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The Secret of Dr. Kildare

(1939 b 84')

En: 6 Ed: 6

 

The intern lets his mentor rest while he works on the psychological case of a millionaire's daughter.

Dr. Leonard Gillespie (Lionel Barrymore) encourages a woman, who is afraid to have a baby. Dr. Carew (Walter Kingsford) brings wealthy Paul Messenger (Lionel Atwill) to Gillespie, who makes him wait in line. Dr. James Kildare (Lew Ayres) is late but worked all night. Gillespie tells a patient not to drink and calls in Messenger, who says his daughter Nancy goes out dancing. Gillespie mentions their experiments on pneumonia. A chauffeur picks up Kildare, who tells Mary Lamont (Laraine Day) he must see Nancy and calls on her. Nancy Messenger (Helen Gilbert) tells Charles Herron (Robert Kent) she is not going to the party, but she goes out with Kildare all night. Kildare sees Gillespie collapse and gives him adrenaline. Gillespie revives and asks for Dr. Carew, who gives him a sleeping pill; but Gillespie tells Kildare he spit it out. Kildare's parents visit him. Jimmy tells his mother Martha Kildare (Emma Dunn) he must leave Dr. Gillespie to keep him alive.

Mary nurses Gillespie at home and does not give in to his demands. Stephen Kildare (Samuel S. Hinds) tells his wife Martha of his heart condition. James Kildare tells Dr. Carew he wants the Messenger case. Gillespie comes in and objects. Kildare says he is doing it for the money. Nurses Molly Byrd (Alma Kruger) and Mary give Gillespie fishing gear. Kildare tells Messenger that Nancy is fixated on her late mother. Kildare gets Nancy to go to her mother's nurse Nora (Sara Haden), who blames doctors and says Nancy has headaches. Nora wants Nancy to see alternative healer Archley (Grant Mitchell), who says Nancy has a brain tumor; but Kildare warns him not to tell her, because he denies it is so. Nancy learns that Kildare is a doctor. Charles says Nancy will never see him again, upsetting her. Kildare calls Joe Wayman (Nat Pendleton) for tools. Nora and a man won't let Kildare see Nancy; but Joe overcomes the man. Nancy tells Kildare that she is blind. Gillespie fishes and tries to cheat Conover (George Reed) with crooked dice but loses when Conover cheats him.

Kildare tells Gillespie that Nancy should see but can't. Gillespie lectures on a cure for psychosomatic illness, and Kildare operates on Nancy. Martha asks Gillespie to help her husband. Kildare brings Charles and tells Nancy she will see him when he removes her bandage, and Nancy embraces Charles. Mary summons Kildare to Gillespie, who says that his father's heart is okay. Gillespie says fear causes illness, and he knows Kildare left him so he would get some needed rest. In the final scene Gillespie sends Kildare on an airplane to do their pneumonia experiment.

The cantankerous doctor is dying but won't stop working until the intern makes him rest in another episode that portrays humanitarian zeal with humor and understanding.

Copyright © 2001 by Sanderson Beck

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