Dr. Kildare Goes Home (1940)

Dr. James Kildare has just completed his internship at Blair General Hospital and is assigned to work with his mentor, Dr. Leonard Gillespie. But fearing for the health of his father, Dr. ... See full summary »

Director:

Harold S. Bucquet

Writers:

Harry Ruskin (screen play), Willis Goldbeck (screen play)

Stars:

Lew Ayres, Lionel Barrymore, Laraine Day

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lew Ayres	...	Dr. James Kildare
Lionel Barrymore	...	Dr. Leonard Gillespie
Laraine Day	...	Mary Lamont
Samuel S. Hinds	...	Dr. Stephen Kildare
Gene Lockhart	...	George Winslow
John Shelton	...	Dr. Davidson
Nat Pendleton	...	Wayman
Emma Dunn	...	Mrs. Martha Kildare
Alma Kruger	...	Molly Byrd
Walter Kingsford	...	Dr. Walter Carew
Nell Craig	...	Nurse Parker
Cliff Danielson	...	Dr. Jordan
Henry Wadsworth	...	Collins
Tom Collins	...	Joiner
George Reed	...	Conover (as George H. Reed)

Storyline

Dr. James Kildare has just completed his internship at Blair General Hospital and is assigned to work with his mentor, Dr. Leonard Gillespie. But fearing for the health of his father, Dr. Stephen Kildare, he returns to his parents home to help him with his excessive workload. Dr. Kildaire Sr. is servicing a wide area ever since the doctors in neighboring towns moved elsewhere. Noting that three doctors at Blair General are doing menial jobs because they can't start their own practices, Kildare conceives the idea of building a clinic in Parkersville to be serviced by the three doctors and financed by the townsfolk paying ten cents a week to subscribe to the service. But influential men in Parkersville provide serious opposition to the plan.

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Plot Keywords:

doctor | hospital | clinic | telephone operator | self sacrifice | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 September 1940 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Clínica do Dr. Kildare

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Fifth entry in MGM's long-running, progressively more popular and highly profitable Dr. Kildare film franchise. Alongside (and sometimes double-billed with) the same studio's even more successful Mickey Rooney/Andy Hardy series, Kildare's box office returns by this point justified producing an average of two movies each year.

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Quotes

Dr. Leonard Gillespie: You look like you've lost fifteen pounds. Very becoming!
Molly Byrd: I've gained eight. And what do you want done that's against the rules?

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Connections

Followed by The People vs. Dr. Kildare (1941)

User Reviews

cool film

"Dr. Kildare Goes Home," made in 1940, is a particularly interesting entry into the series. Kildare, made a staff doctor, realizes that his dad (Samuel S. Hinds) is exhausted from keeping up with his practice and wants to help him. He takes some doctors who can't find jobs and they start a clinic in one of Kildare Sr.'s practice area. The idea behind it is that everyone pays ten cents a week for medical care. This will keep the salaries paid and support the work needed on the ill people. Also, the emphasis of the clinic is on prevention and staying healthy. This is health insurance today, which wants everyone to stay healthy and not need medical facilities. Instead of a dime, though, it's thousands per year. I did find that whole subject matter in 1940 fascinating.

The next fascinating thing is that Dr. Gillespie goes to watch a rare operation done by a brilliant black doctor (Jack Carr). Carr, a very well spoken actor, is uncredited in the film. This is a different kind of depiction of blacks than one is used to seeing in these old movies, and it's similar to "Crash Dive," where a black member of the submarine unit is the same as everyone else.

These things make "Dr. Kildare Goes Home" a cut above, and the story moves along with Kildare and Mary setting the date. I love the scenes between Mary Boyd (Alma Kruger) and Dr. Gillespie (Lionel Barrymore) the best. When he compliments her appearance, he says, "You must have lost 15 pounds." She says, "I've gained eight. What do you want me to do that's illegal?" Highly entertaining.