Young Dr. Kildare (1938)

This article is about the 1938 MGM film. For the pulp fiction, film, radio, television, and comic character, see Dr. Kildare. For the 1970s syndicated TV series called "Young Dr. Kildare", see Dr. Kildare (TV series).



Young Dr. Kildare is a 1938 film starring Lew Ayres as Dr. James Kildare, an idealistic, freshly graduated medical intern, who benefits greatly from the wise counsel of his experienced mentor, Dr. Leonard Gillespie (played by Lionel Barrymore). The film was based on a story and characters created by author Frederick Schiller Faust, writing as Max Brand.

This was the second of a total of ten films featuring the "Dr. Kildare" character, but the first made by MGM, the first starring Ayres, and the first film appearance of the Dr. Gillespie character. The first Kildare film, Internes Can't Take Money (1937), was made by Paramount, featured Joel McCrea in the title role, and was based on an earlier Faust character and story that did not include Gillespie. After Internes Can't Take Money failed to meet Paramount's commercial expectations, MGM acquired the rights and worked with Faust to revise the character and storyline for greater viewer appeal, including the addition of Gillespie. Following the success of Young Dr. Kildare, MGM went on to make a total of nine Kildare films, plus an additional six films centering around Gillespie after Kildare had been phased out.

Synopsis

After graduating from medical school, Dr. James Kildare (Lew Ayres) returns to his small home town, where his proud parents Stephen (Samuel S. Hinds) and Martha Kildare (Emma Dunn) and childhood friend Alice Raymond (Lynne Carver) expect him to join his father in his medical practice. However, he is more ambitious, though he is unsure what he wants to do. He has accepted a job as an intern at a large New York City hospital.

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