Young Dr. Kildare

Young Dr. Kildare is a must-see, if you're going to watch the very entertaining film series that spawned the popular television program in the 1960s. Joel McCrea played the famed doctor in an independent 1937 film, but the official series started the following year, with Lew Ayres taking over.

In this first installment, the set-up is brilliantly executed. Lew Ayres graduates from medical school and comes home to his small town. It's a very touching sequence, with his mom and dad proudly displaying his shingle on the outside of their home. Everyone is so proud of him and expects him to become the town's country doctor. Lew gets accepted to practice in a big city hospital, and he tries it out to see which lifestyle he likes. While in the big, bustling hospital, he meets the grizzly perfectionist: Lionel Barrymore. Poor Lew, he's not nearly as fondly remembered as Lionel's creation of Dr. Gillespie, even though they both went on to the extremely popular radio series The Story of Dr. Kildare in the 1950s. Lionel has that lovable crotchety-ness that endears him to the audience so they know even when he's grouchy, he's grouchy for a good reason that he'll explain later. Just like Dr. Kildare himself, you'll come to know and love the regulars at the hospital, including the telephone operators and the ambulance drivers. Nat Pendleton made his living acting in just as many of these Dr. Kildare films as the main characters! Watch this first volume, whose guest star is Monty Woolley, to see if you get hooked; I know you will.