I have seen most of the Dr. Kildare movies and was excited to see Turner Classic Movies was showing one I hadn't yet seen--"The People Versus Dr. Kildare". And, while it's not among the very best of the films, it's quite good and offers lots of the same stuff I always like in the films--wonderful characters (particularly Dr. Gillespie and his #1 nurse).
The film begins with Kildare involved in an accident when his car is involved in a three-way collision. A lady (Bonita Granville) is hurts and needs an emergency operation--and the good doctor performs it right there at the accident site. Later, at the hospital, he then patches up the lady's broken leg. However, when Granville's cast is removed, inexplicably she cannot walk--her leg is paralyzed. And, considering she is a professional skater, this really sucks. In a great example of the expression "no good deed goes unpunished", Granville then sues Kildare--the man who saved her life! Much of the film consists of the trial and Kildare figuring out what really is causing this annoying woman's plight.
As I mentioned above, the supporting characters are what make this such an enjoyable film. However, unlike the earlier films Nat Pendleton is gone as the bone-headed orderly and is replaced by two (one of which is Red Skelton). This actually worked out pretty well. About the only things that did not work out so well was making Granville such a jerky person. While this was not unusual (as Granville played jerks in most of her films), it didn't make a lot of sense. Additionally, there was a dangling plot hole. When Kildare found the truck driver, the driver had some really important things to say that would have really helped Kildare's case--yet, the guy is never called to testify!!! Could this have been due to over-anxious editing or a mistake by the screen writer? All I know is that my wife (who is a successful writer) kept complaining about this...and she was right. Otherwise, we both had a great time watching this installment.
The film begins with Kildare involved in an accident when his car is involved in a three-way collision. A lady (Bonita Granville) is hurts and needs an emergency operation--and the good doctor performs it right there at the accident site. Later, at the hospital, he then patches up the lady's broken leg. However, when Granville's cast is removed, inexplicably she cannot walk--her leg is paralyzed. And, considering she is a professional skater, this really sucks. In a great example of the expression "no good deed goes unpunished", Granville then sues Kildare--the man who saved her life! Much of the film consists of the trial and Kildare figuring out what really is causing this annoying woman's plight.
As I mentioned above, the supporting characters are what make this such an enjoyable film. However, unlike the earlier films Nat Pendleton is gone as the bone-headed orderly and is replaced by two (one of which is Red Skelton). This actually worked out pretty well. About the only things that did not work out so well was making Granville such a jerky person. While this was not unusual (as Granville played jerks in most of her films), it didn't make a lot of sense. Additionally, there was a dangling plot hole. When Kildare found the truck driver, the driver had some really important things to say that would have really helped Kildare's case--yet, the guy is never called to testify!!! Could this have been due to over-anxious editing or a mistake by the screen writer? All I know is that my wife (who is a successful writer) kept complaining about this...and she was right. Otherwise, we both had a great time watching this installment.