop a cure for pneumonia when Paul Messenger, a Wall Street tycoon, asks Gillespie's help in diagnosing the drastic personality change that has occurred in his daughter Nancy. Gillespie assigns the case to Kildare, who poses as an old friend of the family in order to observe Nancy. When Gillespie collapses from exhaustion, Kildare, fearing for his mentor's health, forces the cranky old doctor to take a rest by announcing that he is quitting the research project to work on the Messenger case. Kildare's announcement forces Gillespie to take a much needed vacation, and while the old doctor goes fishing, Kildare begins to investigate the causes of Nancy's symptoms. While visiting Nora, the family housekeeper, Kildare learns that Nancy has been suffering blinding headaches. Nora, who disdains all doctors, has convinced Nancy that she is suffering from the same type of brain tumor that killed her mother. Nora takes Nancy to see a nature healer named John Xerxes Archley, which prompts Kildare to admit that he is a doctor and dispute Archley's diagnosis. When the confrontation causes Nancy to go hysterically blind, Kildare consults with Gillespie over the girl's symptoms. Following Gillespie's advice, Kildare pretends to operate on Nancy's eyes, thus curing her hysterical blindness. Meanwhile, Gillespie returns from his vacation revived, and realizing that Kildare quit the experiment only out of concern for his health, reconciles with his assistant. Together they launch their research on pneumonia.
Director
Harold S. Bucquet
Director
Cast
Lew Ayres
Dr. James Kildare
Lionel Barrymore
Dr. Leonard Gillespie
Lionel Atwill
Paul Messenger
Helen Gilbert
Nancy Messenger
Nat Pendleton
Wayman
Laraine Day
Mary Lamont
Sara Haden
Nora
Samuel S. Hinds
Dr. Stephen Kildare
Emma Dunn
Mrs. Martha Kildare
Walter Kingsford
Dr. S. J. Carew
Grant Mitchell
John [Xerxes] Archley
Alma Kruger
Molly Byrd
Robert Kent
Charles Herron
Marie Blake
Sally
Martha O'driscoll
Mrs. Roberts
Nell Craig
Nosey [Parker]
George Reed
Conover
Frank Orth
Mike
Shirley Warde
Mrs. Adams
Norman Budd
Johnny Adams
Walter Baldwin
Finch
William Tannen
Bates
Tom Collins
Joiner
Donald Barry
Collins
Emory Parnell
Cop
Donald Kerr
Ambulance driver
Lillian Rich
Nurse
Matt Mchugh
Chauffeur
Joe Yule
Proprietor
Alec Craig
Little man
Byron Foulger
Attendant
George Chandler
Pay orderly
Mitchell Lewis
Adam
Crew
Frank Clark
Pilot
Charles Dorian
2nd Unit Director
Randall Duell
Art Director Associate
Cedric Gibbons
Art Director
Alfred Gilks
Photography
Willis Goldbeck
Screenwriter
Horace Hough
Assistant Director
Frank Hull
Film Editor
Lou Ostrow
Producer
Harry Ruskin
Screenwriter
Douglas Shearer
Recording Director
David Snell
Music Score
Charles Stallings
Unit Manager
Dolly Tree
Wardrobe
Edwin B. Willis
Set Decoration
Film Details
Genre
Drama
Release Date
Nov
24,
1939
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.
Distribution Company
Loew's Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the story "The Secret of Dr. Kildare" by Max Brand in Hearst's International-Cosmpolitan (Sep 1939).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 24m
Sound
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
9 reels
Articles
The Secret of Dr. Kildare -
The character of wise, kind, and courageous Dr. Kildare was created by "Max Brand", one of many pseudonyms of novelist and screenwriter Frederick Schiller Faust. Wildly prolific (he wrote 30 million (!) published words during his career), Faust wrote the scripts for Kildare movies first and then turned them into novels. This, the third Dr. Kildare movie, follows our heroic MD as he and his wheelchair-bound mentor Dr. Gillespie (Lionel Barrymore) honor a worried father's request to track down and examine his agitated daughter Nancy (Helen Gilbert) and keep her out of the clutches of a worthless "nature healer" (Grant Mitchell). (Barrymore's wheelchair wasn't a character affectation -- the veteran actor was suffering from arthritis and hip pain.) While fans of the series will enjoy the budding romance between Kildare and his longtime squeeze Nurse Lamont (Laraine Day), any movie buff will enjoy the sparring interplay between real-life friends Ayres and Barrymore. While the pacifist Ayres and the conservative Barrymore could not be more politically opposed, the veteran actor maintained that playing against Ayres was as honest as going up against Spencer Tracy in a scene.
By Violet LeVoit
By Violet LeVoit
The Secret of Dr. Kildare -
The character of wise, kind, and courageous Dr. Kildare was created by "Max Brand", one of many pseudonyms of novelist and screenwriter Frederick Schiller Faust. Wildly prolific (he wrote 30 million (!) published words during his career), Faust wrote the scripts for Kildare movies first and then turned them into novels. This, the third Dr. Kildare movie, follows our heroic MD as he and his wheelchair-bound mentor Dr. Gillespie (Lionel Barrymore) honor a worried father's request to track down and examine his agitated daughter Nancy (Helen Gilbert) and keep her out of the clutches of a worthless "nature healer" (Grant Mitchell). (Barrymore's wheelchair wasn't a character affectation -- the veteran actor was suffering from arthritis and hip pain.) While fans of the series will enjoy the budding romance between Kildare and his longtime squeeze Nurse Lamont (Laraine Day), any movie buff will enjoy the sparring interplay between real-life friends Ayres and Barrymore. While the pacifist Ayres and the conservative Barrymore could not be more politically opposed, the veteran actor maintained that playing against Ayres was as honest as going up against Spencer Tracy in a scene.
By Violet LeVoit
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
A Hollywood Reporter production chart adds Ian Hunter to the cast, but his participation in the film is unconfirmed. A news item in Hollywood Reporter adds that the fishing sequences were shot on location at San Pedro, CA. For additional information, consult the Series Index and see entry for Young Doctor Kildare.
