Doctor Neighbor

Doctor Neighbor is a 1916 American silent black and white melodrama. It explores the moral dilemma of whether a doctor should assist a patient in taking their own life when that patient is in great pain and facing imminent death. The film was directed by Lloyd B. Carleton. It stars Hobart Bosworth, and pairs Dorothy Davenport and Emory Johnson in leading roles. The movie was released on May 1, 1916 by Universal.[1][2]

Doctor Neighbor
The Evening Review (East Liverpool, Ohio)
Directed by	Lloyd B. Carleton
Produced by	Universal Red Feather Photoplays
Screenplay by	Agnes Hay
Starring	Hobart Bosworth Emory Johnson Dorothy Davenport
Color process	Black and white
Production company	Universal
Distributed by	Universal
Release date	May 1, 1916 (1916-May-01) (Universal City)
Running time	5 reels
Country	USA
Language	Silent (English intertitles)

Plot

Dr. Joel Neighbor (Hobart Bosworth) is a famous surgeon. He is 42 years old. He has acquired a vast medical knowledge through his years of practice, and has dedicated his life to saving people. His ward, Hazel Rogers (Dorothy Davenport), is a beautiful 18-year-old heiress. She lives with her mother, played by Margaret Whistler. Dr. Neighbor is the guardian of Hazel's fortune until she turns 21. In the event of her death, the doctor would become the heir of the estate.

Now that Hazel is coming of age, Dr. Neighbor asks her to become his wife. She refuses his proposal. She tells him she is in love with a district attorney named Hamilton Powers (Emory Johnson), and has already promised to marry him. The doctor is against the marriage, but understands her reasons, and bows out.

Hazel marries Hamilton Powers. She discovers he is indifferent and wholly dedicated to his law practice. Powers is respectful of Hazel but loves another woman, a nurse named Christine Hall (Gretchen Lederer)., one of Hazel’s close friends.

Powers requests Dr. Neighbor transfer his management rights to Hazel’s money. He requests the transfer be made to him. Dr. Neighbor refuses. Powers becomes even colder in his treatment of Hazel. After a few months of marriage, Powers decides to leave Hazel’s magnificent home on Long Island, to go to New York City where he has more opportunities to practice law.

Two guests arrive at Hazel’s home to console her in her loneliness, Mrs. Preston (Adele Farrington) and Morgan Keith (Charles H. Hickman). While the group is having a friendly discussion, Powers shows up having driven in from New York City. Hazel and Hamilton have a severe argument.

Dr. Neighbor attends to Hazel.

Hazel is distraught and goes for a drive in her car. While driving too fast, she has an accident which fractures her back and leaves her a helpless invalid. Dr. Neighbor attends to her, and Nurse Christine shows up to help care for her friend.

One night Hazel is in excruciating pain and cries out to Dr. Neighbor to put her out of her misery. The doctor, even though he still loves Hazel, is bound by his Hippocratic Oath. Christine, overwrought by her friend’s agony and suffering, administers a fatal dose of morphine. Hazel never awakens. Dr. Neighbor finds the hypodermic needle on the table, which Christine forgot to dispose of. Neighbor puts the needle in his pocket.

There is no love lost between Powers and Neighbor. Powers calls for an inquiry. Hamilton points out that Hazel’s death leaves Dr. Neighbor as the sole heir to her fortune. The doctor keeps quiet during the criminal investigation. After the investigation is complete, they charge Dr. Neighbor with murder. He must stand trial. During the trial, Christine again becomes overwhelmed with guilt and confesses to the crime. Dr. Neighbor is set free.

Hamilton Powers suffers from heart failure and needs a massive transfusion of blood to survive. Dr. Neighbor has the same blood type as Powers, and donates his blood so that Powers may live.

Christine, freed from her prison term, pays a visit to Dr. Neighbor. She finds him dead from exhaustion.[3]

Cast

Actor	Role
Hobart Bosworth	Dr. Neighbor
Dorothy Davenport	Hazel Rogers
Gretchen Lederer	Christine Hall
Emory Johnson	Hamilton Powers
Charles H. Hickman	Morgan Keith
Adele Farrington	Mrs. Preston
Margaret Whistler	Mrs. Albert Rogers

Gallery

The Players

• 
  Hobart Bosworth
• 
  Dorothy Davenport
• 
  Emory Johnson
• 
  Gretchen Lederer
• 
  Adele Farrington
• 
  Director Lloyd B. Carleton

Marketing

Based on an American Film Institute standard, films with a running time of forty-five minutes or longer are considered feature films. In 1915, feature films were becoming more the trend in Hollywood. In 1916, Universal formed a three-tier branding system for their releases. Universal films decided to label their films according to the size of their budget and status. Universal, unlike the top-tier studios, did not own any theaters to market its feature films. By branding their product, Universal gave theater owners and audiences a quick reference guide. Branding would assist theater owners in making judgments for films they were about to lease, and help fans decide which movies they wanted to see.

Universal released three different types of feature motion pictures:[4][5]

• Red feather Photoplays – low-budget feature films
• Bluebird Photoplays – mainstream feature release and more ambitious productions
• Jewel – prestige motion pictures featuring high budgets using prominent actors

This film carried Universal’s “Red Feather” brand, designating a low-budget feature film.

Production

Emory Johnson was 22 years old when he made this movie. Dorothy Davenport was 21 years old.

The film was also known as Doctor Samson, along with two other working titles - Dr. Neighbor and A Law for the Detective.[6]

During the shooting of this film, Dorothy Davenport's married name was Mrs. Wallace Reid. After her husband's death in 1923, she started to use this name exclusively in the credits for any project she participated in.[7]

Searching for a leading man

In early 1916, after Emory Johnson had signed his Universal contract, Carl Laemmle of Universal Film Manufacturing Company thought he saw a potential leading man in Johnson. Laemmle was looking for a leading man comparable to Wally Reid. He was also hoping to create a movie couple that could make sparks fly on the silver screen. Laemmle chose Johnson to be his new leading man. Laemmle chose Dorothy Davenport to generate the screen chemistry with Johnson. She was a Universal contract player who happened to be the wife of Wally Reid. Johnson and Davenport made 14 films together. The series started with the feature production of Doctor Neighbor in May 1916 and ended with another feature production, The Devil's Bondwoman, in November 1916. Over half the films were shorts; almost all were dramas. Johnson and Davenport shared top billing in most. Then Davenport got pregnant in October 1916, and her film output took a steep nosedive at the beginning of 1917.[8]

In the end, Laemmle thought Johnson did not have the talent or screen presence he wanted. He wasn't going to become Universal's answer to Wally Reid. Laemmle also believed that even though the pairing with Davenport had been financially successful, the films didn't have the screen chemistry he had sought.[9][8]

Searching for screen chemistry

Title	Released	Director	Davenport role	Johnson role	Type	Time	LOC	Brand	Notes
Doctor Neighbor	May-1	L. B. Carleton	Hazel Rogers	Hamilton Powers	Drama	Feature	Lost	Red Feather	[10]
Her Husband's Faith	May-11	L. B. Carleton	Unknown	Unknown	Drama	Short		Laemmle	[11]
Heartaches	May-18	L. B. Carleton	Virginia Payne	S Jackson Hunt	Drama	Short	Lost	Laemmle	[12]
Two Mothers	Jun-1	L. B. Carleton	Violetta Andree	2nd Husband	Drama	Short	Lost	Laemmle	[13]
Her Soul's Song	Jun-15	L. B. Carleton	Mary Salsbury	Paul Chandos	Drama	Short		Laemmle	[14]
Romance at Random	Jun-18	Rupert Julian	unk	unk	Comedy	Short		Laemmle	[15]
The Way of the World	Jul-3	L. B. Carleton	Beatrice Farley	Walter Croyden	Drama	Feature	Lost	Red Feather	[16]
Number 16 Martin Place	Jul-13	L. B. Carleton	Cleo	Jacques Fournier	Drama	Short		Laemmle	[17]
A Yoke of Gold	Aug-14	L. B. Carleton	Carmen	Jose Garcia	Drama	Feature	Lost	Red Feather	[18]
The Unattainable	Sep-4	L. B. Carleton	Bessie Gale	Robert Goodman	Drama	Feature	1 of 5 reels	Bluebird	[19]
Black Friday	Sep-18	L. B. Carleton	Elionor Rossitor	Charles Dalton	Drama	Feature	Lost	Red Feather	[20]
The Human Gamble	Oct-8	L. B. Carleton	Flavia Hill	Charles Hill	Drama	Short		Laemmle	[21]
Barriers of Society	Oct-10	L. B. Carleton	Martha Gorham	Westie Phillips	Drama	Feature	1 of 5 reels	Red Feather	[22]
The Devil's Bondwoman	Nov-11	L. B. Carleton	Beverly Hope	Mason Van Horton	Drama	Feature	Lost	Red Feather	[23]

Release and reception

The film was copyrighted on July 14, 1916, and officially released on May 1, 1916.[1]

The critics liked this film and its sensitive subject matter. Two reviews are shown below.

Movie Critic Review
	In the May 6, 1916 issue of the New York Clipper, Len points out,[24]	Hobart Bosworth is an excellent screen actor . . . In "Dr Neighbor" he has ample scope for the display of his talents . . . Good Production, competent action. All in all, good picture.

Movie Critic Review
	Peter Milne in the April 22, 1916 issue of Motion Picture News discerns,[25]	Hobart Bosworth makes a very strong figure of the doctor and Dorothy Davenport is the center of great sympathy as the ruined girl. Gretchen Lederer is the nurse, Emory Johnson the husband, while Adele Farrington and Margaret Whistler have other prominent parts which they handled exceedingly well. Lloyd B. Carleton directed. His work is praiseworthy, for he has handled an extremely delicate subject in the least offensive manner possible.

Preservation status

According to the Library of Congress, all known copies of this film are lost.[26]

References

1. "Doctor Neighbor". catalog.afi.com.
2. "Doctor Neighbor". www.tcm.com.
3. "A YOKE OF GOLD". The Wilmington Morning Star (Wilmington, North Carolina). July 14, 1916. p. 2.
4. Michael Zmuda (April 30, 2015). The Five Sedgwicks: Pioneer Entertainers of Vaudeville, Film and Television. McFarland. pp. 54–. ISBN 978-0-7864-9668-6.
5. B movies (Hollywood Golden Age)#Roots of the B movie: 1910s–1920s
6. Doctor Neighbor on IMDb
7. "Dorothy Davenport". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
8. E.J. Fleming (July 27, 2010). Wallace Reid: The Life and Death of a Hollywood Idol. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-8266-5.
9. "Plays and Players". Exhibitors Herald. Chicago, Exhibitors Herald. June 1, 1918. p. 1050.
10. Doctor Neighbor on IMDb
11. Her Husband's Faith on IMDb
12. Heartaches on IMDb
13. Two Mothers on IMDb
14. Her Soul's Song on IMDb
15. Romance at Random on IMDb
16. The Way of the World on IMDb
17. Number 16 Martin Place on IMDb
18. A Yoke of Gold on IMDb
19. The Unattainable on IMDb
20. Black Friday on IMDb
21. The Human Gamble on IMDb
22. Barriers of Society on IMDb
23. The Devil's Bondwoman on IMDb
24. "Doctor Neighbor", New York Clipper, May 6, 1916, retrieved May 8, 2019
25. "Doctor Neighbor reviewed by Peter Milne". Motion Picture News. New York, Motion Picture News, Inc. April 22, 1916.
26. "Doctor Neighbor / L.B Carleton [motion picture]:Bibliographic Record Description: Performing Arts Databases, Library of Congress".

External links

• "Doctor Neighbor". silentera.com.
• Doctor Neighbor on IMDb