Dr. Gillespie’s New Assistant 1942

Physically handicapped Dr. Leonard Gillespie, Lionel Barrymore, at Blair General Hospital is worn to the bone by endless shifts, and his friends stage a gentle intervention to find him an assistant. He is famously picky, and he sets a hard quiz that only three fresh doctors can pass: Dr. Lee Wong How, Keye Luke from Brooklyn; Dr. Randall Adams, Van Johnson from Kansas City; and Dr. Dennis Lindsey, Richard Quine from Woolloomooloo, Australia. He takes all three on as temporary assistants while he decides which one will earn a permanent post.

Meanwhile, the son of Gillespie’s dear old friend, Howard Allwinn Young, Stephen McNally, is at an inn with his new wife, Claire Merton. Claire suddenly suffers a bout of memory loss and cannot recall her identity. Howard brings her to the hospital, and Gillespie and the trio of hopeful doctors embark on a careful medical puzzle to uncover the truth behind her amnesia. There are no obvious signs of physical or emotional trauma, and as night falls, Claire asks for a divorce rather than staying with Howard.

Claire goes home with one of the assistants, Dr. “Red” Adams, Van Johnson. The next day, however, her condition remains unchanged, and Gillespie starts to suspect that she might be pretending. He digs deeper and tracks down her personal physician, hoping for a confidential glimpse into her past.

From the physician’s records they learn a troubling history: Claire is a married woman with a young child, and she had been married in Texas at just sixteen. She confesses that her first husband was a criminal who died, leaving her to raise a child with her mother’s help. She moved to New York to make her mark in the fashion world, and when she met Howard she kept these memories hidden. This revelation, she says, is the reason she pretended the amnesia.

Claire then decides to move back to Texas with her child and asks Gillespie and Red not to reveal what they have learned. They agree, but they remain unsettled by the truth. Red manages to extract a bit more from a filing cabinet when he gets the receptionist drunk, and the record confirms that Claire cannot have any more children.

Gillespie steps in to shield their happiness. He calls Howard to his office and tells him about Claire’s past, and Howard confirms that his love for her would endure—including the child. In a quiet moment, Claire enters, and the couple is reunited. The other two assistants have also contributed by solving another medical case, and Gillespie decides to keep all three as his permanent team.