Dark Delusion (1947)

Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Memorable, crazy movie

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The Dr. Kildare series, which morphed into the Dr. Gillespie series, has its last episode with "Dark Delusions." Filmed in 1947, it also stars James Craig as Dr. Coalt. Coalt is a brilliant doctor but a little too aggressive for a doctor starting out -- translation: he's in trouble with the upper crust.Gillespie (Lionel Barrymore) sends Coalt to replace Dr. Art Baker in the country temporarily. There, his strong-mindedness and little regard for big monied people gets him embroiled in another tough case. The father of a young woman, Lester Matthews, wants to have his daughter (Lucille Bremer) committed, but Dr. Coalt won't sign the papers. He believes that her problem can be cured and sets out to gain the young woman's confidence and help her, despite opposition.A secondary plot concerns parents (Jayne Meadows and Warner Anderson) of a baby about to be adopted by them. In order to finalize the adoption, both parents have to pass a physical. The mother has her physical, but her husband keeps finding excuses not to have one. It's up to Keye Luke to get to the bottom of the problem.Good episode, but of the Ayres replacements, Craig was probably the most boring. The combo of Van Johnson and Keye Luke was the liveliest. I've never been a big fan of Van Johnson's, but he certainly brought lightness and charm to the proceedings.Good, glossy series in the MGM tradition.

The last (and least) of the Dr. Gillespie series focuses on a young doctor played by James Craig. He's a jerk who keeps ticking off patients. So Gillespie sends him to a small town hoping that might improve his bedside manner. It doesn't really because Craig spends the whole movie investigating a schizophrenia case. He even commits crimes that would lose any real doctor his license and probably see him serving time in prison. So the initial premise isn't even followed up on. I'm not a big fan of Craig so you can imagine how I feel about a movie where he gets 3/4 of the screen time. I did enjoy Keye Luke, though. This is a lackluster end to the Dr. Gillespie series, which was originally the Dr. Kildare series. The first and possibly only movie to feature a wedding where the bride is in an iron lung. So there's that.

The last of the highly successful Dr. Kildare/Dr. Gillespie series which foreshadowed the later popularity of medical shows on TV, "Dark Delusion" has its moments, though overall routine with the psychological mumbo jumbo at times unintentionally humorous. The most entertaining scenes are the ones with veteran character actor Keye Luke as Dr. Lee Wong How, especially the part where he tries to convince a heart patient that he really isn't a heart patient; and the teasing confrontations between Dr. Gillespie (Lionel Barrymore) and Nurse 'Nosey' Parker--almost a comic version of Nurse Ratched before her time. The character of Napoleon portrayed by Ben Lessy is fun to watch, in particular his final appearance.The story centers as always on the medical staff and patients of Blair General Hospital. This time a new doctor, Dr. Tommy Coalt (played by the somewhat bland James Craig), is having serious bedside-manners problems since he always tells the truth the way he sees it to patients and staff alike. How do you get rid of an unwanted employee without causing an unnecessary blowup? Either promote him to a higher level bureaucratic position where he becomes nothing more than a highly paid pencil pusher or send him to a nowhere place such as Bayhurst where nobody cares, just thankful there's a physician in town.But Dr. Coalt is still an unruly colt. This time he takes on the entire medical profession by becoming involved with a young lady, Cynthia Grace (Lucille Bremer),who has been diagnosed as having a mental problem. Dr. Coalt is determined to cure her without confining her to an institution the way her family doctor has advised. Cynthia's father has also been persuaded to institutionalize his daughter. Sent by Dr. Gellispie to appraise the situation, Dr. Lee Wong How (Luke) reports back by telephone, "The good news is Dr. Coalt is not in jail yet." The acting is mixed. Barrymore, Luke, and Jayne Meadows give the best performances. Why Jayne Meadows couldn't make it as a viable screen personality is a mystery. Perhaps she reminded the movie goers of too many other actresses in comparable roles.If you're a fan of the series, then "Dark Delusion" will be enjoyed. For others, the going may be rough in spots but the high points will still be high points.

This is mainly the story of a doctor in his efforts to help his patient, Cynthia.The reasons why he do this are unclear, and this is what the movie is all about. Also, the telephone scene with Mr. Selkirk and Dr. Lee is just hilarious. The story is important, too, because it points out how a serious illness can be misdiagnosed -although things have changed a lot since 1947, it could still happen.