Dr. Christian Meets the Women

As I tell my law students every semester, my favorite verse is from the Book of Harry. That's Harry S Truman and the quotation is "The only thing new in the world is the history you don't know." This minor gem from 1940 - "Dr. Christian Meets the Women" -is one of a six-film series starring Jean Hersholt as the kindly, gentle, wise, small-town physician who ministers to ailments physical and emotional. Christian never seems to collect a fee and there's no time spent dealing with HMOs. Malpractice litigation? That occupational hazard doesn't exist.

Christian encounters a visitor to his neat, friendly town, a "professor" who hard sells weight loss programs with the aid of a shapely assistant. He's only interested in distaff clients. Projecting himself as a man of science, he oozes the odor of a hucksterism that may be more sophisticated today but ain't no different in scope and end purpose.

Dr. Christian becomes increasingly disturbed as the many women who have been his long-time patients succumb to the charm and blandishments of this fellow who combines an exercise regimen with diet to cater to the women's feverish demand for weight loss. Oh, and he also "prescribes" (he's not a medical doctor) a substance from the earlier part of the last century that apparently isn't known today. I wrote down the name: amphetamines.

Christian, in desperate need of a vacation and falling ill himself, complains that he's never had so many townsfolk ill at the same time and it's all because of the draconian regimen eagerly, actually fanatically, pursued by the women who, for the moment at least, abandon the good doctor for the miracle-promising professor.

Change some of the dialog, re-make the movie in color and have the women desperate to land muscular mates while pursuing exciting careers and "Dr. Christian Meets the Women" would be ready for today's MTV and theater market.

All the Dr. Christian movies are better than mere "B" second features but this one resonates with an almost embarrassing relevance. Yep, Harry Truman had it right for sure.

Thanks to Alpha for releasing this flick for a mere $5.99. It's worth acquiring as are the other Dr. Christian tales.

7/10

This is a mild, pleasant comedy made with a low budget. The Dr, Christian character, played by former bad guy, Jean Hersholt, was an American icon. There was also a Dr, Christian popular radio program with Jean Hersholt. The Dr. Christian character was a kindhearted, wise, even tempered, chubby, soft spoken man trying to spread as much good as he possibly could in his small community while tolerating fools and villains. Not the type likely to become a popular hero today.

This is a warm comedy performed by professionals. Hersholt personifies the Dr. Christian character.

Edgar Kennedy does his great slow burn, Rod La Roque is perfect as a smooth talking, glib, self centered salesman for a health racket. Indeed, some of the stuff he is peddling is still a problem today. Veda Ann Borg plays it straight as an exercise instructor Too bad she wasn't allowed to do the brassy, poorly educated, dyed blond character which has made her famous to this day.

When this was released, people could get snug in a neighborhood theater and smile through a movie like this, absorb the serious message it contained, and then watch the main feature. All of it adding up to a good nights entertainment. For those raised on contemporary movies, It has to be hard for them to understand the popularity of movies like this one. Movies today sell spectacle, dazzle, glitter, comic book action, wild fantasy, and deafening sound. Thus, I suspect that young people will find this movie too slow.

Too bad

Jean Hersholt is guarding the health of his community against a diet doctor quack. 75 years after Dr. Christian Meets The Women we still have diet doctors, they've multiplied like locusts.

Dr. Christian meets up with Frank Albertson who has returned to town. Formerly a reporter, Albertson is now doing advance work for quack diet doctor Rod LaRocque who with his shapely assistant Veda Ann Borg sells diet and exercise, but also is selling pills laced with amphetamines which he has no right to do. LaRocque's a total fraud, he has Frank and Veda Ann bringing him all kinds of 'forbidden' foods.

When young Lynn Merrick gets sick it's Dr. Christian who gets out of his own sick bed to try and save her from that diet. Shades of Karen Carpenter.

Edgar Kennedy uses his slow burn comedy to good advantage as his wife Lelah Tyler invites LaRocque to stay at their place. When the local scoutmaster brings his troop in for a diet talk, marching band and all Kennedy truly loses it. As for Tyler she's in a role where she's a Mary Boland lite.

A good Dr. Christian story about a still serious topic.

I'm sure he'd met some of them before, but in this installment in the series, Jean Hersholt finds his peaceful town invaded by Rod La Rocque. Rod is a huckster of health and fitness. He comes in, sweeps the matrons off their feet, promising them beauty, if they'll only eat raw spinach and lemon for breakfast while he sneaks off to his room to eat pie.

It's a fine performance of oblivious comedy mixed with a dash of uncaring evil. Naturally Dr. Christian objects that the one-size-fits-all plan is risky. He's joined in this objection by Edgar Kennedy. Lelah Tyler, Kennedy's wife, is putting up La Rocque, which means Kennedy must put up with him, his inedible diet and La Rocque's invasion. Kennedy does his slow burn very slowly in this one.

All in all, it's a well-made programmer with some wise old pros in front of and behind the camera: a good way to spend an hour.