Dr. Kildare's Strange Case (B&W)

Dr. Kildare's Strange Case (B&W)
Customer Review: PRIMARY INGREDIENT FOR THE SUCCESS OF THIS SERIES -- ITS CASTING.
For this fourth entry of the fifteen feature films in the much admired Dr. Kildare series, the regular assemblage of talented M-G-M supporting players enlivens a somewhat rambling plot, with acting honours shared by Lionel Barrymore as young Kildare's overseer, curmudgeonly Dr. Gillespie, and Laraine Day, cast as nurse Mary Lamont who has an eye upon James Kildare (Lew Ayres) as spousal material. James, diagnostic intern at "Blair General Hospital" finds he has a rival for Mary's affections in brain surgeon Gregory Lane (Shepperd Strudwick), whose losing streak of dying surgical subjects brings out the compassionate best from the eponymous hero who, clandestinely with Mary's aid, applies the sticky method of insulin shock (accepted at the time of filming as valid) to a Lane patient in order to correct his condition of dementia, possibly caused by Lane's procedure, while at the same time hoping to save the surgeon's waning reputation. The film was successful upon its release due to audience perception that a graphic depiction of the sanctum within a major hospital is being revealed; it benefits from splendid cinematography of John Seitz, and also the familiar sterling cast of the series including those mentioned as well as Frank Orth, Nat Pendleton and Samuel Hinds as the senior Kildare, in addition to a raft of other performing stalwarts.
Customer Review: Pleasant, but only just that
Lightweight, predictable (will the patient with the mystery disease pull through? Will Kildare hook up with the nurse?), hokey, but not without some charm. Has some unintentionally funny moments, and one can only thank God that medical ethics have progressed since 1940 (that is if you believe the film accurately reflects those of its period). Still, it's reasonably entertaining, if not exactly classic material. The print used for the film in reasonably good shape, except for some moderate damage at the reel changes. Some rain lines, too, but very few scratches or nicks. A couple of very minor video glitches. The picture wasn't particularly sharp, but still mostly OK. They could have put more effort into the video transfer. The audio was decent. In short a so-so transfer for a so-so film. Still, when you take the price into consideration, it's worth seeing....