By Appointment Only

Lew Cody is a dedicated doctor with a large practice among the hypochondriac rich. They pay for the poor people whom he cares for. He's engaged to Aileen Pringle, who is a society deb, and one day, between her and the perfectly healthy rich people who eat up his time, a poor woman dies in his office, leaving orphaned Sally O'Neal behind. Cody takes the sweet young girl as his ward. He goes off to Europe to study for three years and when he gets back, he discovers nothing has changed .... except that Miss O'Neal has grown up and is engaged to Miss Pringle's brother. This disturbs him.

This is a well acted movie, with several silent players -- including Marcelline Day, Pauline Garon and Claire MacDowall -- giving fine performances. It also starts out with some real social issues, all ready to be investigated; the disconnect between people who have money and can afford the best of care as opposed to the poor who need care is still with us. All of these interesting subtextual points are raised, and then the second half drops them entirely to focus on a four-sided triangle. That plot is settled by the end of the movie, but the issues that might have given it some importance are lost.

By Appointment Only is a typical early 1930s light drama with a few twists and innuendos. Sally O'Neil plays the young girl Judy who is orphaned after Dr. Travers (Lew Cody)is unable to save her mother. The good doctor, feeling guilty and neglected himself, takes in the orphan as her guardian. His girlfriend tries to be patient, but feels she is losing him to Judy as she matures to a beautiful young woman.

All of the principals are great in their roles, but Sally O'Neil really stands out. The role of Judy seems tailored to her talents allowing her to be both ingénue and vixen.

Just over 60 minutes in length makes me believe some dialogue ended up on the cutting room floor. This is also attributed to moments where the characters seem about to confront each other and then are cut to the next scene. It still remains a good film and worth looking at.