The Secret of Dr. Kildare

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User Ratings: 65

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Movie Info

In this third installment of MGM's "Dr. Kildare" series, Dr. James Kildare (Lew Ayres) comes to the rescue when his supervisor/mentor Dr. Gillespie (Lionel Barrymore) nearly collapses from overwork. Gillespie is seeking a permanent cure for pneumonia, and must ask Kildare for assistance when the task proves beyond his physical ability. The older doctor eventually does collapse, and the diagnosis is cancer. Gillespie recovers, while Kildare finds his hands full in juggling both the pneumonia cure and the case of a woman (Helen Gilbert) suffering from psychosomatic blindness. But what's the "secret" of Dr. Kildare? Well...that's a secret (until you see the film).

Rating:

NR
Genre:

Classics, Drama
Directed By:

Harold S. Bucquet
Written By:

Harry Ruskin, Willis Goldbeck
In Theaters:

Nov 24, 1939 wide
On Disc/Streaming:

Jun 6, 2006
Runtime:

84 minutes
Studio:

MGM

Cast

Lionel Barrymore
as Dr. Leonard Gillespie

Lew Ayres
as Dr. James Kildare

Laraine Day
as Mary Lamont

Lionel Atwill
as Paul Messenger

Helen Gilbert
as Nancy Messenger

Nat Pendleton
as Joe Wayman

Sara Haden
as Nora

Samuel S. Hinds
as Dr. Stephen Kildare

Emma Dunn
as Mrs. Martha Kildare

Grant Mitchell
as John Archley

Walter Kingsford
as Dr. Walter Carew

Alma Kruger
as Molly Byrd

Robert Kent
as Charles Herron

Nell Craig
as Nurse Parker `Nosey'

Marie Blake
as Sally

George H. Reed
as Conover

Martha O'Driscoll
as Mrs. Roberts

Don 'Red' Barry
as Collins

Frank Orth
as Mike Ryan

Byron Foulger
as Attendant

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Critic Reviews for The Secret of Dr. Kildare

All Critics (1) | DVD (1)

It's all pretty silly, but the actors project just the right tone, avoiding life-or-death hysterics and keeping a sly edge.

Jun 9, 2006 | Full Review…

Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

View All Critic Reviews (1)

Audience Reviews for The Secret of Dr. Kildare

Sep 23, 2010

An okay movie. I was a bit annoyed that Dr. Kildare didn't really have any kind of deep dark secret, or any secrets at all, really. I did enjoy the movie, though, it was charming and dramatic. Of course, I knew what was wrong with Dr. Kildare's patient two scenes before he did, so he seemed like an idiot, as did some of the other characters sometimes. This movie started out trying to be a dark dramatic adventure, but ended up a sweet happy family friendly drama instead. It's interesting, but disappointing.

Aj V Super Reviewer