El doctor X

DOCTOR X (First National, 1932), directed by Michael Curtiz, capitalizes on the current horror trend made popular by Universal's 1931 releases of Dracula and FRANKENSTEIN. What makes DOCTOR X stand apart with similar products distributed by other studios was its two-strip Technicolor process, considering how color was a rarity and quite costly for its time. Equally rare was the use of color for one categorized as a horror film instead of a musical. While the title DOCTOR X indicates a "mad doctor" theme, especially with Lionel Atwill heading the cast, in true essence is a mystery-comedy with horror elements and science fiction thrown in along with Fay Wray belting out a few screams for good measure.

Plot summary: Six brutal killings have taken place at night only when the moon is full. An scrub woman is the latest victim. Lee Taylor (Lee Tracy), an inquisitive reporter for New York's Daily Record, enters the scene on the waterfront where he witnesses Doctor Xavier (Lionel Atwill), escorted by O'Halloran (Willard Robertson) and Police Commissioner Stevens (Robert Warwick), entering the Mott Street Morgue to examine the body. Because the murders were committed by a maniac with powerful hands near the vicinity of Xavier's Medical Academy of Surgical Research, all evidence points to Xavier's staff. Hoping to clear his academy of a scandal, Xavier asks Stevens for 48 hours to conduct his own investigation. With Taylor constantly snooping around Long Island's Blackstone Shoals estate where the investigations are to take place, Xavier has his beautiful daughter, Joanne (Fay Wray) attract his attention while having his medical staff handcuffed on chairs bound to the floor while staging a re-enactment of the crimes in hope that the mechanism they are connected to (an early indication of a lie detector) will reveal the killer through his heart beat reactions. It is soon discovered there is a killer among them when one of the members participating in the reenactment was murdered during a sudden blackout.

In the supporting cast are Preston Foster (Professor Ben Welles, a one-armed medical student); John Wray (Doctor Haines); Arthur Edmund Carewe (Doctor Rowitz); Harry Beresford (the wheelchair bound Professor Duke); Leila Bennett (Mamie, the frightful maid); George Rosener (Otto, the mysterious butler); Mae Busch (appearing briefly as a boarding house Madame); and Thomas E. Jackson (The Newspaper Editor).

The weakness of DOCTOR X is often accredited to the silly antics provided by Lee Tracy, typically cast as a wisecracking reporter who uses a buzzer placed onto his palm to shock an unsuspecting victims as Mike the Cop (Harry Holman) and Xavier's daughter (Wray) by placing the buzzard onto her bottom; along with he hiding in a slab of the morgue with a name tag placed on his toe, followed by him roaming the laboratory surrounded with dangling skeletons. The strong point of the story, however, is the way the mystery and suspense is handled, from hideous figure lurking about in a dark cloak with hands with long finger nails seen slowly clutching the throat of intended victims to a mysterious eye peeking through the hole on the door; climaxed by the killer's horrific transformation through the use of "synthetic flesh," one of the greatest, yet gruesome moments captured on film, even more effective in color.

During the days of commercial television, DOCTOR X aired in black and white. A perennial favorite on New York City's "Chiller Theater" on WPIX, Channel 11, from the 1960s to 1977, it would be another decade before DOCTOR X turned up on the airwaves again, this time with early Technicolor prints acquired from UCLA Film Archives, on cable TV's Turner Network Television (1988-1993), Turner Classic Movies (1994-present), and further availability on video cassette in the 1990s and then DVD. In one of the briefings by TCM's host, Bob Osborne, he mentioned that Technicolor prints of DOCTOR X were few, having circulated in big cities like New York and Chicago, while black and white prints played at smaller theaters in other areas. Fortunately, DOCTOR X has survived in Technicolor, make this a worth while event, thanks to interesting make-up effects by the Max Factor Corporation, lavish sets by Anton Grot, a chance seeing classic film actors usually not associated in Technicolor, notably Fay Wray and her reddish brown hair.

With the obvious success by 1932 standards of DOCTOR X, Atwill and Wray would work together again in more of the same with 1933 releases of THE VAMPIRE BAT (Majestic) and MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM (Warner Brothers). Seven years later, Warners turned out a sequel in name only titled THE RETURN OF DOCTOR X (Warners, 1939). Instead of bringing back Tracy, Wray and Atwill, the new leads were enacted by Wayne Morris as the comical reporter, Rosemary Lane the heroine, and Humphrey Bogart (!) as a zombie, formerly Doctor Maurice Xavier brought back to life not through the use of synthetic flesh, but by synthetic blood. A missed opportunity for Lionel Atwill, the one and only Doctor X, or was it? (***)

Don't even try to compare this wonderful old WArner Brothers thriller from l934 with today's thrillers. It was made at a time long gone when atmosphere, sets, lighting and camerawork were king. I adore getting this movie out at least once a month along with "Mystery of the Wax Museum" and "Night Monster" (another reviewer has also cited "Night Monster" as the classic it is)turn out the lights and lose myself in the early Technicolor two-strip photographey which is beautifully pastel and atmospheric in its eerie greens, pinks, crimson and gold. The Anton Grot sets are unforgettable. The cast of Hollywood's greatest character actors throw themselves into their roles (I doubt they had any other choice. After all, the demonic Michael Curtiz was cracking the whip as director). Fay Wray is pretty and screams now and then. Most irritating of all is Lee Tracey as the relentlessly wise-cracking reporter. Glenda Farrell had the same role in "Mystery of the Wax Museum" also filmed in early color and she was fantastic. A great old thriller, set in a remote mansion by the sea. The monster is terrifying. Ironically, you never see any carnage, blood or torture. Hats off to those long-ago film masters who knew how to do things right.

When you think of it, everything about this film is strictly synthetic...the plot, the hokey comic relief, the occasional ham acting--but the atmosphere photographed in crisp looking two-strip Technicolor is fully charged and the taut direction of Michael Curtiz (long before he did another more polished noir called THE UNSUSPECTED), makes this a very watchable early horror film from Warner Bros.

The Anton Grot sets in early color will keep the viewer totally enhanced even when the plot holes become too obvious. The annoying comic relief supplied by Lee Tracy as a fast-talking newspaperman (was there any other kind?), is fortunately not much of a handicap when the cast includes an assortment of richly eccentric characters.

I have to confess I guessed who the murderer was from the start--but it didn't dampen my enjoyment of the melodramatic and very creepy events. The storyline concerns a killer known for striking when there's a full moon and Lionel Atwill is the doctor who thinks he can solve the crime by some scientific detective work of his own.

It's the sort of film that became a staple of the "old dark house" mysteries audiences loved in the '20s and '30s--and even into the '40s with films like THE CAT AND THE CANARY. None of it seems quite as compelling as some of the better known fright films (including MURDER IN THE WAX MUSEUM), but we do get a chance to hear some first rate screams from Fay Wray (who looks very attractive in close-ups even though the Max Factor make-up is a little too extreme), and the capable cast includes such sturdy performers as Lionel Atwill and Preston Foster.

Trivia note: The killer's synthetic flesh make-up is very effective when he's in full mode on the kill. Kudos to Michael Curtiz for a fun-filled fright film.

The police are investigating a series of murders where victims have been cut up by scalpel and cannibalized. The murders always take place on a night with a full moon. They trace the scalpels to a nearby surgical academy. The head of the academy, Dr. Xavier (Lionel Atwill), doesn't believe someone at the academy is the killer and asks police for a chance to prove this using his own scientific methods. Also on the trail of the killer is reporter Lee Taylor (Lee Tracy). Taylor is suspicious of Doctor Xavier but when he meets the doctor's daughter (Fay Wray) he becomes smitten. Allowed only 48 hours to prove his case, Xavier gathers all the suspects at his mansion to perform his experiment. But things don't go as planned and another murder is committed.

Doctor X is a classic horror-mystery that has many points of interest for film fans. For starters, the two-color Technicolor process it was filmed in was new for the time. It also has great Max Factor makeup that looks especially nice in the early Technicolor. Another thing, it's a pre-Code film. Cannibalism, a major part of the plot, wouldn't have been allowed just a short time later. Lastly it's the horror debut of one of the greats of the genre, Lionel Atwill. Atwill would go on to a great career making many horror films, including two more with Wray the following year. He always brought class and dignity to his usually villainous roles. He's great here as well.

The major complaint about the film seems to be directed at Lee Tracy's comic character. He is probably the worst part of the movie, but not because his performance is bad. He does fine with what he's supposed to do. It's just that comedy in horror films is usually best left to minor supporting roles not for the male lead in the film. However, I personally feel he's not obnoxious enough to hurt the film significantly. It's still very fun and very interesting, both from a film history perspective as well as sheer entertainment value. I would recommend all fans of classic horror films check it out.

The fact that Doctor X was shot in color was pretty rare in 1932 with most of the studios existing from day to day during the Depression. Very few had money to splurge on something like this. Knowing that I'm surprised Warner Brothers didn't bother to use it on one of their Busby Berkeley spectaculars.

There have been a string of mutilation killings in New York, really horrible stuff and forensics has determined the weapon used was a special kind of surgical scalpel only in use at a particular scientific institute. The one headed by Doctor Xavier the Doctor X of the movie title.

Atwill's got some pull with the cops because they allow him 48 hours to find who the killer is and save his institute some scandalous press. The press is in the form of Lee Tracy a determined reporter who sneaks into the institute looking for the inside scoop. He meets up with Fay Wray who is Atwill's daughter, but even she doesn't deter him from his mission.

Horror stories were not the Warner Brothers specialty and when you consider what was coming out of Universal at the time, Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Mummy, Doctor X looks pretty second rate besides them. No monsters in this film except the truly monstrous human being who is doing all the homicides.

Warner Brothers seven years later did The Return Of Doctor X which has absolutely nothing to do with this film and provided Humphrey Bogart with one of the worst roles in his career. Next to that one, Doctor X is like Citizen Kane.