The Mad Doctor

Strangely lacklustre reviews to this quite novel 1940 Noir. Insightful, knowledgeable scripting, wonderful schwartz photography from Ted Tetzlaff. A sinister Rathbone undulating between predator and smitten, with both his male accomplice and the full lips of Ellen Drew on the way to more resolute acting ahead. The opening 10 minute rainstorm introduces the maelstrom perfectly and it continues at a good pace, with a variety of well edited sequences adding to the narrative flow, the high night time shots above 5th Avenue conjured well by subtle SFX. The ubiquitous Ben Hecht had a hand in the screenplay, alongside Harold J. Green, and it shows in this robust, ballsy psycho-drama.

Quite a few reviews here have mentioned the ' relationship ' between Basil Rathbone's character and Martin Kosleck's character as being coded homosexuals. I thoroughly endorse this as I watched this film quite by accident on YouTube and I was surprised to see just how intimate in speech and gesture this couple were. The fact that they were both killers and that women had been murdered for their rich lifestyle reminded me of other homosexual killers in both ' Rope ' and ' Compulsion. ' and how somehow they got certificates in the UK admitting children with adults to see them. In the UK the film was called ' A Date with Destiny ' and not the horror signifier of ' The Mad Doctor ' which would have called out for an H certificate for adults only. Rathbone believes he has been saved from evil by falling in love with his last prospective victim, and his male partner, quite rightly becomes as righteously cross as an abandoned ' wife ' or ' husband. ' A Queer film indeed which has not as far as I can tell by historians of Queer and Gay cinema been noticed. America has been fiercely aggressive towards positive gay endings, even to today so any representation on screen of a possible gay character or two in a partner relationship has had to follow the tropes of abandonment, death or imprisonment. For a gay audience these negatives had to be also positives simply because homosexuality was overtly or implicitly seen on the screen. I could take a swipe at a few recent examples but I will concentrate on this 1941 film. Tim Whelan directs it well in Film Noir mode, and there are outstanding shots of New York during this period. The editing excellent and the acting exceptionally good, Ellen Drew as the last potential victim is perfect, shading her role from black mood to light laughter with professional expertise. I must mention Barbara Jo Allen as a friend who has a lot of great lines, delivered to perfection. A definite Paramount Eve Arden, lightening the film whenever she is in a scene. To sum up a taut thriller with touches of horror this deserves in my opinion a ten. A vastly underrated film on all levels. One final observation: the BBFC was very reluctant to give out H certificates during WW2, so that may explain the change of the film's title.

Doctor Ralph Morgan calls at Basil Rathbone's home. His patient, Rathbone's wife, has died. Morgan is suspicious; she was recovering. He does nothing about it.

His suspicions are justified. Rathbone speaks with his manservant, Martin Kosleck, of how much he despised his rich wife and her stupid town, just like his other victims. They will return to New York, and he to his practice as a psychiatrist. There he is hired to deal with Ellen Drew, a depressed and suicidal socialite whose newspaper boyfriend, John Howard, has his suspicions. His investigations lead him to Morgan, even as Miss Drew marries Rathbone.

Rathbone offers his usual graceful performance as a man struggling with redemption. Most noteworthy of all, however, is Ellen Drew's performance as someone suicidal when we first meet her, to someone lighthearted after the ordinary pleasures of Coney Island. Alas, there is no sign of revival of her psychoses at the end, but in that era, endings had to be happy, even in a movie that focuses on Rathbone's attempts to deal with his own dark desires.

Hecht and MacArthur did uncredited work on the script, and they undoubtedly gave the producers what they asked for; neither was director Tim Whelan the man to stand up for a darker vision; he had returned to the US doing work on Korda's THE THIEF OF BAGDAD, and this was his first movie after that. It was no time to antagonize the brass at Paramount.

This Unusual Film "Forecasts" an Anticipation of a Sub-Genre of Film-Noir. The Mental-Health Field...

It was Perhaps, the Dark Genre Most Go-To Subject-Matter with Psychiatry and the Many Unknowns and Rife with Controversy.

To Diagnosis Apart from the Usual Scientific Method that Resulted in "Evidence" from the Material-World.

The Methods Used in the Dual Practices of "Health-Care" were Mostly Diametrically Opposed in the Historical-Record. But with Sigmund Freud and His Peers Bringing the Field into Close Proximity "Hard-Science".

Treating Suffering Patients Needs, by Qualified Practitioners, Should be Taken Seriously. Not Dismissed and Ridiculed.

In 1940, the "Mad" in the Title Makes the Movie Sound Like a "Horror Movie". But, This Film Never Stray from its Roots of "Thriller",

It Explores Very-Dark, Complex Behavior.

Basil Rathbone Creating Charm, a Suave Demeanor, with a Confident Delivery of His "Svengali-Like" Power,

Dreamy-Eyed Ellen Drew is Overwhelmed by a Childhood Death or Her Father, by Suicide with Ensuing Nightmares.

She is Fine as a Victim of Trauma, and Handles the Complexity with an Essential Performance.

Another Reason this Forgotten Film is Required Viewing...

A Quirky Element that was Extremely Rare and Almost Non-Existent in "The Code" Years. An In-Your-Face Gay Couple. The Movie Doesn't Try and Hide it, although it Never Verbally Reveals it, but it's On-Screen with a Multitude of Stereo-Typical Behavior by Rathbone and His Companion.

It's On-Screen for Every-One from the Trailer-Park to the Penthouse to Understand. It's there, No Subtlety.

"The Mad Doctor" is a Hidden-Gem...

Wildly Unknown, and a Treat for Film-Fans that Love Discovering and Appreciating Movies that have a Certain Anti-Routine Approach and Takes Chances...

Willing to Create Outside Conventional Attitudes and Expectations in the World of "The Most Popular Art-Form of the 20th Century".

I remember seeing THE MAD DOCTOR on TV back in the early 1960s and although I didn't see it again until the release of this Blu-Ray half a century later, parts of it, especially the ending, had remained with me. Why this film has not made its bow on home video until now is beyond me. It's an A Movie, as can be seen by the big budget, but with B Movie sensibilities regarding its use of character players outside of Rathbone and its overall Film Noir look which is due to cinematographer Ted Tetzlaff. Even the title sounds like a B Movie. However the strongest element in the whole mix is the screenplay. More about that later.

The plot concerns a suave Svengali-like psychiatrist played by Rathbone who marries wealthy women and then disposes of them. He meets a wealthy socialite who has suicidal tendencies (Ellen Drew) and plans to make her his next victim. Can her reporter boyfriend (John Howard), whom she has rejected, save her in time? Nothing out of the ordinary there. What IS different in THE MAD DOCTOR is the relationship between Rathbone and his constant companion played by Martin Kosleck. It is clearly a gay relationship in everything but name and how it got past the 1940 censors is a question worth asking.

The screenplay was originally written by top writers Ben Hecht & Charles MacArthur in the early 1930s and intended for John Barrymore (hence the Svengali angle). It was originally called "The Monster" and later "Destiny". That explains the quality dialogue which is one of the movie's highlights. When Barrymore bowed out, the script sat on the shelf for 5 years before Paramount used it. They had changes made by Howard W. Green who received sole screen credit. Although full of dark moments, there is a lightness of touch from director Tim Whelan which adds to the enjoyment. Kino deserves credit for resurrecting this forgotten gem. Once you see it, you'll wonder why it stayed hidden for so long...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.