Doctor X (1932)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

Howard W. Comstock (play) &
Allen C. Miller (play) ...

Release Date:

27 August 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Out-Thrills Them All!

Plot:

A wisecracking New York reporter intrudes on a research scientist's quest to unmask The Moon Killer.

Plot Keywords:

Moon | Scientist | Reporter | Academy | Experiment

Cast

Lionel Atwill	...	Dr. Jerry Xavier
Fay Wray	...	Joanne 'Joan' Xavier
Lee Tracy	...	Lee Taylor, Daily World Reporter
Preston Foster	...	Dr. Wells (Academy of Surgical Research)
John Wray	...	Dr. Haines, Academy of Surgical Research
Harry Beresford	...	Dr. Duke, Academy of Surgical Research
Arthur Edmund Carewe	...	Dr. Rowitz, Academy of Surgical Research
Leila Bennett	...	Mamie, Xavier's Maid
Robert Warwick	...	Police Commissioner Stevens
George Rosener	...	Otto, Dr. X's Butler
Willard Robertson	...	Detective O'Halloran
Thomas E. Jackson	...	Daily World Editor (as Thomas Jackson)
Harry Holman	...	Mike, Waterfront Policeman
Mae Busch	...	Cathouse Madame
Tom Dugan	...	The Sheriff

Runtime:

76 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (2-strip Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (theatrical) | USA:Unrated (DVD)

Filming Locations:

Laguna Beach, California, USA

Company:

First National Pictures

Trivia:

The wax statues of the murder victims melted under the hot lights needed for the Technicolor cameras, so real actors were hired to stand in for them.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: In the opening scene of the film, Lee Tracy is shown strolling along the New York docks in search of news, when a body arrives at the Mott Street Morgue across the street. In reality, Mott Street, located in New York's old Chinatown district, is fairly well landlocked and nowhere near the either waterfront or dock areas.

Quotes:

Dr. Haines, Academy of Surgical Research: Professor, since we retired this body has been... It has been...
Dr. Jerry Xavier: I know, but I don't want her to know.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Independent Lens: Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (#8.22)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Agitato

I Would Write Two Words, but It Would Spoil the Picture

A Full Moon Killer has been stalking the streets of New York and now has claimed a scrub woman as his latest victim. The police suspect the Academy of Surgical Research as the home of its killer, who the police believe has a vast knowledge of the human body and where the surgical knives found at the scene came from. Dr. Xavier (head of the Academy) believes this is nonsense, but decides to perform an experiment with the four main suspects (not including Xavier) doctors Wells, Rowitz, Haines, and Duke, to test their reactions to the mention of the crimes as well as reenactments. Xavier's daughter Joan teams up with annoying reporter Lee Taylor to find clues to the murders, but they have to act quickly when one of the doctors is killed and the next victim will be Joan, and no one in the academy will be able to stop him. Very entertaining horror film that did benefit from the two strip Technicolor process. Atwill, Wray, Foster, and Rosener gave very good performances, which however did seem to be overshadowed by all technical aspects of the film, Curtiz' direction, Rennahan's cinematography, and Westmore's makeup for the killer at the film's end. The obvious drawback to the film was the perennially annoying Lee Tracy as the reporter. Oh well, you can't have everything. Rating, 8.