Mr. Howell appears in a dream as "Dr. Zorbagillespie," a combination of "Dr. Zorba" and "Dr. Gillespie." Also, Mary Ann listens the the radio drama, "Old Dr. Young."
When Boris the executioner attempts to hang a man who's sitting in a wheelchair, Hedley Lamarr refers to it as "the Dr. Gillespie case." At MGM in the late 1930's and early 1940's, they made a series of movies in which Lew Ayres played Dr. Kildare and his boss Dr. Gillespie was played by Lionel Barrymore. The character used a wheelchair because Barrymore's chronic arthritis had advanced so much the actor needed one in real life.