Should a Doctor Tell? (1923 film)

Should a Doctor Tell? is a 1923 Australian silent film directed by P.J. Ramster and Alexander Butler. It is a high society melodrama about a man forced to be inspected by a doctor prior to his marriage, who discovers he has venereal disease.[2]

Should a Doctor Tell?
Directed byP.J. Ramster
Alexander Butler
Produced byP.J. Ramster
Written byP.J. Ramster
StarringFred Oppey
Production
company
P.J. Ramster Photoplays
Release date
18 August 1923[1]
CountryAustralia
LanguageSilent film
English intertitles
Budgetless than £1,000[2]

It is considered a lost film.

Plot

Dr Aubrey Mather, an advocate for compulsory medical examinations for both the sexes prior to marriage, consents to the marriage of his daughter, Dorothy, to Count Delvo, on condition that he can present a clean bill of health. The Count is revealed to have a general disease. His doctor, Stirling Worth (Fred Oppey), advises him to postpone the wedding but the Count wants to go ahead and tells Dr Worth to remain silent. Worth is in love with Dorothy but agrees to take a bribe and not tell to care for his sick mother. But later, haunted by images of her having a crippled child, he ends up telling on Dr Mather about his patient on the day of the wedding. The Count shoots Dr Worth and he dies in Dorothy's arms.[3][4]

Cast
  • Fred Oppey as Dr Stirling Worth
  • Thelma Newling[5]
  • Verna Haines
  • Anne Parsons
  • Teddy Austin as Bennie the cripple

Production

The majority of the cast was drawn from Ramster's acting school. The censor passed the storyline because of its moral tone.[2]

Reception

The film was Ramster's most popular.[2]

References
  1. "TO-DAY". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 18 August 1923. p. 14. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  2. Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 118.
  3. ""SHOULD A DOCTOR TELL?"". The Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 8 May 1924. p. 6. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  4. "LENARD'S NEW PROGRAMME". The Barrier Miner. Broken Hill, NSW: National Library of Australia. 26 May 1924. p. 3. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  5. "Advertising". The Mercury. Hobart, Tas.: National Library of Australia. 15 November 1924. p. 14. Retrieved 2 June 2012.


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