There is something really quite sinister to Basil Rathbone's title performance in this rather intimidating psychological thriller. We know from the outset that he has disposed of his wife "Ida" - ostensibly pneumonia - but the local physician "Dr. Downer" (Ralph Morgan) is suspicious. Shortly after cleaning up on the inheritance, he moves with his friend "Maurice" (Martin Kosleck) to start afresh. Now you don't have to be Einstein to recognise that these two men are more than just roomies, and that causes a bit of consternation when "Dr. Sebastian" finds new prey. This time, in the guise of the deeply troubled "Linda" (Ellen Drew). With a marriage and a trip to Quito on the cards, might history be about to repeat itself? Well, fortunately for "Linda" reporter "Sawyer" (John Howard) is also a bit suspicious of the man, and after a bit of investigation and a chat with "Downer", the two begin to piece together quite a different persona for Rathbone than the one he has been successful peddling thus far. Can they act in time to thwart his malevolent plan? Tim Whelan allows his star to exude menace here. The script is really only adequate, but the pace is good and the gradually accumulating sense of peril - and a wonderfully seedy contribution from the increasingly envious "Maurice" leads us towards a conclusion where nothing is predictable. Actually, on that front I was a little disappointed, but all in all, this is a dark and effective tale of manipulation that is well worth a watch.
10 Reviews
Ralph Morgan, Downer
boblipton2 February 2019
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.
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.
The Svengali of murderers.
planktonrules28 April 2018
The story begins with the deaths of one of Sebastian's wives. Her father is convinced that Sebastian is responsible...and during much of the film he works to bring the man to justice. But to counter the father, Sebastian has Gretz steal the body of his latest victim in order to prevent an autopsy! What else will these infamous killers do next?
Basil Rathbone plays the suave Bluebeard who uses his hypnotic powers over women, Dr. Sebastian. He marries rich women, murders them and then disappears....off to find another woman to kill. He's assisted in his endeavors by Gretz...and their relationship is VERY unusual (and nowadays it would be seen as homoerotic by many). I would love to see a remake that explores this odd relationship more. Regardless, it is an interesting little suspense picture...well worth seeing because of the acting and script.
Basil Rathbone plays the suave Bluebeard who uses his hypnotic powers over women, Dr. Sebastian. He marries rich women, murders them and then disappears....off to find another woman to kill. He's assisted in his endeavors by Gretz...and their relationship is VERY unusual (and nowadays it would be seen as homoerotic by many). I would love to see a remake that explores this odd relationship more. Regardless, it is an interesting little suspense picture...well worth seeing because of the acting and script.
Martin Kosleck and Some Wishful Thinking
theowinthrop4 April 2004
Warning: Spoilers
This is a fair little "B-picture" thriller, with Rathbone giving his best villainy as usual, as a wife-killer (his partner is Kosleck) who marries and murders for money. But here his latest victim he falls for. An interesting variation that wasn't as developed as it should be.
Howard Green is credited with the screenplay, and Hecht and MacArthur are uncredited as helping on it. I suspect the latter two responsible for one interesting moment in the film. Martin Kosleck has just killed one of the other characters in the New York Subway. He has just left the subway station when he runs into an old acquaintance from Europe. It turns out this old acquaintance is still a policeman. Kosleck, realizing his past misdeeds are about to catch up with him, flees but is killed by the cop.
Would you believe this almost happened?
Hecht and MacArthur had contacts with the police and newspapermen in Chicago (remember "THE FRONT PAGE") and New York. They probably heard of this incident from their contacts. In 1918 during the closing days of World War I, the story came out of Austria of a serial killer (or women) named Bela Kiss. He was being sought for his murders, but was believed to have joined the army and been killed in battle. Subsequently it turned out that Kiss was smart enough to change his identity cards with a dead man, so he was still alive. But he was not caught. Then in 1930 a Detective on the New York City Police Force saw Kiss leaving a subway station in Times Square. The Detective tried to catch him, but the crowd enabled Kiss to escape. Kiss (as it turned out) had immigrated under a fake name to the U.S., and settled as a janitor in an apartment house in the Yorkville area of Manhattan! He died about 1957 (in bed!). I wonder if he ever saw THE MAD DOCTOR and Kosleck's last scene.
Howard Green is credited with the screenplay, and Hecht and MacArthur are uncredited as helping on it. I suspect the latter two responsible for one interesting moment in the film. Martin Kosleck has just killed one of the other characters in the New York Subway. He has just left the subway station when he runs into an old acquaintance from Europe. It turns out this old acquaintance is still a policeman. Kosleck, realizing his past misdeeds are about to catch up with him, flees but is killed by the cop.
Would you believe this almost happened?
Hecht and MacArthur had contacts with the police and newspapermen in Chicago (remember "THE FRONT PAGE") and New York. They probably heard of this incident from their contacts. In 1918 during the closing days of World War I, the story came out of Austria of a serial killer (or women) named Bela Kiss. He was being sought for his murders, but was believed to have joined the army and been killed in battle. Subsequently it turned out that Kiss was smart enough to change his identity cards with a dead man, so he was still alive. But he was not caught. Then in 1930 a Detective on the New York City Police Force saw Kiss leaving a subway station in Times Square. The Detective tried to catch him, but the crowd enabled Kiss to escape. Kiss (as it turned out) had immigrated under a fake name to the U.S., and settled as a janitor in an apartment house in the Yorkville area of Manhattan! He died about 1957 (in bed!). I wonder if he ever saw THE MAD DOCTOR and Kosleck's last scene.
Death always catches up to the hands that caused it.
mark.waltz3 October 2020
Warning: Spoilers
One of Basil Rathbone's most chilling performances (and there have been quite a few), this psychological thriller isn't anything new, but the execution of a familiar story is brilliantly done. He's a non-practicing doctor who has made the habit of marrying wealthy older women and then killing them for their money, making sure that the autopsy shows it was by natural causes.
His assistant is very loyal companion Martin Kosleck, following him around like Mary's little lamb, and obviously the masterminds between how the murders are committed. In his latest crime, Rathbone is suspected by local doctor Ralph Morgan of having somehow contributed to a patient's death, her having had no signs that she was severely ill. Rathbone ends up in New York where he becomes a loyal therapist to a emotionally troubled Ellen Drew who at one point seems to attempt suicide through a hypnotic trance. With her as his latest attended victim, it's a race for handsome John Howard to try to stop him, bringing Morgan to New York to expose the dastardly duo.
Well done and fraught with tension, this thriller has little moments of brilliant horror, one of which involves a scene at a Time Square subway station. Rathbone and Kosleck reminded me of the two killers from Hitchcock's classic thriller "Rope", and how their relationship somehow wasn't noticed by the sensors is pretty amazing. This has great photography and some genuinely spooky moments, particularly Drew's unemotional walk to a skyscraper rooftop edge and her attempt to jump off, seemingly unaware of what she is doing. This one really is worth searching out simply for the intense atmosphere it provides that will keep you glued to your seat.
His assistant is very loyal companion Martin Kosleck, following him around like Mary's little lamb, and obviously the masterminds between how the murders are committed. In his latest crime, Rathbone is suspected by local doctor Ralph Morgan of having somehow contributed to a patient's death, her having had no signs that she was severely ill. Rathbone ends up in New York where he becomes a loyal therapist to a emotionally troubled Ellen Drew who at one point seems to attempt suicide through a hypnotic trance. With her as his latest attended victim, it's a race for handsome John Howard to try to stop him, bringing Morgan to New York to expose the dastardly duo.
Well done and fraught with tension, this thriller has little moments of brilliant horror, one of which involves a scene at a Time Square subway station. Rathbone and Kosleck reminded me of the two killers from Hitchcock's classic thriller "Rope", and how their relationship somehow wasn't noticed by the sensors is pretty amazing. This has great photography and some genuinely spooky moments, particularly Drew's unemotional walk to a skyscraper rooftop edge and her attempt to jump off, seemingly unaware of what she is doing. This one really is worth searching out simply for the intense atmosphere it provides that will keep you glued to your seat.
A lot of good marred by one very big negative
utgard1429 April 2023
Basil Rathbone is excellent as a sinister psychiatrist who marries women with money and then kills them. Martin Kosleck is also great as his equally evil sidekick/henchman. I enjoyed Ralph Morgan too. He's great. The rest of the cast ranges from adequate to insufferable (John Howard!). There are some nice visual touches here for a B programmer. There are also some interesting things going on with the story that are unfortunately muddied by the trappings of the time. For example, a depressed character tries to commit suicide in a particularly shocking scene. The reaction of her boyfriend, and basically the reaction the filmmakers want the viewers to have, is that "there's nothing wrong with her the love of a good man won't fix." This is a backwards message to begin with but when the "good man" in question is an aggressive, angry, self-centered jerk it really sours things. It's a movie about a guy who kills women for money and we're put in the position of liking HIM over the film's hero. I like parts of the movie more than the whole and that's largely because of John Howard's truly horrendous character. He's just the pits. Still, see it for Rathbone and the other positives I mentioned.
Negatives and Positives
jromanbaker5 January 2024
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.
Basil Rathbone and Martin Kosleck
kevinolzak13 March 2014
1940's "The Mad Doctor" is a sadly generic but wholly appropriate title for this Paramount feature, one of their rare genre efforts (working titles "The Monster" and "A Date with Destiny"). In the title role of Dr. George Sebastian, Basil Rathbone is not a 'mad doctor' as in 'mad scientist,' but a psychotic faux psychiatrist living with partner Maurice Gretz (Martin Kosleck), both wanted for murder in Vienna, having relocated to America. With the sudden demise of Sebastian's third wife, he takes up residence in New York City, where he begins another practice, meeting up with potential wife number four, hypochondriac Linda Boothe (Ellen Drew), whom Maurice believes would be the perfect candidate due to her suicidal tendencies (that would save them the trouble of bumping her off). Lurking in the background is Dr. Charles Downer (Ralph Morgan), a longtime friend of Sebastian's late wife, whose suspicions about her untimely death are soon confirmed, at his peril. This Ben Hecht story is loaded with promise, yet fudges its attempts at suspense with sketchy characterizations, virtually none of whom engender any sympathy, particularly the heroine, apparently as dim as the scatterbrained sister (Barbara Allen) that introduced her to Dr. Sebastian. The binding relationship between the doctor and Maurice is by far the most intriguing aspect to the film, but little footage is devoted to their villainy, the pace slowed to a crawl by endless romantic twaddle. The final third almost makes up for all these faults, but the excellent cast is left pretty much on their own. Ellen Drew was much better, and far more sympathetic, in another Paramount, "The Monster and the Girl," while Martin Kosleck easily steals his scenes from the rather surprisingly uninspired Rathbone (much better in "Kind Lady"), soon to enjoy one of his finest villains opposite Tyrone Power in "The Mark of Zorro."
Under appreciated cinematic Noir.
Fivefishfive16 December 2023
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.
Basil Rathbone & Martin Kosleck scheme in pitch black, queer coded crime drama
tchelitchew26 August 2022
"Oh, there's no such thing as sanity. At it's best a heroic and precarious little hiding place in which we try to conceal ourselves from the devils...The devils of time, space, things unknown, and the past."
Although its title suggests conventional horror, "The Mad Doctor" is a pitch black thriller with some with some truly harrowing subject matter. Basil Rathbone plays Dr. Sebastien, a Bluebeard-like psychiatrist who recently killed off his wealthy wife Ida. After arousing the suspicion of local doctor Ralph Morgan, Rathbone leaves town. He soon finds his next mark, a deeply troubled young socialite named Linda that's been suffering with suicidal ideations.
Rathbone is accompanied in his efforts by Martin Kosleck as Maurice, a sort of male secretary. After seeing these two interact, it becomes very clear that they are more than criminal accomplices. When we see Kosleck in Rathbone's home or office, he's variously arranging flowers, spritzing himself with cologne, fussing with Rathbone over a choice of tie, and languorously sketching a black cat while wearing a bathrobe. When Rathbone starts to become genuinely interested in Linda, Kosleck responds with wounded jealousy.
This is very obviously a coded gay relationship, years ahead of the one in Hitchcock's "Rope." The scenes between Rathbone and Kosleck, both superb actors, positively crackle. In one scene, Rathbone gives a bone chilling monologue describing his contempt for dead wife Ida: "These atrocious paintings. This absurd wallpaper. These pathetic antiques. They all breathe her spirit. I can almost see her now coming down those stairs with that foolish smile and the love light in her eyes. I can never forgive her the eight months spent in this cave of romance."
The danger and intensity only ratchet up from there, climaxing in a truly haunting and beautifully executed ending. This is one of Basil Rathbone's most underrated films.
Although its title suggests conventional horror, "The Mad Doctor" is a pitch black thriller with some with some truly harrowing subject matter. Basil Rathbone plays Dr. Sebastien, a Bluebeard-like psychiatrist who recently killed off his wealthy wife Ida. After arousing the suspicion of local doctor Ralph Morgan, Rathbone leaves town. He soon finds his next mark, a deeply troubled young socialite named Linda that's been suffering with suicidal ideations.
Rathbone is accompanied in his efforts by Martin Kosleck as Maurice, a sort of male secretary. After seeing these two interact, it becomes very clear that they are more than criminal accomplices. When we see Kosleck in Rathbone's home or office, he's variously arranging flowers, spritzing himself with cologne, fussing with Rathbone over a choice of tie, and languorously sketching a black cat while wearing a bathrobe. When Rathbone starts to become genuinely interested in Linda, Kosleck responds with wounded jealousy.
This is very obviously a coded gay relationship, years ahead of the one in Hitchcock's "Rope." The scenes between Rathbone and Kosleck, both superb actors, positively crackle. In one scene, Rathbone gives a bone chilling monologue describing his contempt for dead wife Ida: "These atrocious paintings. This absurd wallpaper. These pathetic antiques. They all breathe her spirit. I can almost see her now coming down those stairs with that foolish smile and the love light in her eyes. I can never forgive her the eight months spent in this cave of romance."
The danger and intensity only ratchet up from there, climaxing in a truly haunting and beautifully executed ending. This is one of Basil Rathbone's most underrated films.
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