Dr. James Kildare is a fictional American medical doctor, originally created in the 1930s by the author Frederick Schiller Faust under the pen name Max Brand. Shortly after the character's first appearance in a magazine story, Paramount Pictures used the story and character as the basis for the 1937 film Internes Can't Take Money, starring Joel McCrea as Jimmie Kildare. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) subsequently acquired the rights and featured Kildare as the primary character in a series of American theatrical films in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Several of these films were co-written by Faust (as Max Brand), who also continued to write magazine stories and novels about the character until the early 1940s.Mavis, Paul. "Dr. Kildare Movie Collection (Warner Archive Collection)" (DVD review). DVDtalk.com, Mar. 16, 2014, accessed Mar. 29, 2015. Kildare was portrayed by Lew Ayres in nine MGM films. (Ayres was drafted in 1942 and served as a non-combatant medic until 1946.) Later films set in the same hospital featured Dr. Gillespie (Lionel Barrymore). Ayres returned to voice the Kildare character in an early 1950s radio series.The Digital Deli Online, "The Story of Dr. Kildare (Radio Program)". digitaldeliftp.com, accessed Mar. 29, 2015. The 1961–1966 Dr. Kildare television series made a star of Richard ChamberlainMcneil, Alex. Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present – Revised Edition. Penguin Books, 1996, p. 225. . and gave birth to a comic bookPolite Dissent (blog), "The Brief 'Golden Age of Medical Comics , politedissent.com, May 28, 2012, accessed Mar. 29, 2015. and comic stripThe Archivist, "Ask the Archivist: Calling Dr. Kildare". The Comics Kingdom Blog, comicskingdom.com, Oct. 24, 2012, accessed Mar. 29, 2015. based on the show. A short-lived reboot of the TV series, Young Doctor Kildare, debuted in 1972 and ran for 24 episodes."Young Dr. Kildare" overview, TVguide.com, accessed Mar. 29, 2015.Marchessault, Janine. "Men in White, Women in Aprons: Utopian Iconographies of TV Doctors", in Figuring It Out: Science, Gender, and Visual Culture (ed. Ann B. Shteir & Bernard Lightman). Univ. Press of New England, 2006, pp. 315–335. .
Magazine stories and novels Original series The author Frederick Schiller Faust, writing as Max Brand, created the character of Dr. James Kildare as a fictionalized version of his college friend, Dr. George Winthrop "Dixie" Fish, a New York surgeon.Richardson, Darrell Coleman, ed. Max Brand, the Man & His Work: Critical Appreciations and Bibliography. Fantasy Pub. Co., 1952, p. 98. He first introduced the character in a short story, "Internes Can't Take Money", that appeared in the March 1936 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine.Easton, Robert and Jane, ed. "Internes Can't Take Money" (introduction to reprint of story written by Max Brand), in The Collected Stories of Max Brand (hereinafter, Collected Stories). Univ. of Nebraska Press, 1994, p. 217. . A second Kildare story, "Whiskey Sour", was published in Cosmopolitan in April 1938.Copyright Office – Library of Congress. Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third Series – Books and Pamphlets Including Serials and Contributions to Periodicals, Current and Renewal Registrations. Jan.–Jun. 1966, p. 1143. In these early stories, Dr. James "Jimmy" Kildare is an aspiring surgeon who leaves his parents' farm to practice at a fictional big-city hospital, and through his work, comes into contact with underworld criminals.Brand, Max. "Internes Can't Take Money", in Collected Stories, pp. 218–235. The first Kildare film, Internes Can't Take Money (1937), based on the short story of the same title and made by Paramount, followed this version of the character.Herzog, Evelyn. "Young Detective Kildare". The Mystery Fancier (ed. Guy M. Townsend), Mar.–Apr. 1983, pp. 1, 9.Zodin, Susan L. "The Making of a Medical Man: Max Brand's Young Dr. Kildare", in The Max Brand Companion (ed. Jon Tuska et al.), Greenwood Press, 1996, p. 463. .
In 1938, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) contracted with Faust to acquire the rights to the Kildare character along with Faust's services as a film story writer. Faust then made major changes to the character to fit MGM's idea for a new movie series, including changing Kildare's specialty to diagnostics rather than surgery, introducing the character of Kildare's superior Dr. Leonard Gillespie, de-emphasizing the criminal elements, and restarting the story from Kildare's first arrival at the city hospital. Faust (as Brand) collaborated with MGM on its Kildare film series starting with the first MGM series release, Young Dr. Kildare (1938) and continuing through The People vs. Dr. Kildare (1941). During this time, Faust wrote several original Kildare stories which were first published in magazines, later republished in novel form, and made into films by MGM. The stories were written prior to the films being made, and were not published as movie tie-ins.Herzog, p. 9.Zodin, pp. 463–474.
After The People vs. Dr. Kildare, Faust and MGM parted ways. Faust was not involved in Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day, Dr. Kildare's Victory, or any of the subsequent films featuring Dr. Gillespie, although Faust (as Brand) continued to receive a credit for creating the characters. Faust's last two Kildare stories, "Dr. Kildare's Hardest Case" (published in 1942) and the unfinished story "Dr. Kildare's Dilemma" (posthumously published in the early 1970s), were not made into films.Zodin, pp. 475–477. In 1944, Faust was killed in Italy while working as a war correspondent.Associated Press, "Max Brand, Author of 'Dr. Kildare' Killed in Italy". Lock Haven (Pennsylvania) Express, May 16, 1944, p. 1.
Dr. Kildare story list This table lists the Max Brand-authored Kildare stories in chronological order of first publication.Unless otherwise specified, all publication data in the table is sourced from the official Max Brand website at MaxBrandOnline.com. See Bibliography of Max Brand works , MaxBrandOnline.com, accessed Mar. 28, 2015. Due to the continuing popularity of the characters in film, radio and television series, many reprints, different formats, and different versions of the original Kildare books have since been released.
Story title Magazine publication First book publication(does not include later reprints) Film based on storyZodin, pp. 463–477. Notes "Internes Can't Take Money" Cosmopolitan, Mar. 1936 Included in The Collected Stories of Max Brand (ed. Robert and Jane Easton), Univ. of Nebraska Press, 1994, pp. 218–235. Internes Can't Take Money (1937) First appearance of Dr. Kildare character, basis for first Kildare film, made by Paramount "Whiskey Sour" Cosmopolitan, Apr. 1938 None None MGM acquired the rights to this story as a possible concept for a Kildare film, but it was never developed.Nolan, William F., ed. Max Brand, Western Giant: The Life and Times of Frederick Schiller Faust. Popular Press, 1985, p. 151. . "Young Dr. Kildare" Serialized in three parts in Argosy :Dec. 17, 1938 (part 1); Dec. 24, 1938 (part 2); Dec. 31, 1938 (part 3) Young Dr. Kildare, Dodd, Mead (1940) Young Dr. Kildare (1938) Basis for first film in Kildare series made by MGM, first appearance of Dr. Gillespie characterZodin, pp. 463–464. "Calling Dr. Kildare" Serialized in three parts in Argosy :Mar. 25, 1939 (part 1); Apr. 1, 1939 (part 2); Apr. 8, 1939 (part 3) Calling Dr. Kildare, Dodd, Mead (1940) Calling Dr. Kildare (1939) Basis for second film in MGM series "The Secret of Dr. Kildare" Cosmopolitan, Sept. 1939(condensed version) The Secret of Dr. Kildare, Dodd, Mead (1940) The Secret of Dr. Kildare (1939) Basis for third film in MGM series "Dr. Kildare's Girl"(alternate title:"Dr. Kildare's Search") Photoplay, Apr. 1940 Dr. Kildare's Search, Dodd, Mead (1942)(compilation of "Dr. Kildare's Girl" and "Dr. Kildare's Hardest Case") Dr. Kildare's Strange Case (1940) Basis for fourth film in MGM series "Dr. Kildare Goes Home" Serialized in four parts in Argosy : Jun. 1, 1940 (part 1); Jun. 8, 1940 (part 2); Jun. 15, 1940 (part 3); Jun. 22, 1940 (part 4) Dr. Kildare Goes Home, Dodd, Mead (1941)(alternate title: Dr. Kildare Takes Charge)Although the official Max Brand bibliography available at MaxBrandOnline.com lists the title of this book as Dr. Kildare Goes Home, several other sources (cited following this reference) list the book title as Dr. Kildare Takes Charge.Drew, Bernard A. Literary Afterlife: The Posthumous Continuations of 325 Authors' Fictional Characters. McFarland & Co., 2010, pp. 72–73. . Dr. Kildare Goes Home (1940) Basis for fifth film in MGM series "Dr. Kildare's Crisis" Serialized in four parts in Argosy : Dec. 21, 1940 (part 1); Dec. 28, 1940 (part 2); Jan. 4, 1940 (part 3); Jan. 11, 1941 (part 4) Dr. Kildare's Crisis, Dodd, Mead (1942) Dr. Kildare's Crisis (1940) Basis for sixth film in MGM series "The People vs. Dr. Kildare" Cosmopolitan, May 1941(condensed version) Dr. Kildare's Trial, Dodd, Mead (1942) The People vs. Dr. Kildare (1941) Basis for seventh film in MGM series, last collaboration between Faust and MGM "Dr. Kildare's Hardest Case" Cosmopolitan, Mar. 1942 Dr. Kildare's Search, Dodd, Mead (1942)(compilation of "Dr. Kildare's Girl" and "Dr. Kildare's Hardest Case") None Faust's last complete Kildare story.Tuska, Jon, et al., ed. The Max Brand Companion (list of publications). Greenwood Press, 1996, p. 176. . "Dr. Kildare's Dilemma" (unfinished four-part story) Published in two parts in The Faust Collector, a Los Angeles fanzine edited by William Clark:Feb. 1971 (part 1); Jan. 1973 (part 2)Zodin, pp. 476–477. A restored fragment was included in The Max Brand Companion (ed. Jon Tuska et al.), Greenwood Press, 1996, pp. 318–335.Brand, Max. "Dr. Kildare's Dilemma: A Fragment" in The Max Brand Companion (ed. Jon Tuska et al.). Greenwood Press, 1996, pp. 318–335. None Faust's last Kildare story, never finished, posthumously published in the 1970s in unfinished form
Aside from the Kildare stories, Faust (as Brand) wrote only one other medical story, "My People", which appeared in the August 1940 issue of Cosmopolitan.Copyright Office – Library of Congress. Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third Series – Books and Pamphlets Including Serials and Contributions to Periodicals, Current and Renewal Registrations. Jul.–Dec. 1967, p. 2603. "My People" featured a character, "Dr. Maynard", who was similar to Dr. Kildare. MGM acquired the rights to "My People" as a possible concept for a Kildare film, but it was never developed.
Television tie-ins The popularity of the 1960s Dr. Kildare TV series and its star, Richard Chamberlain, resulted in a number of contemporary tie-in novels by several different authors. Several were released in mass-market paperback form by Lancer Books, while titles aimed at preteen and young teen readers were published by Whitman Publishing. The covers featured photographs of Chamberlain as Kildare, or artwork using his likeness. Known titles are listed below.Berch, Victor A., Letter to Editor (regarding Lancer-published titles authored by Norman A. Daniels). Paperback Quarterly, Spring 1982, p. 49.Tony's Trading, "Dr. Kildare" Gallery, tonystrading.co.uk, accessed Apr. 20, 2015.
By Robert C. Ackworth: Dr. Kildare (Lancer, 1962) Dr. Kildare: Assigned to Trouble (Whitman, 1963) (with Robert L. Jenney, illustrator)
By Norman A. Daniels: Dr. Kildare's Secret Romance (Lancer, 1962) Dr. Kildare's Finest Hour (Lancer, 1963)
By William Johnston: Dr. Kildare: The Faces of Love (Lancer, 1963) Dr. Kildare: The Heart Has an Answer (Lancer, 1963) Dr. Kildare: The Magic Key (Whitman, 1964) (with Al Andersen, illustrator)
Films Internes Can't Take Money