Premier Collections: 
The Story of Dr. Kildare, Volume 2
Liner notes written by Ivan G. Shreve, Jr.

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"Whatsoever house I enter...there I go for the benefit of the sick..."

The year was 1937, and Paramount Studios released a B-picture film entitled "Internes Can’t Take Money," starring Barbara Stanwyck as an ex-con frantically searching for her missing child and Joel McCrea as idealistic young Dr. James Kildare, an intern who lends his assistance to the frazzled Babs. The screenplay was based on characters created by author Max Brand and, like much of the film industry’s B-product of that time, the movie itself wasn’t particularly special or memorable...but rival Metro Goldwyn Mayer — "the Tiffany of movie studios" — took the idea and ran with it, churning out a wildly popular "Dr. Kildare" film series from 1938 to 1947.

With the release of "Young Dr. Kildare" to theater screens in 1938, there were a few casting changes instituted by MGM. Actor Lew Ayres, famed for his starring role as the inexperienced soldier in "All Quiet on the Western Front," was deemed perfect for the role of the rookie medico, with crotchety character actor Lionel Barrymore chosen to play his grizzled mentor, Dr. Leonard Gillespie. The actors made a formidable team, supported by a stellar cast of capable character actors such as Samuel S. Hinds, Emma Dunn, Nat Pendleton, and Alma Kruger, and up-and-coming contract players, including Lana Turner, Ava Gardner, Red Skelton, and Donna Reed. In 1942, the studio dropped Ayres, whose conscientious objector status during World War II was said to be hurting the series’ take at the box-office, and soldiered on with Barrymore in six more Kildare vehicles featuring actors like Van Johnson and Keye Luke vying to be Gillespie’s new fair-haired boy. The series drew to a close in 1947, with the release of "Dark Delusion."

Two years later, MGM made the decision to branch out into syndicated radio production, turning successful properties like the "Maisie" and "Andy Hardy" series and the "Crime Does Not Pay" shorts into half-hour radio series. Kildare got the nod as well; entitled "The Story of Dr. Kildare," the program reunited Ayres and Barrymore in the roles that they made immortal on-screen. Securing their cooperation took the lion’s share of the show’s budget, but the studio compensated for this by utilizing the talents of many "Radio Row" professionals, including Jack Kruschen, Isabel Jewell, Will Wright, Lurene Tuttle, Larry Dobkin, and William Conrad. Other radio veterans were prominently featured in the program’s supporting cast, including Virginia Gregg as gossipy Nurse "Nosy" Parker, Ted Osborne as sniffy administrator Dr. Walter Carew, and Jane Webb as Kildare’s love interest, Nurse Molly Lamont. (If you’re familiar with the movie series, the decision to include Nurse Lamont, played in the films by Larraine Day, may seem a bit unusual; it's likely that the creative minds behind the radio series felt the same way, as they soon chose to introduce a new character to the series, Nurse Diana Verner, played by a young Georgia Ellis.)

What set "The Story of Dr. Kildare" apart from MGM’s other syndicated offerings was the surprisingly high quality of its scripts, contributed by experienced scribes like Jean Holloway ("Romance," "Mr. President") and Les Crutchfield ("Escape," "Gunsmoke"). With superb direction by William P. Rousseau, original music by composer Walter Schumann, and the announcing chores overseen by Dick Joy, "Kildare" demonstrated that, even on a limited budget, it could deliver top-notch entertainment and avoid the 'canned' quality of most post-war transcribed radio series.

"The Story of Dr. Kildare" came and went on radio within a year-and-a-half but, because the series was recorded, it thrived in syndication and proved to be a financial boon for Metro Goldwin Mayer. As OTR historian Elizabeth McLeod has noted previously, the radio program provided "an effective precursor to the Dr. Kildare television series, which would revive interest in the franchise during the 1960s."

Following the success of an earlier release of Dr. Kildare broadcasts from the First Generation Radio Archives, this brand new Premier Collection features another twenty episodes on ten CDs, taken from original MGM Radio Attractions pressings and meticulously restored for your listening enjoyment. The broadcast dates listed represent the first airing of each of the episodes on WMGM New York, the "Call Letters of the Stars" station owned by Loew's Incorporated, upon which all of the MGM-produced syndicated series made their initial debuts. Here are the programs offered in this twenty-episode, ten-CD set:

Buffalo Barney McClure (#29)
A Wild West show performer disrupts the day-to-day routine at Blair General when he’s hospitalized after being thrown by a horse. An examination reveals that he’s swallowed his bridgework — but the cowboy is dead set against an operation to retrieve his teeth. With Ted Osborne, Virginia Gregg, and Barton Yarborough.
Thursday, August 10, 1950 – 30:00 – MGM Syndication

Operation at Sea (#30)
A call from the Coast Guard radio base sends Kildare and Gillespie out in gray, dreary weather on a mission of mercy. A young seaman, aboard a freighter 280 miles out at sea, is suffering from symptoms that sound suspiciously like acute appendicitis. With Virginia Gregg, Jack Webb, Raymond Burr, Herb Ellis, and Jack Kruschen.
Thursday, August 17, 1950 – 30:00 – MGM Syndication

Medical Examiner Mix-Up (#33)
Hospital administrator Dr. Carew is incensed when Kildare refuses to suck up to a wealthy donor and, instead, chooses to assist a young intern overseeing a man in a diabetic coma. However, Carew requires Kildare’s assistance when it turns out that he told a series of white lies about conditions at Blair General not to the donor’s representative...but to a newly appointed state medical examiner! With Virginia Gregg, Ted Osborne, Isabel Jewell, Will Wright, and Wilms Herbert.
Thursday, September 7, 1950 – 30:00 – MGM Syndication

Marion Lewis, Teenage Alcoholic (#34)
A young girl who passed out in an all-night lunchroom is brought to Blair General and diagnosed with acute alcohol poisoning. Despite Gillespie’s reservations, Kildare is determined to learn the reason for the troubled teenager’s condition. With Virginia Gregg, Ted Osborne, Jack Kruschen, Lurene Tuttle, Tol Avery, and Barbara Ruark.
Thursday, September 14, 1950 – 30:00 - MGM Syndication

Sam Lubinski, Spinal Paralysis (#35)
An electrician falls off an iron ladder and, with one of the rungs stuck in his stomach, he’ll require an emergency operation from Kildare. (The rung is still connected to the ladder, necessitating its removal with a hacksaw.) After surgery, the patient finds himself paralyzed due to a small fragment of metal still lodged in his spine. With Virginia Gregg, Ed Max, Frank Gerstle, Byron Kane, Vic Perrin, and Tudor Owen.
Thursday, September 21, 1950 – 30:00 – MGM Syndication

The Mumpkins’ First Baby (#36)
An anxious father-to-be continues to create a disturbance at Blair General by insisting his wife is about to go into labor. Meanwhile, the meddlesome Gillespie plays Cupid between Nurse Diana Verner and a reluctant Kildare. With Virginia Gregg, Ted Osborne, William Tracy, Sharon Douglas, and Georgia Ellis.
Thursday, September 28, 1950 – 30:00 – MGM Syndication

Eddie Jenkins and the Arsonist (#39)
A young boy is hospitalized at Blair General with severe burns. He’s a delinquent who frequently plays hooky, which makes him the prime suspect in an investigation involving a pier fire that took the life of a watchman. With Virginia Gregg, Ed Max, Raymond Burr, Whitfield Connor, and Jerry Farber.
Friday, October 20, 1950 – 30:00 – MGM Syndication

Mr. Ling Refuses Leg Surgery (#40)
An elderly Asian gentleman, convinced that it’s his time to die, refuses to undergo a vital operation on his leg. Kildare and Gillespie do their best to convince the man that surgery is in his best interests. With Virginia Gregg, Georgia Ellis, Paul Frees, and Tudor Owen.
Friday, October 27, 1950 – 30:00 – MGM Syndication

Lady Donabee’s Annual Visit (#45)
The staff at Blair General is dreading the arrival of Lady Donabee, an unrepentant hypochondriac who believes that the doctors and nurses should be at her beck and call. Carew tolerates the woman because of her hefty financial contributions to the hospital, but Kildare and Gillespie are determined that their "guest" won’t be staying without a proper diagnosis. With Virginia Gregg, Ted Osborne, Ed Max, Georgia Ellis, and Isabel Randolph.
Friday, December 1, 1950 – 30:00 – MGM Syndication

Arthur Morgan, Brain Surgery (#46)
Kildare and Gillespie are browsing in a bookstore when a frantic young woman alerts them to the news that her husband has been hit by a car. He survives the accident, but it’s necessary for him to undergo surgery for a brain concussion...surgery that his wife refuses to let Kildare perform. With Virginia Gregg, Ted Osborne, Georgia Ellis, Vic Perrin, and Lurene Tuttle.
Friday, December 8, 1950 – 30:00 – MGM Syndication

David Norton, Pneumonia (#49)
A young boy is admitted to Blair General in critical condition with a case of pneumonia. The parents of the child are involved in divorce proceedings, but Kildare and Gillespie hope that the couple can put aside their petty squabbling and devote their attention to their seriously ill son. With Virginia Gregg, Ted Osborne, Isabel Jewell, Stacy Harris, Jay Novello, Jeffrey Silver, and Lynn Ainley.
Friday, December 29, 1950 – 30:00 – MGM Syndication

Kidnapped Nurse (#50)
A prisoner known as "The Payroll Bandit" needs surgery for a pair of bullet wounds, and he’s transported to Blair General. The bandit, who’s facing trial for the first degree murder of a payroll messenger, figures he has nothing to lose and decides to hold Nurse Diana Verner hostage in a desperate bid to escape. With Virginia Gregg, Georgia Ellis, Barton Yarborough, Barney Phillips, and Vic Perrin.
Friday, January 5, 1951 – 30:00 – MGM Syndication

Dr. Gillespie’s Testimonial Dinner (#51)
A dinner is to be held in Dr. Gillespie’s honor and the staff of Blair General is trying to keep the news under wraps. But the curmudgeonly Gillespie instead gets the mistaken impression that the Board of Regents wants to put him out to pasture. With Virginia Gregg, Ted Osborne, Georgia Ellis, and Ed Max.
Friday, January 12, 1951 – 30:00 – MGM Syndication

Dr. Conlon, Quack (#52)
Kildare and Gillespie wage war against an unscrupulous medico who relies on fraudulent medical methods to treat his patients while also draining their bank accounts dry. Their plan involves a bit of chicanery of their own, with Gillespie posing as a potential patient and Kildare as his "son." With Ted Osborne, Georgia Ellis, Ed Max, Sarah Selby, and Raymond Burr.
Friday, January 19, 1951 – 30:00 – MGM Syndication

Joe Finley’s Ulcer (#53)
Kildare, filling in for one of his colleagues, treats a patient whose symptoms suggest that he’s suffering from a perforated ulcer. The peculiar thing about Kildare’s diagnosis is that the man is a twenty-four-year-old truck driver, an age that seems a bit premature for ulcers. Things become less complicated, however, when the driver’s boss reports that his employee may have embezzled money from the company. With Virginia Gregg, Paul Dubov, Isabel Jewell, Paul Frees, Anne Diamond, and Jay Novello.
Friday, January 26, 1951 – 30:00 – MGM Syndication

Oliver Van Meter, Allergies (#54)
A wealthy and influential man suffers from unusual and strangely timed allergies, which begin on Monday and last until Friday of each week. Kildare is baffled by the diagnosis and risks the wrath of Carew and the Board of Regents when he suggests that his patient go elsewhere for treatment. With Virginia Gregg, Ted Osborne, Georgia Ellis, Wilms Herbert, and Margie Liszt.
Friday, February 2, 1951 – 30:00 – MGM Syndication

Anthrax Infection (#55)
The son of a famous neurosurgeon is admitted into Blair General with a high fever and hand ulceration. Gillespie diagnoses it as a case of undulant fever, caused by drinking raw milk, but Kildare is convinced it is something far more serious. With Virginia Gregg, Ted Osborne, Will Wright, Tom Holland, and Ted Von Eltz.
Friday, February 9, 1951 – 30:00 – MGM Syndication

Pete Coslov, Mental Illness (#56)
A police captain is admitted to Blair General with a leg wound and tells Kildare and Gillespie that a "madman" has barricaded himself inside a playhouse on a school playground. Having previously treated the man for a broken leg sustained in a scaffolding accident, Kildare volunteers to talk him out -- with the hope of protecting the safety of any kids he may have taken hostage. With Virginia Gregg, Ted Osborne, Ted de Corsia, and Lawrence Dobkin.
Friday, February 16, 1951 – 30:00 – MGM Syndication

Buck Huston, Cowboy Star (#57)
Concerned about the lack of space in the children’s ward at Blair General, Kildare and Gillespie confront Carew with their complaints about the substandard conditions -- but find that their grievances fall on deaf ears. Instead, they’re assigned the case of a silver screen cowboy actor who is suffering from sciatica. With Ted Osborne, Georgia Ellis, Barton Yarborough, Johnny McGovern, and Mary McGovern.
Friday, February 23, 1951 – 30:00 – MGM Syndication

David Cooper, Burn Victim (#58)
A man recovering from severe burns received in an airplane crash is well on the way to physical recovery but, psychologically, he’s not anywhere out of the woods and is suffering from an acute case of melancholia. Kildare decides that a visit from the man’s wife might be just the tonic his patient needs -- but his wife is too bitter about her husband’s reputation as a rake to offer any assistance in his recuperation. With Virginia Gregg, Georgia Ellis, Lawrence Dobkin, Yvonne Peattie, and Isabel Jewell.
Friday, March 2, 1951 – 30:00 – MGM Syndication

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