Doctor X (1932)

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

Robert Tasker (screen play) &
Earl Baldwin (screen play) ...
(more)

Release Date:

27 August 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | 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 | Academy | Reporter | Scientist | Experiment

Cast

Lionel Atwill	...	Dr. Jerry Xavier
Fay Wray	...	Joanne Xavier
Lee Tracy	...	Lee Taylor
Preston Foster	...	Dr. Wells
John Wray	...	Dr. Haines
Harry Beresford	...	Dr. Duke
Arthur Edmund Carewe	...	Dr. Rowitz
Leila Bennett	...	Mamie
Robert Warwick	...	Police Commissioner Stevens
George Rosener	...	Otto
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	...	Sheriff
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Raoul Freeman	...	Morgue Detective (uncredited)
Selmer Jackson	...	Willard Keefe - Daily World Night Editor (uncredited)
Charles McMurphy	...	Detective at Headquarters (uncredited)
Ky Robinson	...	Morgue Detective (uncredited)

Directed by
Michael Curtiz

Writing credits
Robert Tasker		(screen play) &
Earl Baldwin		(screen play)
Howard Warren Comstock		(based on a play by) (as Howard W. Comstock) &
Allen C. Miller		(based on a play by)
George Rosener		contributor to screenplay construction (uncredited)

Produced by
Hal B. Wallis	....	executive producer (uncredited)
Darryl F. Zanuck	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Cinematography by
Ray Rennahan		(photography)
Richard Towers		(black and white version) (uncredited)

Film Editing by
George Amy		(edited by)

Art Direction by
Anton Grot

Makeup Department
Ruth Pursley	....	hair stylist (uncredited)
Ray Romero	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Perc Westmore	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Al Alleborn	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Marshall Hageman	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Herbert Plews	....	props (uncredited)

Sound Department
Robert B. Lee	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Fred Jackman Jr.	....	special photographic effects (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Thad Brooks Jr.	....	assistant camera: Technicolor (uncredited)
Owen Crompton	....	grip (uncredited)
Ellsworth Fredericks	....	camera operator (uncredited)
W. Howard Greene	....	second camera operator: Technicolor (uncredited)
Carl E. Guthrie	....	second camera operator: black and white unit (uncredited)
Ernest Haller	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Floyd Lee	....	assistant camera: Technicolor (uncredited)
Scotty Welbourne	....	still photographer (uncredited)
William Williams	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Music Department
Leo F. Forbstein	....	conductor: Vitaphone Orchestra
Bernhard Kaun	....	composer: end title music (uncredited)

Production Companies

• First National Pictures (present) (A First National-Vitaphone Picture) (controlled by Warner Bros. Pictures Inc.)

Distributors

• First National Pictures (1932) (USA) (theatrical)
• Vitaphone Corporation, The (USA)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (USA) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD) (on "Hollywood's Legends of Horror Collection")

Other Companies

• Max Factor Co.  mask effects
• UCLA Film and Television Archive  restoration (color version)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

76 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (2-strip Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Unrated (DVD)

Filming Locations:

Laguna Beach, California, USA

Company:

First National Pictures

Trivia:

For a time Warner Brothers did not have a print of the original Technicolor version and it was assumed to be lost. The Technicolor version was finally discovered and restored by the UCLA Archives.

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:Were the murdered women... attacked?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Glorious Technicolor (1998) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Agitato

Great old champ!

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.