Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant
Brief Synopsis
Three young surgeons vie to replace the legendary Dr. Kildare.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Willis Goldbeck
Director
Lionel Barrymore
Dr. Leonard Gillespie
Van Johnson
Dr. Randall ["Red"] Adams
Susan Peters
Mrs. Howard Allwinn Young [also known as Claire Merton]
Richard Quine
Dr. Dennis Lindsay
Keye Luke
Dr. Lee Wong How
Film Details
Genre
Drama
Release Date
Jan
1942
Premiere Information
release: Dec 1942--Jan 1943
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 27m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
7,882ft
(9 reels)
Synopsis
Blair General Hospital's Dr. Leonard Gillespie has been working so hard that his friends, chief administrator Dr. Walter Carew and head nurse Molly Byrd, are concerned. When the wheelchair-bound Gillespie falls asleep on a hospitalized patient, they demand that he finally select a new assistant. Gillespie agrees to make his choice by asking a very difficult question of all the new interns; the one who answers it correctly will have the position. Three doctors surprise Gillespie by answering the question correctly: Dr. Randall "Red" Adams of Kansas City, Dr. Lee Wong How of Brooklyn and Dr. Dennis Lindsay, an Australian on temporary assignment at Blair to study tropical diseases. Because he cannot decide among them, Gillespie resolves to give all three a chance. Meanwhile, Howard Allwin Young, the son of one of Gillespie's oldest friends, stop for lunch at an inn with his new bride, dress designer Claire Merton. At almost the same moment that Gillespie calls them to offer his congratulations, Claire suddenly loses all memory of who she is. Gillespie suggests that Howard bring Claire to the hospital, where he and Red try to determine what has caused her amnesia. Though she has no apparent signs of physical or emotional trauma, she can give no information about her life and is reluctant to go home with Howard. Instead, she suggests that they annul the marriage. Red takes her to her apartment and has no success in jogging her memory. When Red discusses the case with his mentor, Gillespie guides him to the only logical conclusion--Clair is faking. To find out what Clair is trying to hide, Red decides to see if he can find her personal physician. Red finally locates the doctor, who has enlisted in the Army. The doctor's receptionist, Mrs. Black, will only let Red see Claire's information card, but Red discovers that Claire had listed herself as a married woman with a two-year-old child. When Gillespie confronts Claire with the information, she collapses, but later confesses that she was married in Texas at age sixteen and was soon widowed by her criminal husband, who left her with a baby. After leaving the baby with her mother, Claire became a successful fashion designer in New York and fell in love with Howard. The reason why she feigned amnesia was that during lunch at the inn, she had tried to tell him about her earlier marriage, but Howard, thinking that she was teasing, made a cruel joke about "second-hand wives." She is convinced that Howard would never understand or accept her child, so she decides to go back to Texas and asks Gillespie and Red not to tell Howard anything. Red and Gillespie are sure that Claire is still hiding something, so Red decides to try to get more information out of Mrs. Black. The next day, after getting Mrs. Black drunk and stealing Claire's file, Red reveals to Gillespie that the file confirmed that Claire was unable to have any more children, but did not know. Gillespie then calls Howard and lectures him about bigotry and prejudice after telling him about Claire's past. After Howard says that he loves Claire and wants both her and her child, Gillespie opens the door to another office and Claire, who has been waiting, is happily reunited with Howard. While Red has been working on Claire's case, Lee and Lindsay have resolved their own and Gillespie says that he cannot fire any of them. Lindsay has been ordered back to Australia, but Lee and Red will both act as Gillespie's assistants.
Director
Willis Goldbeck
Director
Cast
Lionel Barrymore
Dr. Leonard Gillespie
Van Johnson
Dr. Randall ["Red"] Adams
Susan Peters
Mrs. Howard Allwinn Young [also known as Claire Merton]
Richard Quine
Dr. Dennis Lindsay
Keye Luke
Dr. Lee Wong How
Alma Kruger
Molly Byrd
Nat Pendleton
Joe Weyman
Horace Mcnally
Howard Allwinn Young
Frank Orth
Mike Ryan
Walter Kingsford
Dr. Walter Carew
Nell Craig
Nurse Parker
Marie Blake
Sally
George H. Reed
Conover
Ann Richards
Iris Headley
Rose Hobart
Mrs. Black
Eddie Acuff
Clifford Genet
Shirley Warde
Nurse Jordan
Harry Strang
Cop
Leigh Sterling
Intern
Wally Cassell
Gangster
Hal K. Dawson
Shumate
Paul Mcvey
Manager
Dorothy Vaughn
Maid in hotel
Dorothy Adams
Mrs. Alberts
Arthur Shields
Mr. Kipp
Georgia Caine
Mrs. Kipp
Jacqueline White
Telephone operator
Dick Simmons
Dr. Fletcher
Edith Evanson
Hilda
Pamela Blake
Jimmy James
Sarah Padden
Neighbor
Paul Fix
Husband
Dorothy Morris
Wife
Betty Jaynes
Nurse
Sylvia Field
Nurse
Estelle Etterre
Nurse
Ernie Alexander
Elevator boy
Crew
Daniele Amfitheatrof
Music Score
Lawrence P. Bachmann
Original Screenplay
Edward G. Boyle
Associate (Sets)
Dr. H. A. Conway
Technical Advisor
George Folsey
Director of Photography
Cedric Gibbons
Art Director
Willis Goldbeck
Original Screenplay
Albert Kelley
Assistant Director
Urie Mccleary
Associate (Art Direction)
Harry Ruskin
Original Screenplay
Douglas Shearer
Recording Director
Art Smith
Unit Manager
Edwin B. Willis
Set Decoration
Ralph Winters
Film Editor
Film Details
Genre
Drama
Release Date
Jan
1942
Premiere Information
release: Dec 1942--Jan 1943
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 27m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
7,882ft
(9 reels)
Articles
Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant
Three young surgeons vie to replace the legendary Dr. Kildare.
Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant
Three young surgeons vie to replace the legendary Dr. Kildare.
TCM Remembers Van Johnson - Important Schedule Change on TCM In Honor To Salute VAN JOHNSON
The new schedule for the evening of Tuesday, December 23rd will be:
8:00 PM In the Good Old Summertime
9:45 PM A Guy Named Joe
12:30 AM Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
2:30 AM The Last Time I Saw Paris
4:30 AM Thrill of a Romance
Van Johnson (1916-2008)
Van Johnson, the boyish leading man whose clean cut, All-American appeal made him a top box-office draw for MGM during World War II, died on December 12 in Nyack, New York of natural causes. He was 92.
He was born Charles Van Dell Johnson on August 25, 1916, in Newport, Rhode Island. By his own account, his early childhood wasn't a stable one. His mother abandoned him when he was just three and his Swedish-born father offered little consolation or nurturing while he was growing up. Not surprisingly, Johnson found solace in singing and dancing lessons, and throughout his adolescence, he longed for a life in show business. After graduating high school in 1934, he relocated to New York City and was soon performing as a chorus boy on Broadway in shows such as New Faces of 1936 and eventually as an understudy in Rodgers and Hart's musical, Too Many Girls in 1939.
Johnson eventually made his way to Hollywood and landed an unbilled debut in the film version of Too Many Girls (1940). By 1941, he signed a brief contract with Warner Bros., but it only earned him a lead in a "B" programmer Murder in the Big House (1941); his contract soon expired and he was dropped by the studio. Johnson was on his way back to New York, but as luck would have it - in the truest Hollywood sense - friends Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz introduced him to Billy Grady, a lead talent scout at MGM, which was currently Ball's new studio. Johnson was signed up and almost immediately MGM had a star on its hands.
It might have been slow going at first, with Johnson playing able support in films such as Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant and The War Against Mrs. Hadley (both 1942). By 1943 the studio capitalized on his broad smile and freckles and starred him in two of the studio's biggest hits: A Guy Named Joe and The Human Comedy. Those two films transformed him into a boxoffice draw with a huge following, particularly among teenage girls. A near fatal car accident that same year only accentuated the loyalty of his fans, and his 4-F status as the result of that accident created an opportunity for him when so many other leading actors of the era (James Stewart, Clark Gable) were off to war. Johnson was quickly promoted as MGM'sleading man in war heroics and sweet romancers on the big screen: The White Cliffs of Dover, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (both 1944), Thrill of a Romance, the episodic Week-End at the Waldorf (both 1945), and a musical remake of Libeled Lady entitled Easy to Wed (1946).
Hits though these were, it wasn't until after the war that Johnson began to receive more dramatic parts and better material such as supporting Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in the political farce State of the Union (1948). other significant roles included the well-modulated noir thriller The Scene of the Crime, the grim war spectacle Battleground (both 1949), the moving domestic drama Invitation (1952) in which he played a man who is paid to marry a woman (Dorothy McGuire) by her father. Before he left MGM, he closed his career out in fine form with the sweeping musical Brigadoon, co-starring Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse; and the lilting soaper The Last Time I Saw Paris (both 1954) with Elizabeth Taylor.
After he left MGM, the parts that came Johnson's way weren't as varied, but he had his moments in The Caine Mutiny (1954), the beguiling romance drama Miracle in the Rain (1956) with Jane Wyman; and his lead performance in one of the first successful made for-TV-movies The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1957). By the '60s, Johnson returned to the stage, and played the title role in London's West End production of The Music Man. He then returned to Broadway in the drama Come on Strong. He still had a few good supporting parts, most notably as Debbie Reynolds' suitor in Norman Lear's scathing satire on marital differences Divorce American Style (1967); and television welcomed his presence on many popular shows in the '70s and '80s such as Maude, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat and of course Murder She Wrote. There was one last graceful cameo in Woody Allen's The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), yet for the most remainder of his career, Johnson worked mainly on the dinner theater circuit before retiring from showbiz completely by the mid-90s. He is survived by a daughter, Schuyler.
by Michael T. Toole
TCM Remembers Van Johnson - Important Schedule Change on TCM In Honor To Salute VAN JOHNSON
Turner Classic Movies Pays Tribute to Van Johnson on Tuesday, December 23rd with the following festival of films. This program will replace the previously scheduled movies for that day so please take note.
The new schedule for the evening of Tuesday, December 23rd will be:
8:00 PM In the Good Old Summertime
9:45 PM A Guy Named Joe
12:30 AM Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
2:30 AM The Last Time I Saw Paris
4:30 AM Thrill of a Romance
Van Johnson (1916-2008)
Van Johnson, the boyish leading man whose clean cut, All-American appeal made him a top box-office draw for
MGM during World War II, died on December 12 in Nyack, New York of natural causes. He was 92.
He was born Charles Van Dell Johnson on August 25, 1916, in Newport, Rhode Island. By his own account, his
early childhood wasn't a stable one. His mother abandoned him when he was just three and his Swedish-born
father offered little consolation or nurturing while he was growing up. Not surprisingly, Johnson found
solace in singing and dancing lessons, and throughout his adolescence, he longed for a life in show business.
After graduating high school in 1934, he relocated to New York City and was soon performing as a chorus boy on
Broadway in shows such as New Faces of 1936 and eventually as an understudy in Rodgers and Hart's
musical, Too Many Girls in 1939.
Johnson eventually made his way to Hollywood and landed an unbilled debut in the film version of Too Many
Girls (1940). By 1941, he signed a brief contract with Warner Bros., but it only earned him a lead in a
"B" programmer Murder in the Big House (1941); his contract soon expired and he was dropped by the
studio. Johnson was on his way back to New York, but as luck would have it - in the truest Hollywood sense -
friends Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz introduced him to Billy Grady, a lead talent scout at MGM, which was
currently Ball's new studio. Johnson was signed up and almost immediately MGM had a star on its
hands.
It might have been slow going at first, with Johnson playing able support in films such as Dr. Gillespie's
New Assistant and The War Against Mrs. Hadley (both 1942). By 1943 the studio capitalized on his
broad smile and freckles and starred him in two of the studio's biggest hits: A Guy Named Joe and
The Human Comedy. Those two films transformed him into a boxoffice draw with a huge following,
particularly among teenage girls. A near fatal car accident that same year only accentuated the loyalty of
his fans, and his 4-F status as the result of that accident created an opportunity for him when so many other
leading actors of the era (James Stewart, Clark Gable) were off to war. Johnson was quickly promoted as
MGM'sleading man in war heroics and sweet romancers on the big screen: The White Cliffs of Dover,
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (both 1944), Thrill of a Romance, the episodic Week-End at the
Waldorf (both 1945), and a musical remake of Libeled Lady entitled Easy to Wed
(1946).
Hits though these were, it wasn't until after the war that Johnson began to receive more dramatic parts and
better material such as supporting Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in the political farce State of the
Union (1948). other significant roles included the well-modulated noir thriller The Scene of the
Crime, the grim war spectacle Battleground (both 1949), the moving domestic drama Invitation
(1952) in which he played a man who is paid to marry a woman (Dorothy McGuire) by her father. Before he left
MGM, he closed his career out in fine form with the sweeping musical Brigadoon, co-starring Gene Kelly
and Cyd Charisse; and the lilting soaper The Last Time I Saw Paris (both 1954) with Elizabeth
Taylor.
After he left MGM, the parts that came Johnson's way weren't as varied, but he had his moments in The Caine
Mutiny (1954), the beguiling romance drama Miracle in the Rain (1956) with Jane Wyman; and his lead
performance in one of the first successful made for-TV-movies The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1957). By
the '60s, Johnson returned to the stage, and played the title role in London's West End production of The
Music Man. He then returned to Broadway in the drama Come on Strong. He still had a few good
supporting parts, most notably as Debbie Reynolds' suitor in Norman Lear's scathing satire on marital
differences Divorce American Style (1967); and television welcomed his presence on many popular shows
in the '70s and '80s such as Maude, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat and of course Murder
She Wrote. There was one last graceful cameo in Woody Allen's The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), yet
for the most remainder of his career, Johnson worked mainly on the dinner theater circuit before retiring from
showbiz completely by the mid-90s. He is survived by a daughter, Schuyler.
by Michael T. Toole
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
This film marked the directorial debut of Willis Goldbeck, who previously had written the "Dr. Kildare" and "Dr. Gillespie" films. According to news items in Hollywood Reporter, Edna Holland and Edith Evanson were cast in the film, but their appearances have not been confirmed. Although Selmer Jackson is listed in the CBCS as "Dr. Harrison," he was not in the released film; his character is referred to as being away in the Army. A news item in Hollywood Reporter on August 20, 1942 noted that Dr. H. A. Conway was to be the technical advisor on the film, taking over from the usual series advisor, Dr. Charles Mandell, who had recently entered the Army. The extent of Mandell's participation on this film has not been determined.
This was the first of four films in the Dr. Gillespie series in which Van Johnson portrayed "Dr. Red Adams," and Keye Luke portrayed "Dr. Lee Wong How." Johnson left the series in 1944 and Luke's final picture in the series was the last, Dark Delusion in 1947. Johnson and Luke assumed the role of Gillespie's "assistant," which had previously been occupied by Lew Ayres in films that were part of the Dr. Kildare series. Luke also portrayed Dr. How in the 1944 picture Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble. For additional information on the "Dr. Kildare" and "Dr. Gillespie" series, consult the Series Index and see the entry above for Calling Dr. Gillespie, and the entry for Young Dr. Kildare in AFI Catalog of Feature Films, 1931-40; F3.5251.
