Meet Dr. Christian (1939)

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As a direct result with his excellent showing as warm-hearted Dr. Dafoe in the Dionne Quintuplets films, Jean Hersholt was awarded a not dissimilar radio series about a kindly general practioner named Dr. Christian. Two years after the debut of the Dr. Christian radio series, RKO Radio launched a group of films based on the property, again with Hersholt in the lead. First of the series was Meet Dr. Christian, in which the viewer was introduced to the titular doctor, his fussbudget housekeeper Mrs. Hastings (Maude Eburne), his favorite nurse Judy Price (Dorothy Lovett), Judy's pharmacist boyfriend Roy Davis (Robert Baldwin), and grouchy but lovable town grocer George Browning (Edgar Kennedy). Set in the town of River's End, the story concerns the efforts made by the pompous mayor to remove Dr. Christian from his position as the town's health officer and replace him with a more "modern" medico. Ultimately, Christian proves his worth by performing a delicate operation without the benefit of the proper instruments. As a result, he not only keeps his job but is able to convince the town council to erect a new hospital. The overwhelmingly positive response to Meet Dr. Christian encouraged RKO to continue the series, ultimate toting up six profitable entries. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Theatrical Feature Running Time:

68 mins

Complete Cast:

Director(s):

Bernard Vorhaus, Bernard Varhaus

Writer(s):

Ring Lardner, Jr., Harvey Harris Gates, Ian McLellan Hunter

Producer(s):

William Stephens

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