For Joel McCrea's November 5th birthday, I decided to watch Internes Can't Take Money, from 1937, a drama in which Joel stars with Barbara Stanwyck. (The fabulous Miss Stanwyck actually gets first billing here, and the film is available as part of the Barbara Stanwyck Collection.)
Janet Haley (Stanwyck), the widow of a bank robber, is newly out of jail. While she had no part in the robbery, she was given a 2-year sentence for not turning her husband in. She couldn't turn him in, though, because in order to keep Janet quiet, her estranged husband had kidnapped their 11-month-old daughter. He died before ever revealing to her where the child was, so now that she's out of jail, Janet's sole goal in life is to locate her daughter. The only people that know the little girl's location, however, are the gangsters with whom her husband ran, and they won't help Janet for free---it's either $1,000 or her as a mistress.
Dr. Jimmy Kildare, a hospital intern who recently treated Janet for a burned wrist, happens to be sitting in a bar when a shooting occurs. Wanting to keep the shooting from the police, the victim's friends convince Dr. Kildare to operate on the man right there in the bar, something to which he reluctantly agrees. Janet, who had been in the same bar in order to meet with one of her late husband's gangster friends, acts as nurse for the surgery. There is a definite connection between Janet and the doctor.
The shooting victim survives and, grateful, he gives a $1,000 cash payment to Dr. Kildare; however, since internes are not allowed to take money for their services, the doctor knows he cannot keep it. But when Janet discovers that the doctor, with whom she is having dinner at her apartment, has $1,000, she decides to steal it.
Does Dr. Kildare, who is attracted to Janet, discover the theft? Does Janet ever find her little girl? These are the questions that play out in the remainder of this film.
Internes Can't Take Money never really interested me all that much. While I totally love Barbara Stanwyck and really enjoy Joel McCrea, the film just fell flat for me. I just never really got into their characters. I do own this film since it's part of the Barbara Stanwyck Collection, but I will probably not ever watch it again.
Happy viewing!!
