FAST-MOVING MYSTERY

Evening Star, Issue 23699, 5 October 1940, Page 8

FAST-MOVING MYSTERY

ANOTHER CF " DR KILDARE M CEBIES ‘ The Secret of Dr Kildare ’ is the mam tcature on the new mil at the Regent. It has become almost an axiom of dramatic art that sequels are never as good as tne original, but in this case we have had three stories about tlie same people m the same setting and each new one as good as its predecessor. The secret lies, of course, in the fact that these Dr Kildare pictures do not rely so much, on plot as on the appeal of the characters that appear in them. Lionel Barrymore as "Dr Gillespie,” a great piusiciau in spite of partial paralysis, ims achieved the rare feat of creating a part that swamps the personality of the actor. Dr Gillespie is a great man who deserves, and lias probably already earned, a place amongst the outstanding characters of fiction. Lew Ayres, too, has given the screen another- engaging personality as “ Dr Kildare,” assistant and personal friend of the great Gillespie. Young Dr Jimmy Kildare sets out to save a beautiful girl who would rather die than reveal the secret which would save her, in a gripping drama of mystery, romance, and medical wonders in ‘ The Secret of Dr Kildare,’ third of the scientific detective series. The new picture deals with a weird mental malady of a beautiful heiress, which medicine fails to solve. Ayfes turns detective to trail the mystery down to the machinations of a fanatical nurse and a quack doctor. Based on tho popular story by Max,Brand, the picture moves with rapid tempo. Ayres, in the title role, is convincingly earnest and yet injects whimsical lightness into many of the picture’s episodes. Barrymore is perfect as the irascible old diagnostician and indulges iu comedy of a Mark Twainish nature iu some sequences. Ayres and Barrymore are given effective support by an excellent group of players, among them Lionel Atwill as the millionaire father of the “ mystery patient,” Helen Gilbert as the girl in the thrall of an unknown terror, Nat Pendleton as the brawny ambulance driver, and Laraino Day as Ayres’s nurse-sweetheart who figures in an hilarious episode when Barrymore becomes ill and lias to follow her orders. Tho dramatic highlights include the restoration of a girl’s sight by mental suggestion and Barrymore’s healing of a paralytic boy by a new' medical discovery. * Effect photography by AI Gilks presents many interesting effects in embellishing the fast-moving ivystery story.

An excellent selection of foaturettes includes ‘ Ski Birds.’ an alpino specialty; ' Alfalfa's Donb'e,' an ‘‘Out Gang ” comedy ; and ‘ Fishing Bear,’ a colour cartoon.