Dr. Kildare's Crisis (1940) User Reviews

"From Mary's letters, I expected Dr. James Kildare to be a combination of Abraham Lincoln and Flash Gordon."

[utgard14 · 7/10 · 15 May 2017]

The sixth in MGM's Dr. Kildare series starring Lew Ayres has Jimmy Kildare trying to diagnose Nurse Mary Lamont's brother, which doesn't go over well with Mary or the brother. I liked this one quite a bit. Most of the negatives I've seen here and elsewhere are coming from the types of people that are triggered by older films not being sensitive to their modern feelings. No one should be watching a movie from 1940 to get an education on epilepsy. If you are, my medical diagnosis is that you need to put down the glue.

Lew Ayres does a solid job. Laraine Day gets a lot to work with this time and makes the most of it. Robert Young is good as the brother. The best scenes, not surprisingly, involve Lionel Barrymore's Dr. Gillespie. The scene where he talks about his late brother or when he goes through old love letters and sings "Seeing Nellie Home" are fine showcases of how a talented actor like Barrymore could own a film with a few moments here and there. Last appearance in the series of Bobs Watson as Tommy, a crippled boy recovering with the help of Dr. Gillespie. This little subplot is an example of the fine continuity that helped make this series so exceptional. I have similar praise for MGM's other great series with Andy Hardy. So much to like about this one. I can't imagine a fan of the series not enjoying it. But I suppose that depends on how sensitive you are to a movie made three-quarters of a century ago having outdated medical information.

Disappointing entry into the series

[blanche-2 · 5/10 · 15 October 2007]

Dr. K, Dr. Gillespie, and nurse Mary are all involved in "Dr. Kildare's Crisis," a 1940 "Dr. Kildare" film which stars regulars Lew Ayres as Kildare, Laraine Day as Mary, Lionel Barrymore as Dr. Gillepsie, Alma Kruger as the nursing supervisor. Robert Young appears as Mary's brother Doug. Kildare and Mary are planning their wedding when Douglas comes to visit. He has a plan to help unskilled labor become skilled, and needs the support of one of Kildare's grateful ex-patients.

Unfortunately it's downhill from there, due to a very weak script. Kildare, without examining Mary's brother, decides he has epilepsy on the basis that Douglas sometimes seems to hear noises no one else hears. This makes Mary afraid to marry Kildare for fear of having him end up with a sick wife or epileptic children. She becomes hysterical and wants to return home with her brother. Well, this plot line is so pathetic that the New York Medical Society wrote a letter in protest about the way epilepsy is treated in the film - that it's curable, that it can be inherited, and that it can lead to insanity. Also, how could Mary, a trained nurse, go so crazy and insist on dumping Kildare, whom she's been chasing for years? Really preposterous behavior on the part of the characters. The audience knows them by now and it's pretty bewildering.

The series would be over in 1942 and become the "Dr. Gillespie" series, which retained Barrymore and Alma Kruger. Lew Ayres was persona non grata for being a conscientious objector in World War II, though he did work on the front lines as a medic. MGM didn't care, they just wanted to be rid of him. When he returned from the war, the handsome Ayres did some of his best work, receiving an Oscar nomination for "Johnny Belinda," and continuing his career until 1994. Laraine Day, though MGM never seemed to know what to do with her,(happily, she was loaned out a lot) is lovely as Mary, and of course, due to her involvement with Kildare, Mary becomes a casualty in this series. Dr. Gillespie, starring in his own movie series, would mellow. Both the Kildare and Gillespie series were very popular. It's a shame that this film seems so out of place.

Biggest flaw: the epilepsy angle is badly handled...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 28 December 2012]

Some other crisis, rather than suspecting "epilepsy" as the cause of Robert Young's erratic behavior, would have made more sense. Having Lew Ayres decide, on some vague notion that Laraine Day's brother (Robert Young) has epilepsy and might be passing it on to her, doesn't make much sense. Then too, her hysterical fears (as a nurse) are unsubstantiated by reasons given in the script.

I must admit that these negatives, however, do not mean that "Dr. Kildare's Crisis" is not an uninteresting film. Indeed, it's so well acted by the leads that it's apparent they were ready for headier stuff, acting-wise. Laraine Day is so impressive as Nurse Mary Lamont that it's a wonder MGM didn't build a better career for her during her studio contract. She's not only extremely attractive but does a decent job in a role that's not particularly well conceived.

Robert Young does nicely with some starkly dramatic moments, proving that this MGM series was a good training ground for their young contract players. No surprise that better roles would lie ahead for Ayres and Young. Miss Day would have to wait until she left the studio for better assignments.

Lionel Barrymore is his usual grumpy and sometimes obnoxious self as Dr. Gillespie, using all of his well-known mannerisms and then some.

But for a drama dealing with medical terms and hospital life, the epilepsy angle is badly handled and factually incorrect both as to treatment and diagnosis.

Summing up: As it is, this is formula stuff--some romance, some light moments and then some darker elements before the windup with Ayres emerging as a heroic doctor.

Utter medical nonsense....and the worst of the Kildare movies.

[planktonrules · 2/10 · 28 December 2011]

Dr. Kildare (Lew Ayres) and Mary (Laraine Day) are about to be married. But, when Kildare meets his future brother-in-law (Robert Young), he suspects the guy might have epilepsy. But, instead of dealing with this directly, Kildare mopes about and keeps this from Mary--and even the brother-in-law until well into the film. That's because if it IS epilepsy, it might mean he can never get it on with this sexy lady!

Normally I am a big fan of the Dr. Kildare movies. They are fun, intelligently written and very appealing...until this film. The sad fact is that the film is horribly written--mostly because the writer didn't bother to learn ANYTHING about the problem discussed in the film. If you look at the trivia section on this film, you can see that the film did not do a very good job of portraying epilepsy. I was surprised myself when a textbook Kildare read said that the disorder 'could lead to insanity' as well as that it's an inherited disease!!! What nonsense! Also, the film acts as if epilepsy is some dreaded disease--worse than leprosy, rabies and syphilis PUT TOGETHER! Nonsense! And, not only does the film get all this wrong, but with such misinformation, it unduly scared people and set back public perceptions on this disorder. And, since it makes up a HUGE portion of the film, it made the overall film...well,...suck!

The bottom line is that although the film has some nice MGM polish and decent acting, the script is such a stupid mess that I cannot recommend it unless you'd like a laugh. Dumb and worthless.

A lifetime of mediocrity yes! But still a lifetime!

[sol1218 · 5/10 · 16 October 2007]

(There are Spoilers) Things couldn't be better for young Doctor James "Jimmy" Kildare, Lew Ayres, and his bride to be nurse Mary Lamont, Larrine Day, until Mary's brother Doug, Robert Young, shows up at Blair Memorial Hospital for a visit.

Doug has this grandiose plan that will pull the United States out of the Great Depression now, in 1940, in it's tenth year. Doug's plan is to retrain the population in modern science and engineering where there are tens of millions of skilled and high paying jobs just waiting for them to fill. This will not only solved the massive unemployment, running as high as 20% in 1940, crisis but create new industries that will also shrink, or completely wipe out, the National Debt.

Big ideas need big bucks and that's were Doug wants Dr. Kildare to get in touch with multi-millionaire philanthropist Robert Chandler, Pierre Watkin, who's daughter's life Dr, Kildare saved some time ago. If Chandler goes along with Doug's plan and provides the millions that he needs to pull it off all his dreams, as well as the dreams of millions of Americans, will become a reality.

Listening to Doug Dr. Kildare notices that he's a bit out of it hearing things that are in his head like imaginary bells going off. Doug in fact acts like a punch-drunk prize fighter who took one two many jabs and left hooks to the head. Dr. Kildare strongly suspects that Doug is suffering from a serious case of epilepsy which may well be hereditary and can also show up in his fiancée Mary! More afraid of Mary finding out about her brothers condition then anything else Dr. Kildare, in an experiment to find the truth, has Doug guzzle down a number of shots of whiskey. He also makes Dough stuff himself with, what looked like, a two pound juicy stake and wash it down with some half dozen cups of strong, minus cream & sugar, coffee.

Sadly in Dr. Kildare's opinion, with Doug going nutty after wolfing down all that good food and drinks, Doug is indeed suffering from a form of non-spasmodic, yet still, epilepsy. It's now up to the Doctor to tell Mary, who by now has an idea of what's wrong with her brother, the truth and possibly, besides wrecking his and Mary's wedding plans, driving the poor girl to a nervous breakdown.

It's then that Dr. Kildare's mentor and boss the head of Blair Memorial Hospital's, among other things, neurosurgery department Dr. Leonard "Lenny" Gillespie, Lionel Barrymore, comes, in his wheelchair, riding to the rescue. All Dr. Kildare had to do is find out if Doug's mental condition was either the result of an inbred biological or, as "Lenny" soon proved, outside or accidental condition.

It turns out that Doug's brains had been badly scrambled in a car accident about two years ago. An accident that for some reason Doug, maybe the accident caused him to lose his memory,totally forgot about! With proper hospital care as well as expert and successful neurosurgery preformed by Dr. Kildare Doug had completely recovered from his brain injury and by the end of the movie was as good as new. Now both Dr. Kildare and Mary can get married and as for Doug Mr. Chandler was so impressed with his idea of jump-starting the US economy that he donated to him all the millions that he needed to do it.

Dr. Kildare and a family secret

[mgmstar128 · 8/10 · 20 December 2007]

Thanks to Turner Classic Movies, I have been enjoying the series, never having seen them before. The Dr. Kildare series was the precursor of shows like Medical Center, Marcus Welby, M*A*S*H*, ER, and Grey's Anatomy, and a slew of other shows I am sure as well.

I found this series entry to be worth viewing. Another reviewer made some valid points about the weakness of some character motivations, but I still can see why Mary could react the way she does when discovering the truth, which Jimmy Kildare has kept from her.

Robert Young turns in an excellent performance as Mary's brother, proving how versatile an actor he was. He wasn't always the boring and stable father from Father Knows Best (and later on becoming the Dr. Welby mentioned above).

We learn a bit more about Dr. Gillespie's past; he had a brother who died. We also learn a bit more about how and why he feels special towards Molly Byrd.

Overall, another entry worth watching and enjoying.

Personal and Professional Crisis.

[bkoganbing · 4/10 · 28 December 2010]

Although the description of the causes and treatment of epilepsy make this a below par entry in the Dr. Kildare series, Dr. Kildare's Crisis is as much personal as medical in this film. He gets to deal with the potential in-laws in this film.

Robert Young playing Laraine Day's brother arrives at Blair General Hospital exhibiting some strange behavior and something of a new attitude toward life. He sounds like a motivational speaker from today as he wants to pitch an idea about training schools for people not learning any trades because of the Great Depression.

Given some of the symptoms Ayres suspects epilepsy and for some strange reason doesn't want to confide in Day which puts one great strain on the relationship. It ain't nearing and endearing him to Young either, but Ayres wants to be sure.

Kildare films usually go one of two ways either Kildare makes a right diagnosis and Lionel Barrymore as Dr. Gillespie backs him up, or he's on the wrong track and Barrymore has to set him straight. If you watch the film, you'll find out which it is.

Dr. Kildare's Crisis was one of his own making, he should have sent Young to a specialist post haste. But that would be how it was done in the real world.

A subpar Kildare film from MGM.

Standard Kildare fare but with bizarre diagnosis

[mdonath · 4/10 · 4 January 2013]

Some spoilers in this review.

First off, one of the most positive aspects of the Dr Kildare films is the great patient "guest stars" they have. Lana Turner, Gene Lockhart, and Bonita Granville are all excellent examples, but perhaps none have done a better job than Robert Young in this movie. Young plays the brother of Kildare's now fiancée (and hasn't she been that now for about the last three movies?) Loraine Day.

However, what really sticks out about this film is the now bizarre diagnosis of Young's ailment. And this is true even considering that the Kildare films are filled with badly dated medical advice, such as Gillespie telling a man with a drinking problem that there is no hereditary connection to alcoholism; or his demanding that a middle aged man stop running 15 miles a week because doing so will doom him to the graveyard!

This one really takes the cake though. Young's character displays (to the modern viewer) all of the classic symptoms of a bipolar disorder. Kildare diagnoses him by having him consume (in the middle of the night, no less) a few shots of whiskey, a large steak which is over salted to the point of nausea, and five cups of coffee. Based on this "meal" making the patient feel wonderful, Kildare declares his condition as epilepsy!

Wow, I'm not a doctor, but still -- wow. Overall it is pretty much standard Kildare fare and possibly a tad better than most.

What's wrong with Dr. Kildare?

[HotToastyRag · 3/10 · 14 April 2019]

I haven't seen all of the Dr. Kildare movie series, but I've seen enough of them to know that any newcomers shouldn't start with Dr. Kildare's Crisis. There's definitely enough drama and comic relief, but Lew Ayres's titular character is written so badly in this installment, it's impossible to like him or respect him as a doctor.

In this one, Lew Ayres and his devoted and very pretty nurse, Laraine Day, are planning their wedding. Lionel Barrymore, the sage Dr. Gillespie, is looking forward to breaking out his dress clothes and giving the bride away, and as he goes through his trunk with his tuxedo, he also revisits youthful memories inspired by adorable mementos. When he puts on a decades-old straw hat and reads old love letters still fragrant with perfume, it's easily the best scene in the movie. Anyway, Laraine's brother Robert Young comes to town for a visit, and immediately, Lew becomes suspicious that he has a severe illness. Keep in mind that the two have never met before and the only clue Lew has that anything's wrong with Bob is that he seems to hear a noise no one else hears. Without any official testing, Lew diagnoses him with hereditary epilepsy, which leads to insanity and death, and causes a huge dramatic panic. What's wrong with him?

Normally, I've been known to complain that it should have been Franchot Tone as the famous doctor in the series, but not even he could have saved this installment. Die hard fans won't want to miss any, of course, so if you do decide to watch it, you'll see the same friendly, familiar faces, Nat Pendleton, Alma Kruger, Nell Craig, and Marie Blake. You'll also see Bobs Watson return and show off his improved walking, and any reunion of Lionel and Bobs is touching. Robert Young is given some dramatic scenes to show off his acting, but since he and Laraine usually make such a great romantic couple, it's a little odd to see them as brother and sister.