By Violet LeVoit
Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day
Brief Synopsis
A young doctor's wedding turns into a tragic event.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Harold S. Bucquet
Director
Lew Ayres
Dr. James Kildare
Lionel Barrymore
Dr. Leonard Gillespie
Laraine Day
Mary Lamont
Red Skelton
Vernon Briggs
Alma Kruger
Molly Byrd
Film Details
Genre
Drama
Release Date
Aug
22,
1941
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.
Distribution Company
Loew's Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on characters created by Max Brand.
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 23m
Sound
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
7,437ft
(8 reels)
Synopsis
Staff members at New York's Blair General Hospital happily prepare for the marriage of resident doctor James Kildare to nurse Mary Lamont. Dr. Leonard Gillespie, Jimmy's wheelchair-bound mentor, is happy for his protégé, but at loose ends because the marriage will mean that Jimmy will have less time to spend with him. Trying to find something to do, Gillespie goes to a concert and observes that the conductor, maestro Constanzo Labardi seems to be faltering. When a mutual friend introduces Gillespie to the conductor, Gillespie suggests that the maestro see a doctor. The next day, Labardi goes to see Gillespie and confesses that he is going deaf, but no one knows his secret. Hoping to cure Labardi, Gillespie, who may have cancer, refuses to accompany cancer specialist Dr. Lockberg to his clinic. While Jimmy and Mary attend a wedding rehearsal at his parents' home in Connecticut, Dr. Lockberg calls Jimmy and asks him to use his influence on Gillespie. Jimmy returns to Blair and convinces Gillespie to go to Lockberg's clinic by threatening not to take his own honeymoon. For the next few days, while Jimmy works with Gillespie on the Labardi case, Mary makes wedding preparations at the Kildares' home. Jimmy is still too busy to attend his bachelor dinner, so Mary, who does not want to disappoint his friends, decides to go in his place. On the way to the restaurant, as she daydreams about her marriage, she accidentally walks into the street and is run over by a truck. When Jimmy arrives at the hospital, he is told about Mary and rushes to her room moments before she dies. One month later, Gillespie is is ready to leave Lockberg's clinic and receives a call from Jimmy's father, Dr. Stephen Kildare, who tells him that Jimmy has not returned to Blair and has fallen apart after Mary's death. Gillespie asks him to relay a message to Jimmy to meet him so that they can talk about Labardi. At Gillespie's childhood home, he tells Jimmy the story of a composer named Cornelia, whom he loved many years ago, before her death. Dr. Walter Reed, the physician who discovered a cure for yellow fever, inspired Gillespie to go on with his career instead of living only for his grief. Jimmy still thinks that he cannot continue, but he agrees to come back to Blair for one week to help cure Labardi. Jimmy soon discovers that Labardi's hearing problems are caused by a Vitamin B1 deficiency, and after injections of the vitamin, the conductor is able to perform a symphony written by Cornelia on the first of his planned series of radio broadcasts intended to bring great music to the common man. After the concert, Jimmy finally realizes that he must return to medicine.
Director
Harold S. Bucquet
Director
Cast
Lew Ayres
Dr. James Kildare
Lionel Barrymore
Dr. Leonard Gillespie
Laraine Day
Mary Lamont
Red Skelton
Vernon Briggs
Alma Kruger
Molly Byrd
Samuel S. Hinds
Dr. Stephen Kildare
Nils Asther
Constanzo Labardi
Walter Kingsford
Dr. Walter Carew
Emma Dunn
Mrs. Martha Kildare
Miles Mander
Dr. Lockberg
Nell Craig
Nurse Parker
Frank Orth
Mike Ryan
George H. Reed
Conover
Marie Blake
Sally
Margaret Seddon
Mrs. Bartlett
Pierre Watkin
Mr. Chanler
Ann Doran
Nurse
Fay Mckenzie
Nurse
Catherine Lewis
Nurse
Ralph Byrd
Policeman
Horace Macmahon
"Foghorn" Murhpy
Halliwell Hobbes
Minister
Eddie Acuff
Clifford Genet
Gladys Blake
Maisie
Joe Devlin
Clancy
Olive Blakeney
Mrs. Worth
Gus Schilling
Leo Cobb
Charles Williams
Pickins
John T. Murray
Strange man
Johnnie Morris
Citizen
Otto Hoffman
Photographer
Tim Ryan
Piano mover
Duke York
Piano mover
Jackie Horner
Jackie Mae
Betty Farrington
Mrs. Lewis
Tom Stevenson
Mr. Richards
Grace Stafford
Mrs. Richards
Robert Emmett Keane
Professor Andrews
Selmer Jackson
Dr. Whitney
Connie Gilchrist
Jenny, the maid
Johnnie Berkes
Rat-faced man
Bill Chaney
Boy on horse
Ernie Adams
Taxi driver
Billy Mcclain
Joseph
Chester Clute
Ainsworth Lee
Mitchell Ingraham
Elevator operator
Charles Irwin
Announcer
Lew Kelly
Driver
Crew
Lawrence P. Bachmann
Screenwriter
Lionel Barrymore
Composer
Jerry Bresler
Unit Manager
Malcolm Brown
Associate (Art Direction)
Jack Dawn
Makeup created by
George Folsey
Director of Photography
Cedric Gibbons
Art Director
Willis Goldbeck
Screenwriter
Kalloch
Gowns
Bronislau Kaper
Music Score
Conrad A. Nervig
Film Editor
Harry Ruskin
Screenwriter
Ormond Ruthven
Screenwriter
Douglas Shearer
Recording Director
Edwin B. Willis
Set Decoration
Dolph Zimmer
Assistant Director
Film Details
Genre
Drama
Release Date
Aug
22,
1941
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.
Distribution Company
Loew's Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on characters created by Max Brand.
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 23m
Sound
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
7,437ft
(8 reels)
Articles
Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day -
The penultimate Lew Ayres Dr. Kildare movie was awaited with great anticipation by fans eager for the foregone conclusion of the long-building romance between Kildare and faithful Nurse Mary Lamont (Laraine Day). If only those eager fans could have been privy to the behind the scenes discussions at MGM, where executives fretted that budding property Day was being wasted in a series - perhaps she could be wriggled out of her commitment? Nevertheless, life at Blair Hospital continues unaware, with Dr. Kildare ministering to an orchestra conductor (Nils Asther) slowly losing his hearing, and Dr. Gillespie (Lionel Barrymore) grousing about how now he'll have to share the attentions of his protege with his new bride. The fan reaction to this movie's denouement was so swift and vitriolic that MGM quickly pushed Fingers At The Window (1942) into theaters, hoping that seeing Ayres and Day together again would soften the blow. No dice - the Kildare series suffered through one more installment (Dr. Kildare's Victory (1942) before Ayres's WWII draft scandal killed the series for good.
By Violet LeVoit
By Violet LeVoit
Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day -
The penultimate Lew Ayres Dr. Kildare movie was awaited with great anticipation by fans eager for the foregone conclusion of the long-building romance between Kildare and faithful Nurse Mary Lamont (Laraine Day). If only those eager fans could have been privy to the behind the scenes discussions at MGM, where executives fretted that budding property Day was being wasted in a series - perhaps she could be wriggled out of her commitment? Nevertheless, life at Blair Hospital continues unaware, with Dr. Kildare ministering to an orchestra conductor (Nils Asther) slowly losing his hearing, and Dr. Gillespie (Lionel Barrymore) grousing about how now he'll have to share the attentions of his protege with his new bride. The fan reaction to this movie's denouement was so swift and vitriolic that MGM quickly pushed Fingers At The Window (1942) into theaters, hoping that seeing Ayres and Day together again would soften the blow. No dice - the Kildare series suffered through one more installment (Dr. Kildare's Victory (1942) before Ayres's WWII draft scandal killed the series for good.
By Violet LeVoit
Quotes
Trivia
Several actors with their character names listed in studio records and/or casting call lists were not seen in the movie. These were Fay Holden (Mrs. Bartlett, replaced by Margaret Seddon),Joe Devlin (Clancy), Charles Williams (Pickins), Bill Chaney (Boy on Horse), Billy McClain (Joseph), Chester Clute (Ainsworth Lee), Tom Stevenson (Mr. Richards) and Grace Stafford (Mrs. Richards). The latter two were in the sequel "Dr. Kildare's Victory".
Notes
The "Tableau Rose (Cornelia's Symphony)" played in the film was written by series co-star Lionel Barrymore, who wrote several classical compositions that were performed by symphony orchestras. This was the last of the Dr. Kildare series to feature Laraine Day in the role of "Nurse Mary Lamont." According to reviews and news items, M-G-M decided to write Day out of the series because her career was advancing and the studio wished to have her free to do other films. A Hollywood Reporter news item in March 1941 noted that Ormond Ruthven, who is credited onscreen as one of four screenwriters, was a member of M-G-M's recorded sound department, and had just sold "an original" to the studio for their next Dr. Kildare picture.
Red Skelton made his second and last appearance in the series as orderly "Vernon Briggs." Skelton also went on to starring roles at M-G-M after leaving the series. Actor Nils Asther, who had been under contract to M-G-M in the 1920s and early 1930s, returned to the studio for the first time in seven years, according to publicity materials. For additional information on the Dr. Kildare series, consult the Series Index and see the entry for Young Dr. Kildare (AFI Catalog of Feature Films, 1931-40; F3.5251).
