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Doctor in the House

"Happy-Go-Laughable Hit!"

The first of the seven "Doctor" films, based on Richard Gordon's novels and released between 1954 and 1970. Simon Sparrow is a newly arrived medical student at St Swithin's hospital in London. Falling in with three longer-serving hopefuls he is soon immersed in the wooing, imbibing and fast sports-car driving that constitute 1950s medical training. There is, however, always the looming and formidable figure of chief surgeon Sir Lancelot Spratt to remind them of their real purpose.

Top Cast

  • Dirk Bogarde

    Dirk Bogarde

    Simon Sparrow

  • Muriel Pavlow

    Muriel Pavlow

    Nurse Joy Gibson

  • Kenneth More

    Kenneth More

    Richard Grimsdyke

  • Donald Sinden

    Donald Sinden

    Tony Benskin

  • Kay Kendall

    Kay Kendall

    Miss Isobel Minster

  • James Robertson Justice

    James Robertson Justice

    Sir Lancelot Spratt

  • Donald Houston

    Donald Houston

    Taffy Evans

  • Suzanne Cloutier

    Suzanne Cloutier

    Stella

  • George Coulouris

    George Coulouris

    Briggs

Overview

The first of the seven "Doctor" films, based on Richard Gordon's novels and released between 1954 and 1970. Simon Sparrow is a newly arrived medical student at St Swithin's hospital in London. Falling in with three longer-serving hopefuls he is soon immersed in the wooing, imbibing and fast sports-car driving that constitute 1950s medical training. There is, however, always the looming and formidable figure of chief surgeon Sir Lancelot Spratt to remind them of their real purpose.

Rating

6.5 / 10
31 Reviews
1 Popular

1 Reviews

  • CinemaSerf
    CinemaSerf
    6 Apr 4, 2022

    Time hasn't been especially kind to this, but there is a strength amongst this pretty solid cast that, alongside some half decent writing that avoids the obvious smut and double entendre to be found in the "Carry Ons", makes it a passable watch. It centres around a group of medical students under the imperious supervision of James Robertson Justice's "Sir Lancelot" trying to get a grip with their studies - a task well beyond most of them - whilst their hormones rage a bit too. There is balance here: the girls and boys are as equally up for some fun and games and Dirk Bogarde, Kenneth More, Kay Kendall and Muriel Pavlow come across as if they are having quite a bit of fun making this. Sure, the scenarios are all very predictable (or just downright far-fetched) but the humour is harmless fun that I suspect, though maybe not to quite to the extremes depicted here, could remind many of us of our youthful japery when the studying was not so important. Uniquely British, I'd have thought - I can't think this will travel well, but almost 70 years on I still quite enjoyed it.

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Finding Normal

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