Medically speaking in Dr. Kildare's Strange Case, Lew Ayres drew to an insight straight. In seeking to help save Sheppard Strudwick's reputation as a neurosurgeon, Ayres performs a completely reckless act without official authorization to prove a point.

Ayres does all this mind you even with the fact that Strudwick who is at the top of his field and pulling down big bucks to add to the big bucks he inherited is making moves on nurse Laraine Day with whom Ayres has a running romance with in the series. Ayres on the other hand is surviving on the meager pay of an intern. But this was the days of the Code and doctors were almost always portrayed as saints.

Strudwick in the film is having a crisis of confidence and rumors that he's losing his touch are spreading. He's lost several patients, not his fault because brain surgery is always risky. Still with Ayres assistance he's operating on John Eldredge who was brought in without identification and disheveled. The operation is a success, but the patient is raving like a lunatic.

Ayres, Lionel Barrymore as Dr. Gillespie and the rest of the Kildare regulars perform magnificently bringing a rather incredulous story to the screen. In real life even if he succeeded in his treatment, young Dr. Kildare would have probably lost his medical license and been hit with a malpractice suit that some dial a shyster lawyer. And I'm sure the rest of Blair General Hospital would not have been left out.

What does Kildare do and how does it come out. For that you see Dr. Kildare's Strangest Case.

I am new to this series. I remember seeing these on Saturday afternoon TV when I was a kid. Unlike most series they used a stellar cast. The problem is I felt that everyone was so darned stiff. It's as if they were walking through a part. Lionel Barrymore is crotchety (he defined the word) but the rest engage in a plot that makes me ask, "Who cares?" There is a bit of romance, medical drama, criminal action, betrayal, self doubt. Lots of soap opera stuff. There's also that control that Dr. Gillespie holds over Kildare. Of course, the old goat has the tender heart. I still hate him from "It's a Wonderful Life." In fairness, perhaps these types of movies grown on one. I should probably give them another chance. Still I found the acting predictable and the plot not very interesting.

The fourth in MGM's wonderful Dr. Kildare series starring Lew Ayres as Dr. Kildare and Lionel Barrymore as cranky old Dr. Gillespie. This time around Kildare tries to rebuild the confidence of brain surgeon Dr. Gregory Lane (Shepperd Strudwick),who's lost several patients on the operating table. After Lane's most recent patient awakens from surgery a raving lunatic, Kildare has to prove this wasn't Lane's fault. Lane also happens to be Kildare's romantic rival for Nurse Mary Lamont (Laraine Day). Lamont's in love with Kildare but he doesn't want to get married on his small salary. Yeah, it's one of those "make him jealous so he'll marry me before someone else does" plots that were the go-to formula for how women should snag men in old movies and TV shows. At least in this case Kildare isn't made to look like a total schmuck.

Despite the so-so romance stuff, the meat of the story is the medical case. As with most of the Kildare films, the medical knowledge is dated and easy to knock today. You'll notice with these films a lot of reviewers do just that. Personally I think that's unfair and kind of petty. Hold the films to the standards of their day, not ours. Anyway, the series regulars are all enjoyable, as usual. The story isn't the strongest but it's never dull and keeps your interest throughout. Favorite part? The early scene where Dr. Gillespie reads the riot act to some oldster that's in love with a girl in her twenties. Hilarious. Medical ethics aside, these bits of business are some of my favorite parts of the Kildare & Gillespie films. Long before House brought the brutally honest and crotchety diagnostician to our TV screens, there was Dr. Gillespie.