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CHAPTER 10. A Doctor, A Comic
- University Press of Mississippi
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84 Chapter Ten A DOCTOR, A COMIC Ironically, the same week that TheseGlamourGirls was released, an uncensored version of All Quiet on the Western Front hit theaters. Capitalizing on Lew’s comeback, Universal rereleased an uncensored version of the film, which Germany still refused to screen publicly.1 In newspaper advertisements , the phrase “The uncensored version” appeared above the film’s title. Underneath appeared the quote “The book was burned, the picture was banned, the author exiled” along with a small note that the movie had been “uncensored by war or military authorities.” The shadow of Lew’s first speaking role continued to loom over him, but the sun seemed to be rising. Lew’s Dr. Kildare was an undeniably popular character that audiences loved. He was soon so well known for the character that, in public, fans even called him by his alter ego’s name.2 With the security of a role like Dr. Kildare, Lew’s other films at MGM offered him the freedom to play up his comic sensibilities. One of these supporting roles came in the 1940s film Remember. The film had originally been intended as a vehicle for Greer Garson, Robert Young, and Lew. Unfortunately, besides the title and the vague notion that the movie would feature a love triangle, there was no story or script. A series of plot premises were considered, from a story of two pilots to the escape of convicts and even one remarkably close to IronMan that was about two prize fighters, one of whom is in love with the other’s wife.3 As development continued, Young was eventually replaced by Robert Taylor and the film’s true plot finally emerged. Lew plays a love-struck man who loses his fiancée to his best friend, only to watch their relationship go south after their marriage. In a bizarre twist, the couple then asks for the memory drug Lew has created, so that they might lose their memory of ever having met. However, when they meet again, they fall in love just as they are fated to do. A doCtor, A ComIC 85 Lew loved making the film with Taylor and Garson, who were much bigger stars then he was. He especially liked Garson, who embraced her Englishness and hosted daily tea for her costars.4 But the movie failed upon its release, and Garson received especially harsh reviews, which questioned whether her success with the hit Goodbye,Mr.Chips had been mere luck and wondered if she lacked the necessary abilities as a leading lady in romantic comedies. As had been the case with Holiday and Rich Man,PoorGirl, Lew’s was the standout performance of the film. Frank Nugent even questioned the validity of the love triangle, suggesting that the Garson character would never have fallen for the far less personable Robert Taylor. MGM continued to look for possible projects to tap into Lew’s talent, such as another musical comedy titled Pretty Penny and a romantic comedy based on Sinclair Lewis’s ItCan’tHappenHere, both projects that were announced but never progressed beyond development.5 The Dr. Kildare films proved so successful that MGM ultimately increased the number of Kildare films from two a year to three and had Lew appear in fewer other films. The increase meant the lead actors— Ayres, Barrymore, and Day—were often unavailable for MGM’s other films, a frustration especially for Day who wasn’t even twenty by the time she had been typecast as the supportive girlfriend and nurse. But the films were important to MGM, efficient movies made on budget, in twenty-two days, and constant moneymakers. And for the actors, they found a degree of recognition that amazed even them.6 TheSecretofDr.Kildare is a notable film in the series for two reasons. From this point forward, no other potential love interests would be brought into the films and the long courtship of Dr. Kildare and Nurse Lamont would unfold. The relationship between Kildare and Gillespie also progresses to the kind of relationship the films are now known for. In YoungDr.Kildare and CallingDr.Kildare, the two characters are at constant odds. By the third film, however, they have developed a professional competitiveness, but also a personal love for one another. Perhaps it was because of the genuine affection between Lionel Barrymore and Lew, but this relationship makes the later films far more memorable...