Cheap Lew Ayres: Dr Kildare's Strange Case (DVD) (Harold S. Bucquet) Price

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Customer Reviews of Lew Ayres: Dr Kildare's Strange Case

Pleasant, but only just that
Lightweight, predictable (will the patient
with the mystery disease pull through? Will Kildare
hook up with the nurse?), hokey,
but not without some charm. Has some unintentionally
funny moments, and one can only thank God that
medical ethics have progressed since 1940
(that is if you believe the film accurately
reflects those of its period). Still, it's
reasonably entertaining, if not exactly classic
material.

The print used for the film in reasonably good
shape, except for some moderate damage at the reel
changes. Some rain lines, too, but very few scratches
or nicks. A couple of very minor video glitches.
The picture wasn't particularly sharp, but still
mostly OK. They could have put more effort into
the video transfer. The audio was decent.

In short a so-so transfer for a so-so
film. Still, when you take the price into consideration,
it's worth seeing....

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Not bad for an old flick
I am a medical student collecting movies about the medical field. I enjoyed this movie for a couple simple reasons: It is full of amusing stereotypes, has some hilarious scenes on insulin shock therapy that would make a modern doc cringe, and Lionel Barrymore is a great actor! I think I will look for more movies with this funny old fellow.

The movie is about a Young Dr. Kildare (Lew Ayres) who is doing a residency at Blair General. He is in love with a nurse(Laraine Day) (of course!) and she can't stand the thought of not being married (my oh my), like the older Head Nurse of the hospital. Anyway, Dr. Kildare doesn't earn much as a resident (yup) so he figures he can't afford to get married right now. This little love story goes on around an incident with a Dr. Lane, a surgeon who is having bad luck with a string of dying patients. Dr. Kildare tries to save Dr. Lane's reputation by convincing the hospital that it isn't Dr. Lane's skills that are lacking. In the end, Dr. Kildare wins the admiration of the hospital, Dr. Lane, his residency director Lionel Barrymore), and of course the nurse.

Apparently there are 15 flicks about Dr. Kildare. This one is the 4th of 15. They follow the idealist young doctor as he emerges from medical school and eventually becomes an accomplished and confident doctor. I would like to see the other movies as well, but this is the only one on DVD right now.

Following the string of 15 movies, there was a t.v. series about Dr. Kildare that ran for a few years when t.v. was new.

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Be Glad You're not a Patient in This Hospital
I watched all of the Dr. Kildare movies as a child, and I was surprised to find out that they weren't as good as I remembered them being. However, "Dr. Kildare's Strange Case" reminds me of a less complicated time when science seemed to hold all of the answers. Those who remember earnest young Dr. Kildare, crusty Dr. Gillespie, and pretty Mary Lamont will find this movie worth watching, just as old friends are still worth talking to, even when we've outgrown them. The plot is rather absurd--a patient goes insane after brain surgery, and the surgeon (who has recently had a lot of patients die) is blamed. Aided and abetted by his girlfriend, Mary Lamont, Dr. Kildare induces insulin shock in the patient (not considered a valid treatment for years, but don't blame the scriptwriters--at that time it was). Miraculously, the patient survives and the brain surgeon is exonerated. Even more miraculously, Dr. Kildare and Mary Lamont escape charges of attempted murder and even keep their jobs.