The Story of Dr. Kildare
Volume 1
Turning to the production and distribution of transcribed radio programming during the postwar years, Metro Goldwyn Mayer took full advantage of its popular B-movie properties -- and one of its most successful screen-to-speaker transfers was "The Story of Dr. Kildare".
The Kildare films -- medical melodramas revolving around the patients and staff at Blair Memorial Hospital and thickly coated in standard MGM gloss -- began in 1938, and attracted a strong following for the sensitive work of one-time A-level star Lew Ayers in the lead role, as well as the outstanding character work of Lionel Barrymore as the crusty, harrumphing mentor-figure Dr. Gillespie. The radio series, recorded in the summer of 1949 for distribution during the 1949-50 radio season, precisely captured this flavor. Ayers and Barrymore cornered the budget for the series, so MGM filled out the rest of the cast with an assortment of hardworking Hollywood AFRAns, including Ted Osborne as Dr. Carough, the stuffy and bureaucratic hospital administrator; Jane Webb as Mary Lamont, nurse and Dr. Kildare's primary love interest; and Virginia Gregg as the eavesdropping Nurse Parker -- frequently referred to as "Nosy Parker" by the cantankerous Dr. Gillespie. Also appearing in the casts are such radio stalwarts as William Conrad, Stacy Harris, Jay Novello, Isabel Jewell, and Jack Webb.
Despite their B-movie origins, the stories on the Kildare radio series were effective examples of how to write involving little dramas on deadline and on budget. Clearly, MGM was concerned about maintaining both the integrity of the property and their reputation for quality, hiring such writers as Jean Holloway ("Romance," "Mr. President") and Les Crutchfield ("Escape" and, later, "Gunsmoke") to create them. Heard today, the programs demonstrate the high-level of production value and entertainment that radio was capable of in the post-war years -- even with television looming large on the horizon.
The years' worth of episodes produced appeared on both WMGM New York and in first-run syndication thru 1949-50, and then circulated in reruns well into the 1950s -- providing an effective precursor to the "Dr. Kildare" television series which would revive interest in the franchise during the early 1960s.
Here are 20 representative episodes, taken from original MGM Radio Productions pressings, and meticulously restored for your listening enjoyment by Radio Archives. Broadcast dates listed are for original WMGM airings; local broadcast dates varied.
#1 Angela Kester
Wednesday, February 1, 1950 - 30:00 - MGM Syndication
#2 Marjorie Northrup
Wednesday, February 8, 1950 - 30:00 - MGM Syndication
#3 Dr. Robert Lane
Wednesday, February 15, 1950 - 30:00 - MGM Syndication
#4 Alice Bradley
Wednesday, February 22, 1950 - 30:00 - MGM Syndication
#5 Benjamin Barkley
Wednesday, March 1, 1950 - 30:00 - MGM Syndication
#6 Rico and Carmen Machiano
Wednesday, March 8, 1950 - 30:00 - MGM Syndication
#7 Vernon Pendleton
Wednesday, March 15, 1950 - 30:00 - MGM Syndication
#8 Barbara Lane
Wednesday, March 22, 1950 - 30:00 - MGM Syndication
#11 Carolyn Shelley
Wednesday, April 12, 1950 - 30:00 - MGM Syndication
#12 Janet Dane
Wednesday, April 19, 1950 - 30:00 - MGM Syndication
#13 Warren Jackson
Wednesday, April 26, 1950 - 30:00 - MGM Syndication
#14 Terry Murphy
Wednesday, May 3, 1950 - 30:00 - MGM Syndication
#17 Phillip Van Court
Wednesday, May 24, 1950 - 30:00 - MGM Syndication
#18 The Abandoned Baby
Wednesday, May 31, 1950 - 30:00 - MGM Syndication
#19 Angela Carough
Thursday, June 1, 1950 - 30:00 - MGM Syndication
#20 Dick Brennan
Thursday, June 8, 1950 - 30:00 - MGM Syndication
#25 Colonel Beauregard
Thursday, July 13, 1950 - 30:00 - MGM Syndication
#26 Gordon Mallory
Thursday, July 20, 1950 - 30:00 - MGM Syndication
#27 Dan Molloy
Thursday, July 27, 1950 - 30:00 - MGM Syndication
#28 Mrs. Stanford
Thursday, August 3, 1950 - 30:00 - MGM Syndication
