The story of Dr. Kildare.
Once where the house I enter, there will I go for the benefit of the sick.
And whatsoever things I see or hear concerning the life of men, I will keep silence thereon,
counting such things to be held as sacred trust.
I will exercise my art solely for the cure of my...
The story of Dr. Kildare, starring Lou Ayres and Lionel Barrymore.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer brought you those famous motion pictures.
Now this exciting, heartwarming series is heard on radio.
In just a moment, the story of Dr. Kildare.
But first, your announcer.
Now the story of Dr. Kildare, starring Lou Ayres as Dr. Kildare and Lionel Barrymore as Dr. Gillespie.
Parker said you wanted to see me, Dr. Gille...
Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were alone.
Joel, come in. Come in.
Uh, Mr. Savo, this is Dr. Kildare.
Dr. Kildare, how do you do, sir?
Jimmy, Mr. Savo has presented me with a problem and I wanted you here as a witness.
Oh.
Mr. Savo wants me to examine a man and treat him,
but he wants me to do it without knowing the identity of the patient.
Nobody can know his identity. That is imperative.
It's also highly unusual, Mr. Savo.
I assure you it is necessary.
It's also necessary that I protect Blair Hospital.
I don't understand.
Oh, that should be rather simple to understand, Mr. Savo,
for all Dr. Gillespie knows, you may be asking him to treat a criminal or something,
a man wanted by the law.
No, I give you my word. The man you will treat is not a criminal.
Quite the contrary.
Well, then why can't you tell me who he is?
Dr. Gillespie, I can't even give you a reason.
All I can say is that I hope someday I may be able to explain it to you.
Ah.
Oh, there's one thing we're entitled to know.
You didn't choose Blair Hospital and Dr. Gillespie out of thin air for this case.
The choice was made after extensive inquiry.
Dr. Gillespie is reputed to be the finest internist available.
How do you know your patient needs an internist?
Because of the symptoms.
Severe abdominal pain, general malaise, insomnia.
Doctor, it is my understanding that you cannot refuse to treat a patient
simply because you do not know his identity.
Oh, just a moment, Mr. Savo. Dr. Gillespie hasn't refused treatment.
Then there's nothing further to discuss, is there?
I will reserve two rooms here at the hospital for tomorrow morning.
I'll occupy one of them so that I may be close at hand.
And your patient will be admitted to the other under the name of John Smith.
John Smith.
All right. Bring him in the morning and we'll have a look at him.
Thank you, gentlemen.
I wish I could tell you what a tremendous trust is being placed in your hands.
Oh, just a moment, Mr. Savo. Dr. Gillespie, according to the symptoms,
we probably should run a GI series.
Patient might as well be prepared for it anyway when he comes in.
Yes, yes, yes, of course, Jimmy, that's right.
See that your John Smith takes no food or liquid of any kind after midnight tonight.
Have him here and ready for examination at eight o'clock in the morning.
Any request you make will be granted, Doctor.
Any request will be granted, Doctor, except telling us who the patient really is.
Someday frustration of your curiosity will give you an ulcer.
Oh, is that so?
When did I ever go around sticking my nose into other people's business?
What was that noise?
How could I know?
Since when have you taken over the janitor's job?
You were listening at the keyhole, that's what you were doing.
Oh, I was not.
Oh, you were so.
You were just busting to find out who John Smith is.
Why, I...
Ah, go on, go back to your work and stop meddling.
Well, you don't have to go hollering just because I'm interested in my job, you know.
Women.
Did you ever see anybody so nosy in all your life, Jimmy?
Ah, that's a delicate question.
If a man wants to call himself John Smith, it's nobody's business but his own.
I quite agree.
Who the devil can he be, picking such a silly name like that?
Well, we may find out in the morning while we're finding out what's wrong with him.
Now, don't be nervous, Mr. Smith.
The horoscope can't harm you.
Oh, it just makes it possible for us to see how you're functioning organically.
I quite understand.
I won't be a difficult patient.
Oh, I'm sure you won't.
Heart looks all right.
Move the viewing plate down, Jimmy.
Okay.
You'll get a look at the...
Hmm.
Look at this, Dr. Gillespie.
I see it.
In the pyloric region.
Have you had difficulty retaining food lately, Mr. Smith?
Yes.
Sometimes I suffer from extreme nausea.
Better get a better look at that, Jimmy.
Parker, where's the barium mixture?
Right here, Dr. Gillespie.
Give it to Dr. Gillespie.
Thank you.
Mr. Smith, I want you to take this glass in your left hand.
Got it?
Yes.
Now, this is barium.
It's a metallic liquid.
Harmless, but it shows up well on the fluoroscope and X-ray.
We can trace its course through your digestive tract.
I want you to start by taking just one large swallow.
All right, Dr. Gillespie.
That's good, good.
Now, just hold the glass.
I want you to drink the rest of it in a minute.
Use a little hand pressure, Jimmy.
All right.
Force it around the pyloric region.
Let me know if this causes you any discomfort, Mr. Smith.
Hmm.
See it clearly now?
Yes, very clearly.
All right, Mr. Smith, drink the rest of the mixture.
Take it all down, quickly as possible, please.
Now, I'll tilt the backboard into table position.
I want you to climb up on it and lie down on your stomach.
That's it.
Now, lie on your right side of your face.
Arms above your head, please.
I'll move the view plate, Jimmy.
Thanks.
Hey, there it is.
That's the spot.
Yes.
Hmm.
All right, Parker, turn off the fluoroscope.
Put on the lights.
Uh, you just stay in that same position for a few minutes, Mr. Smith.
All right.
Want me to call the x-ray technician?
Yeah, yeah.
Tell him to take four quarter views and let's know when they're ready.
After the x-rays are finished, you can go back to your room, Mr. Smith.
We'll talk to you later.
Thank you, doctor.
Hmm.
Well, what do you think, Jimmy?
We'll know better when we see the x-rays, of course,
but there's a definite growth in the pylorus.
A dangerous growth.
Not necessarily, unless it's malignant.
Well, if it isn't now, it will be if it's left there much longer.
I'd recommend exploratory surgery unless the plates indicate a benevolent tumor.
I am afraid that what we saw wasn't benevolent.
Here are the x-rays, Dr. Plesby.
Oh, good. Let's have a look at them.
I'm afraid they don't require very much looking.
Yeah.
You agree?
All the appearances of carcinoma.
That's what I thought.
A little have to be removed.
In a couple of weeks at the most.
If the growth spreads, the pylorus will be completely obstructed.
After that, we'll be too late.
Well, we don't have any worry on that score.
It isn't too late now, from all indications.
It's still operable, and I'd say the prognosis favorable.
Oh, definitely.
Unless complications develop.
None manifest.
Serious complications till tomorrow.
They pop up when they're least expected.
That's what makes them serious.
Guess we'd better have a talk with Smith and get his consent for surgery.
Well, Mr. Savo has asked that we discuss our findings with him first, Jimmy.
He's been in my outer office for an hour.
You know, that's an odd relationship between Savo and Smith.
What disposes behind it?
Well, well, Dr. Kildare.
Who's busting with curiosity now?
Oh, come now, Dr. G.
Your long nose is still showing.
It is not.
Parker! Parker!
Yes, Dr. Gillespie.
Is Mr. Savo still there?
Yes, he is.
Send him in, please.
Doctor, we'll see you now, Mr. Savo.
Thank you.
So, gentlemen, he's all right, isn't he?
There's nothing seriously wrong.
Are you asking us or telling us?
Well, I'm sorry, Doctor. I'm upset.
Please, please tell me what you found.
Your friend's a very sick man, Mr. Savo.
I'll be blunt with you.
We've located what seems to be a cancerous growth.
Then he's going to die.
Nobody said that.
Well, fortunately, you brought him here in time.
The growth is operable.
No, Doctor. You're wrong.
The growth is not operable.
Not with him.
Are you a doctor, Mr. Savo?
No, but I know something that you have yet to learn.
Then you'll understand.
I'll begin by telling you who John Smith really is.
Who, who?
The man you'll know as John Smith is Philip III,
King of Coruscania.
Oh, that's impossible.
Philip of Coruscania abdicated his throne,
made the country a democracy 15 years ago.
He's been living in England.
He has been here incognito for several months.
Why couldn't you tell us this before?
Because he has enemies.
In four months, there'll be a plebiscite in Coruscania,
an election that will determine whether the country remains democratic
or falls before a rising dictatorship.
Philip is the one man who can rally the democratic forces,
bring the split factions together.
Then the operation's even more imperative.
If we don't operate, he'll be dead in two months.
I know, Doctor, but there's nothing you can do to save him.
But we've told you that the whole...
Just a minute, Jimmy, just a minute.
I'm afraid we're dealing with more than cancer.
We're dealing with the curse of royal blood.
Is Philip a descendant of the Bourbon servo?
Yes.
You mean he's a hemophiliac, a bleeder?
Yes, Doctor.
What can we do, Dr. Gillespie?
If we don't operate on him, he'll die of cancer in two months.
If we do operate, his blood won't coagulate.
He'll bleed to death on the table.
Jimmy, that man is doomed.
We return to the story of Dr. Kildare in just a moment.
Now we continue with the story of Dr. Kildare, starring Lou Ayres as Dr. Kildare
and Lionel Barrymore as Dr. Gillespie.
Dr. Gillespie.
Well, Sunshine Caroo, what's on your mind?
Of course, my position as head of this hospital seems to mean nothing to some people I could name.
But may I remind you, I do have certain rights.
Did you come in here to read me the Constitution?
I am speaking of my rights in this hospital.
Why haven't I been informed that Blair Hospital is honored by the presence of His Royal Majesty, Philip III of Corsogna?
What? Caroo?
How in tarnation did you find that out?
That man's here incognito. You understand?
I understand that you have privately deprived Blair Hospital of the greatest publicity story in its history.
Publicity? If one word of this leaks out, I'll cut out your giblets.
But really, you expect me to ignore that?
How did you find out?
I have my sources of information, Dr. Smith.
Oh, so that's it.
Parker?
Did you call me your magic? I mean, Dr. Gunsley.
You nitwit. So that's why you've been practicing that funny bowing stuff.
Well, for your information, it's not funny bowing stuff.
What they do at court is called a curtsy.
With those pretzel legs of yours?
Pretzel legs? Let me tell you.
You tell me nothing, nothing. I'll tell you, both of you.
A man is going to die in the country he loves may die with him.
Is that what you two blabbermouths want to turn into a publicity circus?
Get out of here!
Ah, Dr. Kildare. I mean...
How are you today, Mr....
No. I gave up being a king 15 years ago.
Call me Philip, please. And... and...
...regard me as a friend.
Oh, thank you.
Savo tells me that I have two months, Doctor.
Oh, of course we can never be certain about those.
No, no, no. It's all right.
I had hoped it might be longer.
Not for myself, but for my people.
If only I could live until the plebiscite.
To see them secure with an honorable government, I...
I would do anything.
Would you gamble on losing the two months you do have to live?
Would you take that chance?
Why do you ask, Dr. Kildare?
Because even with the odds of thousand to one against us...
...I'm going to ask you to risk that operation.
But with hemophilia, just the moment, Savo.
Go ahead, Dr. Kildare.
Well, when a hemophiliac lives to maturity, as you have...
...there's sometimes an improvement in the condition of his blood.
Not much, but some.
With a strict pre-surgical regime...
...we might make some slight additional improvement.
Maybe enough to give us just the ghost of a chance.
How can you ask him to take this risk?
You're forgetting something, Savo.
I am going to die in any case.
Dr. Kildare is asking me to risk what time I have left...
...against the faint hope of recovery...
...and with it life for our people.
I'm sorry, Philip. I withdraw my objection.
All right, doctor. I'll gamble with you.
But you realize you are gambling too.
I realize that very keenly.
Well, then why are you doing this, doctor?
I have my reasons.
Very well.
When will you operate?
In about two weeks, when we've prepared you as best we can.
I'll start by having the nurse bring you a capsule.
It's an ovarian extract.
You ought to have one every three hours...
...around the clock from now until surgery.
The other preparations, you'll be acquainted with them as we go along.
You sent for me, Dr. Gillespie?
You know darn well I did.
Sit down, Jimmy. Sit down.
What are you up to?
I don't know what you mean.
You're a dumb blind.
What's behind those extracts you've been prescribing for Philip?
Well, Dr. Gillespie, I've started him on a pre-surgery regime.
A pre-surgery?
Jimmy killed there? Have you gone mad?
We've got to try it.
Have you thought of what failure means?
The life of one man who will die anyhow.
Oh, I know that. But the world won't know about it...
...or about the odds against you.
They'll only know that a king died under your scalpel.
And your future as a doctor will die with him.
I can't let that matter.
I'm not on the face of what it means to his country...
...or what it may mean to the rest of the world.
What does it mean to us?
If Philip lives, it guarantees a democracy in Coruscania...
...a friendly nation in the strategic heart of Europe.
Something to help balance our world against everything that might try to destroy it.
And does my reputation mean more than that?
You're right, Jimmy. We've no choice.
Let's have it. What are your plans?
Well, now, Dr. Gillespie, I can't ask you to share this.
Oh, compounded, Jimmy killed there. Don't you try pulling that on me.
I brought you into this case and we'll see it through together.
Now, if we can get a look at this blood smear under the microscope.
He did a lot of bleeding for a simple finger puncture, Jimmy.
I know, I know.
How's that slide look?
The platelet counts all right. Let's see, above 250,000.
But there's still a qualitative defect.
That's the trouble. It won't clot.
Type AB. We'll call a donor.
All set for direct transfusion, Dr. Gillespie.
Thanks, Parker. Now, you may bleed quite a bit, sir.
I understand.
Clench and unclench your fist after I enter the vein. Here we go.
Watch the point of entry, Jimmy.
It's all right. He'll get more than he loses.
Not as much as you'll need.
Platelets look a little better, Dr. G.
Clotting time didn't, and still took too long.
We'll have to give him another direct transfusion and surgery.
Parker, prepare an injection of fresh serum, 30cc.
Intramuscular. Yes, Parker, but I'll administer it.
I better repeat the same injection 24 hours before surgery.
I will. But that'll be it, Dr. Gillespie.
There's nothing else we can do.
Yes, there is, Jimmy. Yes, there is.
Give it up.
I can't. I'm giving my word, win or lose.
Parker, see that the operating room is ready Wednesday morning at 7 o'clock.
Scalpel Parker? Yes, doctor.
How are those hemoclamps, Dr. Gillespie?
All right, Jimmy, but hurry, hurry up.
No time for pathology. You've got to get out fast.
Open the chest.
Open the Program to infection.
Open the
Geoffson!
No, I do. Wait a minute.
Yes.
Think, but there's a pulse.
Step up the oxygen, please.
Watch those hemoclamps, Jimmy.
I am, but we've got to close him up fast.
Can't take much more blood from the donor.
Pulse is holding evenly, doctor, but still faint.
We'll make it.
We'll get him out alive, and we've got to keep him that way.
That's a tough one, Jimmy.
Get those ice packs ready, Parker.
Temperature change around the incision may help clotting.
How about cannon applications?
Try it, try it. We'll try anything now.
Got nothing to lose.
Hello, Jimmy.
Oh, Dr. G.
How is he?
Oh, I... I'm afraid.
I'm afraid we've lost.
See for yourself.
But, Jimmy, there's no excessive blood loss here.
Clotting seems to be all right.
All right, but too late.
Jimmy, come over here.
Is he gone?
Gone? Nothing.
Well, what was his last temperature reading?
Very low, almost down to 96.
Well, it's better than that now.
You can tell by feeling him.
Get those ice packs off him right away.
He does seem to be warmer.
Ah, of course he's warmer.
He's not in coma.
He's in shock from loss of blood.
But he's holding now.
Let his temperature come up.
The clotting's strong enough to hold.
If he's watched every minute to keep him from moving.
Once he comes out of shock,
one more transfusion would get him over the hump.
Yes, unless...
unless we've failed where we can't see our failure.
Inside, there may be internal loss.
Well, if there is, he won't regain consciousness.
If there is, it'll be my fault.
Don't ever say that, Jimmy.
Getting him this far is a miracle.
You had to work faster than any surgeon I've ever seen.
And against fantastic odds.
Oh, no.
He's stirring. He's coming around.
Talk to him.
Penetrate his consciousness.
I'll try.
Philip. Philip.
Philip, do you hear me, Philip?
The... Dr. Gilbert.
He's coming through, Jimmy.
Yes.
Finished?
Yes, Philip, we're finished. It's all over.
You'll be all right now.
Ah.
I had faith in you.
You couldn't have had faith in a better man.
Jimmy, I'm going to call the donor.
Oh, I'll do it, Doctor.
No, no, no, no, no. You stay here with your patient.
I'm the assistant on this case, and I'm proud of it.
In just a moment, we will return to the story of Dr. Kildare.
And now, once again, the story of Dr. Kildare, starring Lou Eyre.
And Lionel Barrymore as Dr. Gillespie.
Good morning, Dr. G.
Well, Jimmy, why are you so bright and cheerful?
Why, haven't you seen the morning papers?
Look, here, look.
The results of the corsonia plebiscite.
Look at that headline.
Former monarch leads democratic faction to overwhelming victory.
People rallied ex-king.
Jimmy, that is wonderful.
I know, and look at this.
The man we knew as Sarvo was elected president of the republic.
Ah, president. I like that word, Jimmy.
I like it.
Gives me a safe feel.
Dr. Kildare, oh, Dr. Kildare.
Yes, Doctor.
Doctor, must you come in here like you were shot out of a cannon?
Well, I wanted to give this to Dr. Kildare at the cable gram.
It just came all the way from Europe.
From Europe?
Here.
What is it?
What does it say?
Well, I'll give him a chance to open it.
You think he has x-ray eyes?
Good.
Well, Jimmy, what does it say?
It's from Philip.
It says, President Sarvo and I thank you for a victory
that would not have been possible without your help and the help of Dr. Gillespie.
And persuading Sarvo to appoint me ambassador to the United States
and look forward to seeing you again.
Sarvo and I pledge that you and your country will always have friends in ours.
With humble gratitude, Philip.
You have just heard the story of Dr. Kildare starring Lou Ayers and Lionel Baramore.
This program was written by Joel Murcott and directed by Joe Bigelow.
Original music was composed and conducted by Walter Shuman.
Virginia Gregg was heard as Nurse Parker and Ted Osborne as Dr. Carew.
Others in the cast included Larry Dobkin and Ben Wright.
Dick Joy speaking.
Music.