Details

Release year: 1942

Storyline

Dr. Jimmy Kildare is back at work at Blair General hospital, though several people admit that he is not himself since suffering his loss. He's taken a liking to a young intern, Don Winthrop, and tries to help him out when he transports an accident victim, socialite Cynthia "Cookie" Charles, to Blair General from outside the hospital's agreed territory. When the other hospital complains, Winthrop is fired. Soon after, his girlfriend, Nurse Anabelle Kirke, is also let go when she too misapplies hospital policy. Kildare pleads their case with the hospital Board but with little luck. He then gets the well-connected Cookie, who has a thing for him, to help to sort it out

Top credits

Directors

W.S. Van Dyke

Writers

Cast

Lew Ayres — Dr. James Kildare
Lionel Barrymore — Dr. Leonard Gillespie
Ann Ayars — Cynthia 'Cookie' Charles
Robert Sterling — Dr. Donald Winthrop

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Did you know

• When Lew Ayres announced he was a conscientious objector to the war shortly after the film was released, hundreds of bookings were canceled because of protests. Loew's ordered that all cancellation requests be granted. After Ayres changed his status (in April 1942) to non-combatant, many in the film industry stated that a boycott of his films would be intolerant and inconsistent with "Americanism." His stance unfairly marked him as a deserter and coward in the public's eyes and stalled Ayres's career for many years.

• Eighth entry in MGM's long-running Dr. Kildare film franchise, and the last of them to star Lew Ayres, who was written out of future films due to having registered as a conscientious objector with his World War ll draft board (see trivia note above). After theatres across America cancelled bookings for this film, Lionel Barrymore as Dr. Gillespie became the central character in several more titles hoping to cash in on the series' former popularity.

• Ironically, after a running subplot throughout the first eight Dr. Kildare films focused on Dr. Gillespie's fading health, Lionel Barrymore's character became the central figure of this franchise when Lew Ayres left the series to serve as a "noncombatant" in World War II. In subsequent films, the plot-line concerning Gillespie's health (and implied impending demise) was de-emphasized.