Dr. Kildare's Strange Case (1940)

It like Gray's Anatomy, only set in the 1940s and without an incredible amount of sex.

Junior surgeon Dr Kildare (Lew Ayres) helps out his fellow doctor Dr Lane (Shepperd Strudwick) who has performed brain surgery on a troubled man without his consent which appears to have left him insane. 

Dr Kildare resolves to try and cure the man using a dangerous technique and also try and discover what left him troubled in the first place. Grouchy Dr Gillespie (Lionel Barrymore) is on hand to keep an eye on his young doctors... and nurses.

This is an enjoyable film but the medical ethics are somewhat questionable. Although the story can be patchy at times, the cast ensemble do a very good job and make the film a fine watch.

Doctor in Clover (1966)

Traditional British comedy in a hospital, maybe this is like a prototype Grey's Anatomy?

Dr Grimsdyke (Leslie Phillips) is released from prison (where he was the prison doctor not a convict!) He is immediately snatched up by Sir Lancelot Spratt (James Robertson Justice) to work in his hospital. Grimsdyke is fairly uninterested in this, though interested in French physiotherapist Jeannine (Elizabeth Ercy) a lot! 

Meanwhile, a new matron (Joan Sims) has arrived at the hospital and has begun a reign of terror. Sir Lancelot thinks the iron maiden can be melted with a love interest and gets Grimsdyke to try and hook her up, though he didn't think that he would be the one Grimsdyke would get Matron interested in!

So, this is a silly comedy in the great British way. We get lots of farces, a little bit of innuendo and plenty of light humour. It is all nonsense of course but very silly inoffensive fun. Don't expect much in the way of medical realism, do expect people being accidentally injected up the backside.

The Secret of Dr. Kildare (1939)

An amiable entry in the long-running Dr Kildare / Dr Gillespie series.

Dr Gillespie (Lionel Barrymore) has cancer and it is getting worse, he is also putting himself under terrific strain while searching for a treatment for pneumonia. His assistant Dr Kildare (Lew Ayres) concocts a scheme to force Gillespie to take a rest. Meanwhile, he takes on a case of a young woman (Helen Gilbert) who has gone blind even though there appears to be nothing physically wrong with her. 

Meanwhile, Kildare's father (Samuel S Hinds) might have something seriously wrong with him...

This is a fine little film, well structured and well made. Various plot lines neatly intertwine. The Gillespie / Kildare double-act works very well.

Vital Signs (1986)

A TV movie dealing with addition. Top surgeon Matthew Hayward (Edward Asner) has two problems, he is an alcoholic and what makes it even worse is that he will not admit it. His son (Gary Cole) arrives to work in his father's hospital, he tries to get his father to address his problems but the son has an addiction problem of his own, he steals morphine and other drugs for his own needs. This affects his mood and his relationship with his wife Kristi (Kate McNeil).

Kristi's relationship with her in-laws is also strained, as she also wants the alcoholism addressed. When she witnesses her father-in-law drunk driving and nearly kill a kid she demands some action and the son confronts his father in a fishing boat to no avail. But the family slowly falls apart...

A fair melodrama and has a powerful message, which is laid on thick. Well structured and perfectly watchable.

Emergency Call (1952)

Although a bit plodding at times, this is a very interesting and engaging film. A young girl is dying in hospital, her only chance is a complete blood transfusion but she has the rarest blood group of all only shared by a handful of people in the country. Scotland Yard in the shape of Inspector Lane (Jack Warner) helps Doctor Carter (Anthony Steel) track down the blood donors required...

And they are a varied lot with a number of stories to tell, including the boxer Mahoney (real boxer Freddie Mills) who is having to take a dive on the advice of his spiv manager (Sid James). They also include the sailor (Earl Cameron) who refuses to help but won't give his reason. Then there is Jackson (Geoffrey Hibbert) who is wanted for murder. Lane tracks him down in a dramatic showdown in a dark warehouse...

A medical and crime drama with a difference. A very realistic film with good and natural acting. Maybe not the most thrilling of films but certainly compelling enough with emotion and tension aplenty especially from the child's mother (Joy Shelton). 

Juggernaut (1936)

Dr Sartorius (Boris Karloff) is a dying doctor obsessed with his research but he is short of cash. On the French Riviera Lady Clifford (Mona Goya) is married to millionaire Sir Clifford (Morton Selten) but wants to get rid of him so she can carry on with her fancy man Arthur (Anthony Ireland). She hires Sartorius to poison Sir Clifford in return for funds to complete his research...

Sartorius' new nurse Eve (Joan Wyndham) is suspicious and sends the syringe off for analysis. Things get more serious when it is discovered Clifford's son Roger (Arthur Margetson) has been given power of attorney over Clifford's money and thus Sartorius won't get anything unless he gets rid of Roger too...

An odd little film with wall to wall bad/over acting but Karloff is terrific as the sinister scientist. Goya is ridiculously over the top (even biting Roger at one stage) but so entertaining with it. The pace is uneven - either slow or breakneck - and the film is a bit clunky with no real atmosphere. It is all a little weird.

Life Returns (1935)

A rather strange film that is hard to categorise. Onslow Stevens is Dr Kendrick who is convinced he can conquer death, though his experiments do not come cheap.

The research lab he works at want him to concentrate on much more mundane matters like hair brushes and his patients drive him mad with their everyday issues. He faces ridicule from his peers and despair from his wife (Valerie Hobson). He falls into a depression when his wife dies. His son Danny (George Breakston) goes off the rails when the authorities want to take him away.

So things are all looking a bit bleak. However two fellow scientists Dr Stone (Lois Wilson) and Dr Cornish (playing himself) believe in him and his dream. Finally he is able to bring his son's dog back to life and prove the technique works. As for Dr Cornish, his real experiment in bringing a dog back to life is included in this film.

So there you go a very strange film. Sometimes it's billed as horror but is really a disjointed medical and family drama with a roughly sliced bit of real film footage.

Klondike (1932)

Lyle Talbot plays Dr Cromwell, who is acquitted of murder after a brain operation he performs results in the death of his patient.

However he cannot stay where he is so instead accompanies his friend on a flight to Japan... only bad weather means they end up crash landing in Alaska. There Dr Cromwell is rescued by a remote community and finds one of them Jim (Jason Robards Sr) has the same brain tumour as his previous patient. What are the chances of that?!

Dr Cromwell is finally persuaded to perform the operation again, of course there is a complication. Jim's girl Klondike (Thelma Todd) has also caught the doctor's eye...

An interesting film. Jim is a great character, menacing and sinister as he plots revenge even against the man who saved his life to keep his girl. It also includes silent movie star Priscilla Dean in her final movie role.