The Secret of Dr. Kildare

It's hard to imagine this series without Lionel Barrymore as the cantankerous old wheelchair-ridden Dr. Gillespie, who is perfect counterpoint to the good actor, but rather bland Lew Ayres, playing Dr. Kildare. Without Barrymore, or the likes of him, the series would surely have flopped. The three plots going at once is typical of the series, and handled well by the director Harold S. Bucquet. The film, however, is badly named, because I couldn't tell for sure what Kildare's secret was. The audience is in on several of his deceptions: his quitting Gillespie to force him to rest; his not telling Helen Gilbert he was a doctor; and finally his lying to her about the treatment he was going to give her. Still, the film is fun to watch, especially if you've seen others films in the series and get to know how the various hospital characters interact.