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Film / Doctor in the House (1954)
aka: Doctor In The House

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Simon: I'm a new medical student.
Old Doctor: Are you now? Well, I'm a very old doctor.
Simon: Heh, I was wondering where I should go.
Old Doctor: Take my advice - straight into another profession.
Simon Sparrow asking for directions from an Old Doctor.

Doctor in the House is a 1954 film and the first of the Doctor... Series. It stars Dirk Bogarde, Muriel Pavlow, Kenneth More, Donald Sinden, Kay Kendall, James Robertson Justice, and Donald Houston.

Simon Sparrow (Bogarde) arrives at St. Swithin's Hospital to begin the five years of study he needs in order to become a doctor. After leaving his current lodgings to avoid the amorous Milly Groaker (Shirley Eaton), he ends up sharing a flat with three of his fellow students - lazy Richard Grimsdyke (More), casanova Tony Benskin (Sinden) and rugby-obsessed Taffy Evans (Houston). Constantly looming over the four of them is Sir Lancelot Spratt (Justice), the fearsome and constantly barking chief surgeon.

Despite trying to keep up with his medical studies, Simon is frequently pushed into dates by his flatmates - Nurse Rigor Mortis (Joan Sims) barely speaks to him, while Isobel Minster (Kendall) has far too expensive tastes for Simon to fulfill. Despite rocky interactions at first, it seems as if Nurse Joy Gibson (Pavlow) would be Simon's best chance at finding love.

Despite many misadventures including a rugby match, a car chase and a fall through a skylight, the four still have to try to pass their medical exams as Hilarity Ensues.

Not to be mistaken for Doctor in the House, the sitcom of the same name.


Tropes in the House:

  • Abhorrent Admirer: Milly's advances are too much for Simon, to the point where he has to move out and find a new place to stay.
  • Adaptation Name Change: The main character in the novel was called "Richard Gordon" (after the author), however, his name in the film, "Simon Sparrow", was what Richard was renamed in one of the later novels.
  • Affectionate Nickname: Grimsdyke and Taffy call each other "Taff" and "Grim" respectively.
  • Alliterative Name: Simon Sparrow.
  • All There in the Script: Several characters' names aren't said in the film:
    • The female student who brags about how easy she found the exam is called "Jane".
    • Miss Minster's first name is "Isobel".
    • Alfie's last name is "Sprogett".
    • The first nurse who Tony proposes to is called "May".
    • One of the men is called "Paul".
  • Ambiguously Bi: When Mrs. Groaker explains the house rules to her lodgers, she makes sure to let Mr. Williams know that she doesn't approve of male or female visitors in his room.
  • The Bartender: The one at the student's local is nicknamed "the Padre".
  • Battleaxe Nurse: Sister Virtue, who has no time for medical students or disruption in her ward:
    Sister Virtue: Well, I do not like students, however, I am forced to put up with you. But I warn you, I stand no nonsense in my ward. Is that clear?
  • Blackface: Rather shockingly, the only black nurse at St. Swithin's is played by a white actress.
  • Brief Accent Imitation: Grimsdyke puts on a high-pitched voice to pass himself off as a nurse after the riot.
  • Brilliant, but Lazy: Grimsdyke isn't as bad at his studies as he seems, only he attempts to be held back on purpose so he can stay in medical school and keep receiving his £1,000 a year allowance.
  • The Casanova: Tony. He can't seem to make it through one scene without flirting with or commenting on a girl.
  • Comedic Underwear Exposure: When Jane brags about how easy the exam was for her, Grimsdyke yells out after that her slip is showing.
  • Comically Missing the Point: When Sir Lancelot asks about the "bleeding time" (time before a patient's blood clots), Simon checks his watch:
    Sir Lancelot: You cut a patient, he bleeds, until the processes of nature form a clot and stop it. This interval is known scientifically as the "bleeding time". You! What's the bleeding time?
    Simon: Ten past ten, sir.
  • Crash in Through the Ceiling: After helping Nurse Gibson get into the nurses' home after hours via the roof, Simon attempts to get back down to the ground, only to fall through a skylight and land in Sister Virtue's room.
  • Creator Cameo: The author of the original novel, Richard Gordon, appears as Stubbins the anesthetist.
  • Damsel in Distress: Nurse Gibson is taken away by two from St. Crispin's during the riot and has to be rescued by the St. Swithin's medical students.
  • Dean Bitterman: The Dean has a low view of the medical students, seeing them as only wanting to smoke, drink, or lounge around. He also has it in for Simon after his fall through the nurses' home skylight to the point where he tries to sabotage his final exam.
  • Disguised in Drag: Grimsdyke tries to pass himself off as a nurse to avoid being arrested after the riot.
  • Dr. Jerk: Sir Lancelot Spratt, the head surgeon at St. Swithin's. He's a terrifying man and will rage at the medical students at the slightest agitation.
  • Faint in Shock: Simon passes out the first time he sees an operation in person.
  • Fictional Document: The Student's Friend by Gordon Joycey, a book that Simon and Tony have to use when they get stuck during their first time examining patients.
  • The Film of the Book: The film is based on Richard Gordon's 1952 novel of the same name.
  • Freeze-Frame Bonus: Mr. Briggs' first name is never mentioned in the film, but a quick eye can see on his prescription sheet that it is "William".
  • The Ghost:
    • Graham, whose diagnosis Simon discusses with Grimsdyke.
    • Sir James Willoughby, who once chased Sir Lancelot out of an operating theatre with a muscle scalpel.
    • Mr. Lodge, a patient tended to by Nurse Gibson.
    • Mr. Cooper, who sleeps through his wife's seventh childbirth.
    • Bolton, a member of the St. Swithin's rugby team.
    • Dr. Stewart, the doctor who asks Simon to take over for him on his first night as a doctor.
  • Harmless Lady Disguise: After the riot, Grimsdyke tries to pass himself off as a nurse to avoid being arrested.
  • Hospital Hottie:
    • Nurse Gibson. She falls in love with Simon over the course of the film and the two get together at the end.
    • Stella is on track to become one, seeing as she enrolls at St. Swithin's at the end of the film.
  • Lazy Bum: Grimsdyke is content to stay as a medical student for as long as possible as he continues to receive an allowance of £1,000 a year as long as he remains studying at St. Swithin's. Unluckily for him, Stella is having none of this and wants to marry a proper doctor:
    Grimsdyke: But do you realise what this means? I shall have to qualify.
    Stella: Yes.
    Grimsdyke: Well, if I qualify, my grandmother's allowance will stop.
    Stella: Yes.
    Grimsdyke: Well, if Granny's allowance stops, we won't have... Good heavens, woman. I shall have to work!
    Stella: Yes!
    Grimsdyke: And you say you're in love with me?
  • Mistaken for Murderer: As a woman on the bus reads a newspaper article about a murder, Simon drops the skeleton he had purchased for his medical studies. Naturally, the woman makes a connection and lets out a shriek.
  • My Local: The medical students all go to the same pub to drink pints. They call the bartender "the Padre" so the patients won't think the doctors are going down the pub.
  • "Near and Dear" Baby Naming: Mrs. Cooper names her newborn "Simon" after Simon delivers him without the aid of a midwife.
  • No Full Name Given:
    • We don't get to know Stella, Marion, Butch, Elizabeth, or Graham's last names.
    • The same can be said for Jessup, Sister Virtue, Mrs. Groaker, Grandma Cooper, Mrs. Cooper, Parrish, Stubbins, Mr. Porter, Mr. Williams, or Mr. Barton's first names.
  • Not So Above It All:
    • While Sir Lancelot does not approve of how Simon, Tony, Grimsdyke, and Taffy behaved after the rugby match, he still pays their fines for them so they won't be thrown out of St. Swithin's.
    • Back in his student days, the bitter old Dean got a nurse to ride naked on a large white cart horse.
  • Only Known by Their Nickname:
    • The bartender is only known as "the Padre", so the patients can believe the doctors are going to chapel rather than across to the pub.
    • Milly's name is short for "Millicent".
  • Posthumous Character: Mrs. Rivington-Lomax, Grimsdyke's horrible grandmother who set up his allowance.
  • Putting the "Medic" in Comedic: The film revolves around medical students getting into all sorts of trouble, such as a rugby match against a rival hospital ending up with a riot and a car chase over a stolen mascot.
  • Rank Up: Both Simon and Taffy successfully pass their final exam and become doctors. Tony and Grimsdyke aren't so lucky.
  • Serious Business: St. Swithin's mascot - a stuffed gorilla named Hubert - is treated with the utmost respect. When the St. Crispin's rugby team try to steal him, a riot and car chase ensues to get him back.
  • "Shaggy Dog" Story: Despite everything the four students have to go through, Grimsdyke and Tony are unable to pass their exams and become doctors. Luckily Simon and Taffy do.
  • Shirtless Scene: Mr. Briggs takes off his shirt during all three of his examinations.
  • Shout-Out:
    • The Dean quotes Charles Dickens during his start-of-term speech.
    • Grandma Cooper remarks she's boiled enough water to bath the whole of Dr. Barnardo's.
    • The Dean once got a nurse to recreate Lady Godiva's naked bike ride on a horse.
  • Steven Ulysses Perhero: One of the women Simon is set up with is Nurse Rigor Mortis (although pronounced "Rye-gor"). Rigor mortis is the stage of death where the human body stiffens up.
  • Suddenly Shouting: Sir Lancelot flies off the handle at the slightest of triggers:
    Sir Lancelot: And then we come across the surgeon's worst enemy, which is what? (Beat) Speak up, man! (Beat) BLOOD, you numbskull!
  • Tagline: "Republic's Happy-Go-Laughable Hit!".
  • Time Skip:
    • After Simon's date with Rigor Mortis, the film cuts ahead to the start of his second year of medical school.
    • After Simon asks Nurse Gibson on a date with the help of Mr. Briggs, the film cuts ahead to his final year.
  • Undercrank: Several shots during the car chase are sped up to add to the scene's tensity.

Alternative Title(s): Doctor In The House

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