Palaest recommended

PlatinumRead Just so...so bad

Kodie Bird True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

vincentlynch-moonoi SPOILER ALERT!!!!! This is a top notch film with a good script and excellent acting.First off, the script. Basically you have a dysfunctional family headed by somewhat of a tyrant of a father (Charles Coburn). The main character of the story -- Glenn Ford -- is a young doctor and the son of Coburn. Coburn has his son's medical career all plotted out for him, and at first Ford follows his father's script in being a very efficient doctor with no bedside manner. He falls in love with a hospital patient (Janet Leigh) who is from the other side of the tracks (or in this case, the other side of the avenue). The father basically disowns the son, Meanwhile, another daughter (Gloria DeHaven) is a bit too wild, also rebels against her father, and does a self-given abortion. Another daughter -- Nancy Davis (Reagan) stays with the father, but is sympathetic toward her siblings and their situations. Is it a bit soapy? Well, a bit. But it's a good story, and I was particularly interested in the home medical practice depicted, which was very much like my childhood doctor's practice (although he lived in a decent home, rather than an extended apartment (and incidentally, this film was made the year I was born, and I think it's a fairly decent representation of the practice of medicine at the time).While Glenn Ford isn't one of my favorite actors, I usually enjoy his work, and I would have to say that this was among his best roles. By the time this film was made, he was really coming into his own.Charles Coburn is such an interesting character actor. He was as comfortable playing the kindly, humorous character, or in this case, the curmudgeon. And in playing this type of role, he never seemed to go overboard. Always played it just right to make it believable.Gloria DeHaven was a "satisfactory" actress, but never in the "A" range. Here she does very nicely. Bruce Bennett, as another doctor, is very good here, as in Warner Anderson. Janet Leigh turns in a very effective performance as the seriously ill girl who becomes Ford's wife; one of her better roles! Basil Ruysdael -- one of those character actors you immediately recognize but whose name you don't know -- is superb here as the wise old doctor and family confidant...top notch! Nancy Davis, wife of Ronald Reagan, was another "satisfactory" actress; she does nicely here.I'll tell you how good this film is: after watching it, I immediately ordered if from Amazon! A very good story, excellent acting, and more realism than you often see from Hollywood.

SimonJack Very few films were made before the 1970s with doctors and medicine as the main subjects. Hollywood had made the jump to sound movies in 1929, but the medical profession wasn't much in the public's eye – at least not in the realm of entertainment. Two films in the 1930s were mainly about doctors and medicine – "One Man's Journey," in 1933, and "Magnificent Obsession," in 1935. Both films had major stars of the time and were successes, but their plots were very serious. Film historians have said that Hollywood thought the public was too wary of somber subjects. People living through the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl and World War II needed more light-hearted entertainment. Having fun helped take their minds off their troubles for a while. So, comedy, romance, mystery and musicals best fit the bill for the film industry at the time. But, with the end of WW II, movie interests began to expand.One of the very first films focused on doctors and medicine was this 1949 MGM movie, "The Doctor and the Girl." It may have piqued the interest in other quarters for more such stories. A British film, "White Corridors," came out in 1951, and in 1954, a remake of "Magnificent Obsession" scored another box office hit. Interest in medical heroes and plots continued to grow. A 1961 movie, "The Young Doctors," had a huge cast. That same year, the first popular daytime TV medical drama (aka, soap opera) aired. "Dr. Kildare" ran through 1966. In 1962, "General Hospital" premiered. In 2013, the Guinness Book of World Records lists it as the longest-running American soap, and it's still going strong. Only two other TV series have gone longer, but both are now off the air. By the 1970s, the medical field began to emerge as a major sub-genre for films and TV programs. Shows ranged from drama to comedy, romance to crime and mystery, war to sci-fi, and even horror scripts. With new TV programs and films about doctors and medicine today, the very earliest movies still stand out for their excellent stories and performances by top casts. "The Doctor and the Girl" is such a film. The plot may seem to be so familiar today, but it wasn't at the time. Indeed, it was a leader in showing conflict between "high brow" medicine and that practiced for common folks. The performances by the stars are outstanding – Glenn Ford, Janet Leigh, Charles Coburn, Gloria De Haven, Bruce Bennett, and Basil Ruysdael. This is a movie worthy of any film library.

bkoganbing In The Doctor And The Girl Harry Cohn decided to sell off half of Glenn Ford's contract to MGM for his services as half of the title of the film. It was the same kind of deal Cohn had with William Holden when he bought half of Holden's contract with Paramount. Now Ford would serve two studios and for loanouts in the future he'd have to have his schedule with both MGM and Columbia clear.I hope you all that Ford was the doctor part of the title role. The girl is Janet Leigh, but there are two other prominent female roles and they play Ford's sisters, Gloria DeHaven and future first Lady Nancy Davis. They're all Charles Coburn's children and he's a prominent doctor.Who has every expectation of seeing his son follow in his footsteps and he lays down the law to everyone else be they his children or his colleagues. The youngest Gloria DeHaven rebels, but in very unhealthy ways. Nancy has married a doctor herself in the person of Warner Anderson, but Anderson is determined to succeed as a pediatrician on his own thank you very much without Coburn's help.But Ford starts off as a chip off the old arrogant block, but after some time working in Bellevue the arrogance flakes off, especially after meeting patient Janet Leigh who is in for some surgery. She's alone in the big city until Ford enters her life.And Coburn doesn't consider her a suitable candidate for being a doctor's wife. That and his attitude towards his kids in general sets off the plot events in The Doctor And The Girl. He's a tyrannical old cuss, very typical of some of the parts he's played.Though Glenn Ford had been making movies, mostly at Columbia for ten years he was new to the MGM studio. As was Janet Leigh. The film was shot on location in New York City. I recognize the facade of Bellevue Hospital, nothing much has changed their in 60 years. Of course if the camera were turned to the other side of the street on First Avenue, a great deal has changed.And as for the disparaging remarks about the working class area of Third Avenue where Janet Leigh lives and to where Ford moves when he marries her, that is some of the most expensive real estate in the world. The cost of their apartment in that same general location would boggle the mind.Ford and Leigh were fairly new, but for Nancy Davis this was her second film and first speaking role. It was definitely no acting stretch because in real life she was the daughter of a rich and prominent physician, Dr. Loyal C. Davis of Chicago. I'll bet Dr. Davis was a whole lot like Charles Coburn in manner. He was definitely his daughter's mentor in politics and also a mentor for his son-in-law our 40th President.There are two other roles of prominence, Bruce Bennett has a very nice role as Ford's supervisor at Bellevue, he was an army doctor in the second World War and he's a bit put out with Ford's vaunted connections and let's him know it. And Basil Ruysdael is in a part that fits him perfectly the wise old family friend to Coburn and his clan. Ruysdael is also a doctor, a most prominent surgeon.The Doctor And The Girl is a good addition to the roll of medical dramas. It's not all that different from what folks would be seeing soon on the small screen with Medic, Dr. Kildare, and Ben Casey. And remember this is MGM the people who did produce the Dr. Kildare series for the big screen.

taylorje Dr. Michael Corday (played by Glenn Ford), only son of Dr. John Corday (Charles Coburn), has just graduated from medical school and returned home. His father, a prominent Manhattan physician, expects Michael to follow in his footsteps. Michael is annoyed at having to intern at an inner-city hospital and is rude and arrogant to his patients.Michael's two sisters, Mariette (played by Nancy Davis, who later became First Lady Nancy Reagan) and Fabienne (Gloria DeHaven), still live at home but are planning their futures. Mariette is engaged to marry a young pediatrician. Fabienne announces that she is moving to Greenwich Village to live on her own. The family is shocked, but Michael supports Fabienne's decision.Michael meets an attractive young woman named Taffy (played by Janet Leigh) at the hospital. He is arrogant with her, but she stands up to him and tells him to "remember that I'm a patient, doctor." He later apologizes and takes a personal interest in her case. Taffy requires surgery, and Michael uses his clout to obtain the services of a prominent physician. Meanwhile, his father has heard about Taffy, and disapproves because she is poor. Dr. Corday Sr. has Taffy discharged from the hospital before she is strong enough to leave, and warns Michael to stay away from her. But Michael defies his father and eventually marries Taffy, thereby cutting himself off from his family. Fabienne is on a path to self-destruction; her affair with a married man leads to tragedy; only Mariette remains the same calm, capable oldest child throughout the movie. Dr. Corday's attempts to control his adult children lead to arguments, estrangement, tragedy, and eventually a reuniting of the family.