Dark Delusion

"Dark Delusion" was the final film in the Dr. Kildare/Dr. Gillespie series. Most likely it was because it lost a LOT of money and the studio realized it was time to call the series quits. Amazingly enough, it's actually a good film...a worthy installment in the series. So why was it a failure? I assume folks just got tired of the films and even with a good film, the series had just petered out.

Dr. Tommy Coalt (James Craig) is a very competent doctor, though his manner is a bit abrasive. So, Dr. Gillespie thinks the young doctor could benefit from a change of pace...something to help improve his people skills. So, Dr. Coalt is sent to fill in for a general practicioner in another town...and, not surprisingly, there end up being some serious problems. In particular, a rich man is trying to have his daughter institutionalized because she's assume to be insane...but Dr. Coalt won't sign off on this commitment. Another problem, and a much more minor one involves a man needing a medical certificate in order to adopt a baby...but, oddly, the man keeps putting off getting a physical!

This certainly is NOT a dull film. While some of the psychological aspects of the story are out of date, the notion of a doctor NOT wanting to just institutionalize someone is a good thing as back in the day such commitments were overused. Overall, a decent installment in the series...and one unfairly hated when it was released.

A doctor searches the causes of a young woman's mental illness to avoid her father's wish to intern her. This mystery is competently played by James Craig and Lucille Bremer, with Craig's delicate attention in discovering her problems. But there are unfortunately many comic scenes that ruin the rhythm. A very modest B movie, I don't know any title of the director Willis Goldbeck, who is better known as a screenwriter for "Freaks", "the Man who shot Liberty Valance" and lot of Dr Kildare.

Lionel Barrymore and Alma Kruger are fantastic in this film.

It is too bad the film didn't just focus on them.

The main storyline isn't fleshed out and you end up not caring.

Alma and Lionel make it worth a watch.

The Dr. Kildare series, which morphed into the Dr. Gillespie series, has its last episode with "Dark Delusions."

Filmed in 1947, it also stars James Craig as Dr. Coalt. Coalt is a brilliant doctor but a little too aggressive for a doctor starting out -- translation: he's in trouble with the upper crust.

Gillespie (Lionel Barrymore) sends Coalt to replace Dr. Art Baker in the country temporarily. There, his strong-mindedness and little regard for big monied people gets him embroiled in another tough case.

The father of a young woman, Lester Matthews, wants to have his daughter (Lucille Bremer) committed, but Dr. Coalt won't sign the papers. He believes that her problem can be cured and sets out to gain the young woman's confidence and help her, despite opposition.

A secondary plot concerns parents (Jayne Meadows and Warner Anderson) of a baby about to be adopted by them. In order to finalize the adoption, both parents have to pass a physical.

The mother has her physical, but her husband keeps finding excuses not to have one. It's up to Keye Luke to get to the bottom of the problem.

Good episode, but of the Ayres replacements, Craig was probably the most boring. The combo of Van Johnson and Keye Luke was the liveliest. I've never been a big fan of Van Johnson's, but he certainly brought lightness and charm to the proceedings.

Good, glossy series in the MGM tradition.

It's a pleasure re-discovering how well made these minor B films were at MGM. This is another entry in the Dr. Gillespie series at MGM, the ones without Lew Ayres as Dr. Kildare.

Instead, JAMES CRAIG is a young doctor treating a very troubled young woman (LUCILLE BREMER) whose guardians want her committed to an asylum for observation. Craig immediately thinks otherwise, although why he's so sure of her sanity is hard to determine. That's one of the weaknesses of the story and he's rather stubborn in his conviction.

LUCILLE BREMER plays the distraught patient as though she's seen too many Bette Davis movies. She paces about and stares into the camera lens with wide-eyed terror, all in what appears to be a pale imitation of Miss Davis. She even resembles the younger Davis physically in extreme close-ups.

At Blair Hospital, Keye Luke and Lioneal Barrymore are on hand for some comic relief, as is Marie Blake as the switchboard operator and Alma Krueger as a stern and knowing nurse. Reliable character actor Henry Stephenson is the girl's guardian.

JAMES CRAIG is stolid and solemn as the stubborn doctor and LIONEL BARRYMORE is his usual blustery self as Dr. Gillespie, but the story's resolution is just too patly contrived for believability, including the narcosynthesis explanation. JAYNE MEADOWS makes a nice impression in one of her more wholesome roles.

As a simplistic B-film, it's of more than average interest.