Dr. Socrates

Of course, a movie starring Paul Muni is always interesting, worth the watch for any movie buff. And here William Dieterle - Paul Muni's fetish film maker - is another reason not to miss it. Solid Warner Bros. Production, no one can deny it. But, concerning me, I will never see it again. Never. Paul Muni's character is so predictable, a character that we have seen many times before ; same scheme I mean. I don't even speak of the lousy ending. I am ready to watch I WAS A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG - also starring Paul Muni - dozens of times, instead of this feature. The main flaw for me is the topic. Good doctor vs villains gangsters...Not for me any more. I am just over aged.

As a film Dr. Socrates is significant in the career of Paul Muni because it is the first time he worked with William Dieterle who directed all of his biographical films at Warner Brothers for which he became best known for. They must have liked working together because Muni would not have had him as a director again, he had that kind of clout and was that demanding of his bosses at Warner Brothers.

The film itself is a minor drama with Muni playing the role of a kindly doctor who has settled in an obscure small town to forget the death of his sweetheart. As the town already has a doctor in Robert Barrat, there are some in the town who don't really take to Muni. But enough do so he gets by.

Although no one knows it the town is also the center of a vicious gang of robbers, headed by a John Dillinger like hoodlum played in swaggering style by Barton MacLane. The gang's hideout is at Olin Howland's farm, MacLane and the rest are from the area. He's public enemy number one in the parlance of the day.

One day MacLane is wounded in a bank holdup and he and the gang stop in at Muni and force him at gunpoint to patch him up. MacLane likes his work and now thinks he can intimidate the soft spoken Muni into being their regular physician.

Although Ann Dvorak had to be introduced somehow as a love interest, the script's biggest fault is the fact that she's wounded in a bank robbery at the hometown. She's a hitchhiker, but a lot believe she was in with the gang. Cardinal rule in real life and films, you absolutely don't do any criminal business in or near your sanctuary.

Usually people don't steal the show from Paul Muni, but in this case the swaggering, bullying Barton MacLane may have given the best performance of his career. MacLane was a menacing guy in films with that rasping voice of his and it was never put to better advantage than in Dr. Socrates.

Three years later the basic plot of Dr. Socrates was used again for King Of The Underworld where Kay Francis is a female doctor and Humphrey Bogart the gangster.

Dr. Socrates is a minor effort from Paul Muni, but still an enjoyable film. His next film was The Story Of Louis Pasteur, directed by William Dieterle that would set Muni's Hollywood image for all time.

Dr. Socrates (1935)

*** (out of 4)

Fast moving and tense film from Warner features Paul Muni in the title role of Dr. Socrates, a doctor who becomes the outcast in a small town after he helps a woman (Ann Dvorak) who accidentally got caught up with a gangster (Barton MacLane). Soon the doc and the girl begin to have feelings for one another and he must figure a way to get her away from the gangster. In an interesting bit of trivia, Muni didn't want to have anything to do with this film but agreed to do it if Warner would allow him to make THE STORY OF LOUIS PASTEUR, which would eventually be released the same year and earn Muni the Oscar. There's also a funny joke here where Muni is talking about a book on the life of Pasteur. With that out of the way, the rest of the film is a pretty tense little gem that manages to feature some great performances and a pretty smart story. The movie might not be as respectable as some of Muni's bigger films but I thought there was enough here to easily recommend it. For starters we have Muni delivering an exceptional performance as he perfectly can play the kindness of the doctor but also show off his brains. The doctor being able to think fast on his feet plays an important part in the film and Muni makes us easily believe that he is smart enough to do what happens at the end. He also has a dry, sarcastic humor that comes off very well and he even delivers a few laughs. Dvorak isn't one of my favorites but she makes an interesting mix with Muni. MacLane isn't one you'd expect to see playing a gangster but he actually does a very good job and makes the character quite memorable with his humor and style of toughness. Fans of Humphrey Bogart will know that he and Kay Francis would remake this four years later in the bizarre KING OF THE UNDERWORLD. Bogart has another connection to this film as his first wife, Mayo Methot, plays the gangster's mole here. While this film is a lot smarter than many of the dramas from the studio, it also contain enough gunplay to please fans of their gangster pictures. The ending has one machine gun after another making for quite a big bang to go out on.

Muni was just biding his time between "important" roles when Warners made a deal with him to do this little crime melodrama, after which they would let him do one of his pet projects. So here he is as the man whose constant reading of books causes the townspeople to label him "Dr. Socrates," a name that seems to fit the soft-spoken, easy going doctor that Muni plays in a minor key.

Instead of overwhelming the screen in his usual manner, he lets BARTON MacLANE give a vivid, scene-stealing performance as Big Red, a criminal wounded in a bank holdup who needs the doc's care and promises to send him more customers if he'll put a lid on treating him, instead of reporting him to the police. Fortunately, MacLane has some of the best lines in the script and ends up being the most interesting character in the whole story.

ANN DVORAK is young and pretty as the hitch-hiking woman who accepts a ride from MacLane's gang and ends up being suspected of being a gang member when the gang pulls a bank robbery and she's seen fleeing from the scene. When she's hurt, she ends up in Muni's care and the rest of the story is rather predictable but entertaining.

As the N.Y. Times said: "A pleasant enough melodrama" about a doctor who unwittingly gets mixed up with the mob. It's a trifle with a better than average script and some nice performances from the Warner contract players.

Paul Muni plays a small town doctor who becomes mixed up with a wounded criminal (Barton MacLane) and falls for a pretty hitchhiker (Ann Dvorak). A fine WB crime drama that moves with a crisp pace. Mustachioed Paul Muni reunites with his Scarface costar Ann Dvorak. Muni is excellent in one of his more subdued roles. Dvorak is lovely and gives an effortless performance. As different as Muni was from other Hollywood actors at the time, Dvorak was just as different from the other actresses. She rarely goes for the theatrical or hysterical. Her performances are usually much more grounded than, say, Bette Davis, who never saw a rafter she didn't reach for. The standout of the movie is Barton MacLane, shouting and swaggering his way through every scene. It's a real treat to watch. As usual, the stable of WB supporting players are superb. Remade as King of the Underworld with Kay Francis and Humphrey Bogart, whose first wife Mayo Methot appears here as MacLane's moll.