Internes Can't Take Money

Barbara Stanwyck had always been a fine actress, but around the time of this film, she... found another gear somehow and blew past most of the competition. There were still a few actresses that could keep up with Lady Barbara, but her performance in 'Internes Can't Take Money' reduced that number to a mere handful, and with the twin triumph that year of 'Stella Dallas,' she remained at the top of her field for decades afterward.

For just one example - it's impossible to imagine Hepburn pulling off this role; there weren't enough menthol sticks in the United States to get her to bring the tears needed for the part. Stanwyck's perfectly natural acting in this film is a couple levels higher than Kate's ability. The performance across from McCrea is terrific and the way Stanwyck stares at Stanley Ridges as he destroys her faith in humanity is astonishing.

Several comments complain about the script but this story is terrific. It's as good a story as 2008's 'Changling' for example, but the message, and the ending, of 'Internes' is far more powerful.

It looks like most of the complaints are really based on the film not having the look or feel of the Lew Ayres version of Kildare; but this film doesn't have anything to do with the serial, other than inspiring it. It stretches credulity to think that Joel McCrea would have pitched over his career to make a serial - he was far too big a star for any studio head to have considered that even for a minute.

This one really is 1937 movie magic!

Probably not, but it has a certain cachet to it that is reminiscent of the genre that was yet to come. Good folk and gangsters, an unsuspecting someone caught in a web of dishonesty and murder, and all with the shadows and photographic effects normally associated with film noir. It is also an early Dr. Kildare film with Joel McCrea as the good doctor.

Nutshell: Kildare comes across Barbara Stanwyck, who is destitute and desperate. She is looking for her lost child and she is broke and just released from prison, apparently framed for aiding and abetting her husband. Kildare tries to help, with the aid of a gangster (Lloyd Nolan) on whom he has done emergency surgery (in the back of a barroom!) and who now feels he owes Kildare a favor.

The cast is excellent, headed by Stanwyck who never gives a bad performance. McCrea is his usual understated self and Stanley Ridges is very effective as a seedy, slimy villain. This is a very underrated film and was shown at Capitolfest, Rome, NY, 8/19.

******** 8/10 - Website no longer prints my star rating.

The acting and plot were strong here, and a very enjoyable movie. There is great chemistry with Joel McCrea and Barbara Stanwyck. Stanwyck per norm does great, dramatic work here.

The show stealer is Stanley Ridges. His creep who will help Stanwyck find her child -- only if she sleeps with him long-term and becomes his moll -- is chilling. It's one of the best performances I've ever see of a subtle, sinister gangster who alludes to dastardly deeds, without ever directly saying it. He doesn't ask her to sleep with him, he just munches popcorn, and offers her some. When she declines he says "At some point you should like popcorn." He is direct, firm and sleezy in a must-see performance.

The other scene stealer is Lloyd Nolan. A phenomenal what you would typically like a from a gangster, but with more depth. Great pauses, thoughtfulness and facial expressions in his conversations with McCrea. He's your ideal tough gangster but also has a bit of compassion. Just a bit.

MCrea is always a joy to watch - stable, sure performance.

Internes Can't Take Money is a clear title about the dilemma, and points to the moral quandary to come. But a more compelling title can be found, which that alone, would have made this a more sophisticated movie and higher up in the ranks.

The first Dr. Kildare film, from Paramount. It has no connection to the later MGM series, of which I'm a big fan. Despite not having many of the elements I enjoy in those movies, this one is still entertaining. Joel McCrea and Barbra Stanwyck have nice chemistry. Lloyd Nolan and Stanley Ridges are great as gangsters, one rotten and one not so much. The best parts of the film are the hospital scenes that give us lots of "window into the past" bits that show us how life was at the time. Particularly how the medical profession was different. The visual style is more enhanced in these scenes, too. The hospital set is also pretty cool. Probably the one thing this film has over the MGM series. Worth a look whether you are a fan of Kildare or not.

A wildly improbable drama, the misspelled "Internes Can't Take Money" was the first in the "Dr.Kildare" movie series, which was subsequently recast with Lew Ayres in the title role and continued at the MGM studio, following this initial Paramount effort. Concocted by writer Max Brand, the story involves an honest young intern at a large hospital, who crosses paths with a widowed ex-con seeking to locate her three-year-old daughter, who was abducted by her deceased bank-robber husband. The recipe is an old one; toss in a couple of shady characters and a gangster with a heart of gold, who is embroiled in illegal betting, add a tolerant landlady and a kindly bartender, sprinkle with nuns, mix with unexpected twists, and bake until overdone.

Despite an uninspired title and a routine script, director Alfred Santell maintains a steady pace that will distract viewers from the at-times laughable plot turns that lead to a teary fade-out, provoked either by laughter or sentiment. Beyond the script, the film's technical aspects are quite good, especially the black and white cinematography by Theodor Sparkuhl, who often dramatically captures Stanwyck garbed in deep black, contrasting with McCrea, dressed in his intern's whites.

Barbara Stanwyck plays the widow, Janet Haley, and the actress, at her sudsy distraught-mother best, is convincing in an unconvincing role. Joel McCrea is the original Dr. Kildare, a straight-arrow intern, poorly paid and burdened by work and rules, who seeks solace at a nearby bar, where his life takes a sudden turn. Stanwyck and McCrea, in their third co-starring film, work well together, and Stanwyck seems genuinely taken with McCrea during their first scene together. Attesting to what makes a film star a star, Stanwyck and McCrea add dimension and interest to otherwise cardboard characters in credibility-stretching situations. In addition to the two stars, the capable cast also includes Lloyd Nolan, Stanley Ridges, and Charles Lane. However, if not for the professionalism and charisma of the leads and supporting players, "Internes Can't Take Money" would be 80 minutes of laughable coincidences and plot turns, memorable only as the first in the Dr. Kildare movie series.