Dr. Kildare: Disastrous diagnosis
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Dr. Kildare: Disastrous diagnosis |
| Original title | Dr. Kildare's Crisis |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1940 |
| length | 75 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Harold S. Bucquet |
| script |
Harry Ruskin , Willis Goldbeck |
| music | David Snell |
| camera | John F. Seitz |
| cut | Gene Ruggiero |
| occupation | |
as well as without mentioning in the opening credits: Eddie Acuff , Charles Arnt , Gladys Blake , Byron Foulger , Milton Kibbee , Cathy Lewis , David Newell , Lillian Rich , Syd Saylor , Gus Schilling and Frank Sully | |
Dr. Kildare: Fatal diagnosis (Original title: Dr. Kildare's Crisis ) is an American film drama in black and white from 1940. Directed by Harold S. Bucquet . The script was written by Harry Ruskin and Willis Goldbeck . The leading roles were played by Lew Ayres , Lionel Barrymore , Laraine Day and Robert Young . Dr. Kildare: Disastrous Diagnosis is the sixth film by Dr. Kildare series by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .
action
Douglas Lamont arrives at Blair General Hospital in New York , where his sister Mary works as a nurse. He wants his sister's fiancé, Dr. James Kildare, ask him to introduce Robert Chanler to whom he would like to propose. Dr. Kildare notices from the first meeting that Douglas is suffering from acoustic hallucinations . When he met his mentor Dr. Leonard Gillespie asks why this could be, if he just sends him to the library. His research there leads him to suspect that it could be epilepsy , a disease that is classified as a hereditary disease. To confirm his suspicions, he tries to get more information about Douglas Lamont. Despite his concerns about taking advantage of the gratitude of the father of his former patient (from Dr. Kildare: His First Case ), he mediates a conversation between the two. Chanler is convinced of the suggestion, but Dr. Called Kildare, who asked him to send Lamont to the clinic, saying it was an emergency. Chanler follows the request immediately.
Douglas Lamont goes to the clinic, but only wants to meet his sister there. After the conversation he leaves again, whereupon Mary Lamont first visits Dr. Kildare and then with Dr. Gillespie asks what it is about. But she doesn't get an answer. The clinic's sister in charge, Molly Byrd, only says that the two best doctors she knows take care of her brother, that she shouldn't worry. After waiting in vain for Douglas Lamont all day, Dr. Kildare to join him in the hotel. He finds him in a depressed mood and persuades him to take a test. After a few hours, this test brings the feared result. Dr. Kildare is now certain that Douglas Lamont has epilepsy. He informs him of this and discusses the further procedure with him. But he doesn't want Mary to know about it.
Nevertheless, Douglas first speaks to Mary about his illness. Mary is shocked, but immediately thinks that it is an inherited disease and that she could have it too. She fears that Dr. Damaging Kildare's career and decides to leave the clinic with her brother immediately. Dr. Kildare can speak to her beforehand. He tells her that it is very unlikely that she will have the disease. He could also help her as a doctor if the worst came to the worst, and his career meant far less to him than she anyway. But she won't let herself be dissuaded from her plan. So he insists that she take him to Dr. Gillespie had to go and ask for help, she owed him that much. Dr. Gillespie can understand both sides well, but at first doesn't know what to do. Then he sends for Douglas Lamont. With a little pressure, he gets the information from him that he had a small accident about a year ago in which he sustained an apparently minor head injury. Dr. Gillespie and Dr. Kildare can attribute the symptoms to this injury and heal it with a relatively simple operation. Dr. Kildare wonders why he simply believed Douglas Lamont had never had anything in the past few years. Dr. Gillespie replies that this is why a doctor shouldn't treat relatives.
background
Max Brand's novel Dr. Kildare's Crisis , on which the film is based, was published in Argosy magazine from December 21, 1940 . The working title of the film was Should Dr. Kildare Tell?
Occupation and technical staff
The appearance of an established film actor like Robert Young in a series film was unusual at the time. He is announced as a guest star in the opening credits . Another "leading role" has been announced with Ann Morris . She was supposed to play a nurse who shared a room with Mary Lamont. However, she does not appear in the opening credits and only has a minor role.
For the production design in Dr. Kildare: Fatal diagnosis were Cedric Gibbons and Edwin B. Willis responsible.
Filming
The production of Dr. Kildare: Fatal Diagnosis ran from September 5 to October 2, 1940. The film was shot in MGM studios.
synchronization
The synchronization of Dr. Kildare: The disastrous diagnosis was carried out in 1991 by Interopa Film GmbH in Berlin . The dialogue was directed by Hagen Mueller-Stahl , the dialogue script by Katrin Blass.
| role | actor | Voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Dr. James Kildare | Lew Ayres | Udo Schenk |
| Dr. Leonard Gillespie | Lionel Barrymore | Hans W. Hamacher |
| Mary Lamont | Laraine Day | Ulrike Möckel |
| Douglas Lamont | Robert Young | Norbert Gescher |
| Molly Byrd | Alma Kruger | Christine Gerlach |
| Tommy | Bob's Watson | Niklas Zintl |
| Mike Ryan | Frank Orth | Friedrich G. Beckhaus |
Premiere
Dr. Kildare: Fatal Diagnosis premiered on November 29, 1940 and was distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer . The German premiere was on August 12, 1991 on ARD television .
reception
Reviews
Contemporary reviews
The contemporary critics were in favor of Dr. Kildare: Disastrous diagnosis divided . The critic of Harrison's Reports found the film as good as the rest of the series, only more interesting and exciting. He also liked the humor and the romantic story. He also predicted the series would have a long running time if the films stayed that way. The critic of the Variety found the film to match the previous series. However, he was less satisfied with the topic of "epilepsy", which is discussed too much and is more suitable for adults. It is also an uncomfortable subject. Bosley Crowther found the story very thin but amusing. Although the previous films in the series were not known for their medical accuracy, this time the medical part is particularly far-fetched. The Motion Picture Reviews didn't find the film particularly good, despite the good cast. It is too episodic and without tension. The medical statement could even be harmful.
The achievements of the actors are mentioned only in passing, if at all. They are as good as in the other films in the series. Only Crowther highlights Lionel Barrymore and Nat Pendleton; Lew Ayres and Laraine Day are also okay. The Variety rates Robert Young's performance as very good.
Modern reviews
Leonard Maltin gave 2.5 out of 4 points in his short review. Bruce Eder found the film good enough to watch once or twice, also because of the comedy, which was often predictable. Paul Mavis, on the other hand, thinks the film is produced too quickly. He finds the subject of epilepsy interesting. However, he accuses Louis B. Mayer of not wanting to show anything ugly. The effects of epilepsy would not be shown, the audience would not even be allowed to hear the voices in Douglas' head, let alone any expressionist portrayal of the disease. The operation at the end is also not shown and there are no complications.
Lesley L. Coffin emphasized that for Hollywood at the time, the film dealt with topics that were rather rare, such as educational grants or the problem of epilepsy and hereditary diseases. The description of epilepsy is assessed differently, on the one hand as hysterical and imprecise, on the other hand as demanding, albeit influenced by the prejudices of the time.
Depiction of epilepsy
In his essay Disease and Medicine in the History of Film - Illustrated by the Example of Epilepsy , Giovanni Maio writes of three established myths about epilepsy that persisted in culture and film long after science had rejected them. These are the ideas that epilepsy is hereditary, that it can cause criminal behavior or lead to dementia. As an example of the latter, he cites Dr. Kildare: Disastrous diagnosis . This film shows that the myths are not an invention of the film industry, which could not have afforded them. The depiction represents “a reception of the doctrinal opinion valid at the time” because the director had a scientist available who was supposed to take care of the scientific accuracy of the medical statements.
The Medical Society of New York complained in 1941 in a letter to the Production Code Administration (PCA), the then censorship of the US film industry , about the depiction of epilepsy in film. It is not true that epilepsy is hereditary, can be cured, or is insane .
Web links
- Dr. Kildare: Fatal diagnosis in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Dr. Kildare's Crisis at Turner Classic Movies (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Argosy. Vol. 304, no. 3. In: WorldCat . Accessed December 31, 2019 .
- ↑ a b c d e f Dr. Kildare's Crisis (1940). In: AFI Catalog. American Film Institute , accessed December 31, 2019 .
- ↑ Violet LeVoit: Dr. Kildare's Crisis (1940) - Articles. In: Turner Classic Movies . Accessed December 31, 2019 .
- ^ A b Lesley L. Coffin: Lew Ayres: Hollywood's Conscientious Objector . University Press of Mississippi, Jackson 2012, ISBN 978-1-61703-637-8 , pp. 89 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed December 31, 2019]).
- ^ Program News From the Studios . In: Showmen's Trade Review . October 12, 1940, OCLC 6063605 , p. 40 , 2nd column, section 2 (English, online at Archive.org [accessed December 31, 2019]).
- ↑ Highlights of Production Happenings . In: The Exhibitor . October 30, 1940, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, p. 12 (English, online at Archive.org [accessed December 31, 2019]).
- ↑ Dr. Kildare: Disastrous diagnosis. In: synchronkartei.de. German dubbing index , accessed on December 31, 2019 .
- ↑ Dr. Kildare: Disastrous diagnosis. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed December 31, 2019 .
- ↑ “Dr. Kildare's Crisis ”with Lew Ayres, Lionel Barrymore, Laraine Day and Robert Young . In: Harrison's Reports . January 4, 1941, p. 2 (English, online at Archive.org [accessed December 31, 2019]).
- ↑ a b Dr. Kildare's Crisis . In: Variety . December 4, 1940, p. 12 (English, online at Archive.org [accessed December 31, 2019]).
- ↑ a b Bosley Crowther : Six Films Open Here: 'Dr. Kildare's Crisis, 'at Capitol -' Hullabaloo, 'at Criterion --Other Pictures at Palace, Rialto and Miami Playhouse . In: The New York Times . December 19, 1940 ( online on the New York Times pages [accessed December 31, 2019]).
- ↑ Dr. Kildare's Crisis . In: The Women's University Club in the American Association of University Women (Ed.): Motion Picture Reviews . December 1940, p. 5 (English, online at Archive.org [accessed December 31, 2019]).
- ^ Leonard Maltin : Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide . Plume, New York 2015, ISBN 978-0-14-751682-4 , pp. 184-185 (English).
- ↑ a b Bruce Eder: Dr. Kildare's Crisis (1940). In: AllMovie . Accessed December 31, 2019 .
- ↑ a b Paul Mavis: Dr. Kildare Movie Collection (Warner Archive Collection). In: DVDTalk. January 23, 2014, accessed December 31, 2019 .
- ↑ Giovanni Maio : Disease and Medicine in the History of Film - Depicted using the example of epilepsy . In: Beatrice Alder, Ulrike Hoffmann-Richter , Ursula Plog (ed.): The psychotherapist . tape 10 , spring 1999. Edition Das Narrenschiff im Psychiatrie Verlag, 1999, ISBN 3-88414-290-9 , ISSN 0946-3453 , p. 126-143 , v. a. P. 133 ( Online [PDF; accessed December 31, 2019]).