It Comes In a Tube!

TEST TUBE BABIES-1948-in this "story as old as time", George (William Thomason) and Kathy (Dorothy Duke) are a happily married couple until Kathy starts hanging around with some boozy friends. At one of their get togethers there's some brief nudity. After two women have a tussle at the house while George is working late the couple decide to have a family but nothing happens. Kathy visits Dr. Wright (Timothy Farrell in his film debut) for help. "Do you think it's me?" asks George then finds out he's sterile. They decide to use artificial   insemination. Like in GLEN OR GLENDA?, Farrell gets to explain all the details and Kathy really comes across as a dumb Dora. 5 years later they have 3 kids!

Director W. Merle Connell also made THE DEVIL'S SLEEP and UNTAMED WOMEN and later cinematographer on THE UNEARTHY. Producer George Weiss (still alive at this posting)  made the aforementioned GLEN OR GLENDA? plus the OLGA series of movies in the early '60's.

Badly made, badly acted, bad print. For Timothy Farrell completists only!

Calling The Doctor...

THE SECRET OF DR. KILDARE-1939-MGM produced the Dr. Kildare series from 1938-42. They all starred Lew Ayres as the young intern Jimmy Kildare and Lionel Barrymore as his cantankerous but lovable mentor Dr. Gillespie. Laraine Day was the nurse/love interest in most of them and Nat Pendlelton played the dumb but helpful hospitial intern in a few.This was the third entry in the series and considered one of the best.

This time out Kildare is assigned to care for a wealthy young socialite (Helen Gilbert) who suffers from mood swings and temporary blindness. Her father is played by the great Lionel Atwill, who had co-starred with Barrymore (and Lugosi) in the MARK OF THE VAMPIRE remake in '35 and was the one armed inspector in SON OF FRANKENSTEIN the same year this was made.

Meanwhile, Dr. Gillespie is having his own health problems and is sent on a forced vacation. And why have Jimmy's parents come to town with a mysterious note?

Samuel S. Hinds plays his father (he and Barrymore were later in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE). The always recognizable (and great) character actor Byron Foulger has a cameo as well as other "familiar faces" like Martha O'Driscoll, Don "Red" Barry and William Tannen. Dated but painless.

Thanks for reading!