Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case

This entry in the popular Dr. Kildare/Dr. Gillespie series, which was also a radio hit at the time, is somewhat of a sequel to "Calling Dr. Gillespie." The story of "mental case" Roy Todwell is continued and finalized. There are also several subplots from the extremely weak and saccharine children's ward melodrama featuring Margaret O'Brien to the more effective and interesting rivalry between Dr. Adams (Van Johnson) and Dr. Lee Wong How (Keye Luke) to be Dr. Gillespie's new assistant. One subplot, however, appears to be MGM's slap at Lew Ayres (Dr. Kildare) for declaring himself a conscientious objector which caused such an uproar and led to MGM dropping him. A veteran who has lost his legs in the bombing of Pearl Harbor is being fitted for new ones. He is extremely depressed and tells Dr. Gillespie that he never wants to walk again. Dr. Gillespie goes out of his way to help the vet, providing him with the best of everything, though he has little money. Dr. Gillespie gives a patriotic speech against the Japanese, even quoting the Bible. Though no reference is made to Dr. Kildare (Lew Ayres)by name, it is obvious why this subplot was inserted.

There is the usual mix of romance, humor, mystery, and the down-home philosophy of wheelchair-bound Dr. Gillespie (a father figure not unlike our President at the time who was also in a wheelchair) that made the Dr. Kildare/Dr. Gillespie series so successful. But this is one of the weaker entries. Be sure and see "Calling Dr. Gillespie," a much better movie, first. It makes viewing this one more palatable.

Dr. Gillespie (Lionel Barrymore) continues testing Dr. Lee Wong How (Keye Luke) and Dr. Randall Adams (Van Johnson), both vying to be his new assistant. Meanwhile an epidemic breaks out in the hospital children's ward and psycho killer Roy Todwell breaks out of prison just as Gillespie is arguing to the prison board that Roy belongs in a mental hospital. All this plus a double amputee struggles to come to terms with his disability and a beautiful woman throws herself at Dr. Adams.

The third Gillespie movie follows up on the events of Calling Dr. Gillespie. Donna Reed returns and is even lovelier than before. The character of Roy was recast for some reason. The new actor, John Craven, isn't as creepy as the last one, Phil Brown. Craven is just kind of skeevy. Van Johnson and Keye Luke are both fun. Luke is once again given the wartime comments about Japs, as well as the subplot about a man who lost both his legs at Pearl Harbor. Beautiful Marilyn Maxwell has a sexy part as a wealthy hospital volunteer who comes onto Johnson very strongly. She would appear a couple more times in the series. Margaret O'Brien is cute as one of the sick kids. She was such a precocious little actress who did melodrama very well. It's an enjoyable entry in the series with more subplots than you can shake a stick at. Barrymore is terrific as usual.

What's a Dr. Kildare movie without Lew Ayres? A Dr. Gillespie movie, and let's face it, since Dr. Gillespie is Lionel Barrymore, no one's going to be complaining. In Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case, Lionel has to deal with two ambitious assistants, a depressed war veteran, a children's epidemic, and a convicted criminal who'll lose his temper if he finds out his ex-wife Donna Reed is getting re-married. This installment packs quite a punch, so prepare to be entertained.

The supporting cast may have well-known names, but not everyone is given a lot to do. Van Johnson exists to chase around the overly flirtatious Marilyn Maxwell and roll his eyes whenever he's prevented from sealing the deal. Keye Luke exists to simultaneously make the movie seem accepting and racist, since the running joke is that he's learning to speak Chinese at the local college. Donna Reed exists to look pretty and flounce around with bouncing hair and a sweet smile. Nat Pendleton is always a lot of fun, with wisecracks, harmless flirting, and loyal support to his friends and the hospital.

Of course, the star of the show is Lionel Barrymore, a true professional who's incapable of giving a bad performance. In this one, he treats Michael Duane, who's despondent over losing his legs in the war. It's quite sad, not only because this realistic situation was being shown during wartime, but also because a wheelchair-bound Lionel tells Michael how lucky he is that he'll be equipped with artificial legs. "You're luckier than I am. Not even this hospital can make me walk," he says, no doubt creating many lumps in audiences' throats. Lionel also has a touching scene with a group of sick children, including a young Margaret O'Brien, reminding audiences how wonderful he was in On Borrowed Time with Bobs Watson. Just in case you get too teary-eyed, Lionel does get thrown a surprise birthday party, and to prove he's not surprised, he opens his bathrobe to reveal a tuxedo! After all, in a hospital drama, in the middle of WWII, there's got to be a touch of humor to get us through. And Lionel, who can get us through anything.

Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case deals with some unfinished business from Calling Dr. Gillespie. Although why he's bothering I can't figure out other than he's a dedicated man of medicine and possibly an opponent of capital punishment.

In Calling Dr. Gillespie Donna Reed is charmed by young Phil Brown who turns out to be a homicidal maniac. He gets caught and Lionel Barrymore as Dr. Gillespie tries to get him a guilty by insanity verdict which a jury doesn't buy and sends him to a regular prison instead. But Gillespie doesn't give up, especially when Reed playing the same character shows up announcing she's found someone new and is about to wed.

Barrymore has two young interns in this film who he keeps busy. There's Van Johnson who is with him when he goes to the prison on behalf of John Craven who has taken over the role that Phil Brown played in the earlier Gillespie film. The other is Keye Luke who gets involved in the rehabilitation of William Lundigan who was a taxi driver from Honolulu who lost both his legs when a bomb hit his cab.

All three of them are involved in an outbreak of erysipelas in the hospital pediatric ward, one of the children being Margaret O'Brien. As you can see everybody at Blair General Hospital has a full plate of responsibility.

I think the film would have been better had the part of the story involving John Craven wasn't there. Craven tries to kill Barrymore in the previous film and no one would blame Barrymore if he wanted nothing more to do with the case. But back in the day doctors were saints on the silver screen.

Still Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case is not a bad film and did a lot of good for the popularity of MGM's rising new star, Van Johnson.

MGM looks like PRC or Monogram in this hodgepodge. It picks up on characters in "Calling Dr. Gillespie" (on which I have commented.) Donna Reed is still in it but the man she'd planned to marry, now in prison, is another actor. He's OK but the original was very powerful.

Several plots are tossed into this stew. In one, Keye Luuke and Van Johnson are vying for the job of Dr. Gillespie's assistant.

Then we have the beautiful woman who offers Johnson everything -- except a hiding place from the call of hospital emergencies.

And we have a ward of little girls with a contagious disease. Margaret O'Brien is appealing as one of these girls.

Another story involves a vet who's lost his legs. This character is played with great intensity by William Lundigan.

And: the holdover. Is Reed's ex insane or is prison the right place for him? Far be it from me to answer that here. However, though this one contains the word "criminal" in its title, the first one was a tense noir and this is a pan of scrambled eggs.