The first of a seven-film series, Doctor in the House (1954) is something of a landmark in British screen comedy. It was the highest-grossing domestic film in the U.K. that year, and it helped establish Dirk Borgarde as a major star. It also created a singularly British sub-genre of film comedy: the ensemble hospital farce, which also became the mainstay of the "Carry On" movies.

Indeed, the Doctor films were not too distant cousins of the less-restrained Carry Ons. Director Ralph Thomas was the older brother of Gerald Thomas, who edited Doctor in the House and went on to direct all 30 original Carry Ons. Producer Betty E. Box was the wife of Peter Rogers, Carry On's still-active producer. And Joan Sims, who appeared in more Carry Ons than any other actress, has a small part here as a daffy nurse nicknamed "Rigor Mortis."

The story centers on Simon Sparrow (Bogarde), a wide-eyed medical student overwhelmed by his studies and bemused by the antics of his less dedicated roommates. Beskin (Donald Sinden) lusts after nurses while Taffy (Donald Huston) obsesses over the school's rugby team. Grimsdyke (Kenneth More), meanwhile, has become a lazy professional student, despite the protestations of fiancée Stella (Suzanne Cloutier). Their equally colorful instructors match the carefree students; they include the school's stuffy dean (Geoffrey Keen) and intimidating eccentric Dr. Lancelot Spratt (James Robertson Justice), a respected surgeon with an authoritative, booming voice.

Doctor in the House holds up well as affable entertainment, though it's not as revolutionary as it probably seemed when it was new. Though hospitals have been the target of many a film comedy (Laurel & Hardy's County Hospital and the Three Stooges' Oscar-nominated Men in Black immediately come to mind), Doctor in the House goes one step further in balancing a comparatively realistic depiction of medical school life with its less than saintly students, who are more interested in having fun than healing the masses. In that sense, Doctor in the House may be the first film of its type, and its impact today is lessened only through familiarity, by the dozens of films and TV shows that followed in its wake, everything from The Paper Chase (about law school but otherwise very similar) to ER.

It's easy to see why the public took such a liking to Bogarde's handsome but naEe young student, and his irresponsible but loyal friends. You can't help but root for them as they work their way through the school's five-year program, often bumbling and generally creating havoc along the way, but occasionally surprising their teachers with the knowledge they gradually accumulate. Bogarde's good looks and quiet, awkward innocence make a beguiling combination, and made such a strong impression on moviegoers that the actor had to work hard not to be typecast. The film isn't laugh out loud funny, but has its share of well-timed gags. One of the best of these has Sparrow on a bus ride home after buying a skeleton for his anatomy studies. As old ladies read about a series of murders in the paper ("Third Body Found" scream the headlines) Sparrow drops his bag of bones on the floor of the bus, frightening the wits out of the passengers.

The film is like a Who's Who of British cinema; Joan Hickson has a small role as Bogarde's first landlady, whose sex-starved daughter is played by a very young Shirley Eaton. George Coulouris (Citizen Kane) has fun as Bogarde's mischievous (and medically astute) patient, while Richard Wattis appears unbilled as a bookseller.

Video & Audio

Carlton's DVD of Doctor in the House is presented in 4:3 full frame format. The film was released in 1954, right at the cusp of the wide screen era. The picture may have been shot for optional framing at 1.66:1, but the full frame compositions seem right to me. The next film in the series, Doctor at Sea (1955), was shot in VistaVision and Carton's DVD of that title is properly enhanced for widescreen TVs. Overall, Doctor in the House looks quite good with its sharp image and bright color, hues that are rich but not overly so in the Hollywood manner. The mono sound is fine, and English hard of hearing subtitles are offered. There are no Extras.

Stuart Galbraith IV is a Los Angeles and Kyoto-based film historian whose work includes The Emperor and the Wolf -- The Lives and Films of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune. He is presently writing a new book on Japanese cinema for Taschen.