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23 out of 23 people found the following review useful:
Did Warners make a film on the Universal lot?, 6 October 2003
Author: clore_2 from New York, New York

It would sure look that way. Fog-shrouded forests are more akin to the Universal landscape of the Wolfman films or those of Sherlock Holmes than of the urban crime thrillers at Warners. While it starts out as a pure horror film, it soon settles nicely into a wartime thriller which may "cheat" a bit on the Grand Guignol, but it's still enjoyable and it's briskly paced at around an hour.

Lester Matthews, who was seen likely to inherit Valerie Hobson in "The Werewolf of London" is the doctor of the title. Some in the village think that he may be a spy who descended on the moors with a parachute and may be up to no good - he keeps asking about the tin mine. It's WWII time, and tin is a most needed commodity. But the locals are afraid to work the mine as there happens to be a headless ghost prowling around.

Matthews as Doctor Holmes (interesting choice of character names) goes to check out the mine, but meanwhile he's being checked out by the innkeeper - a man whose face is covered by a mask since he was involved in a mine explosion that horribly scarred his face. Meanwhile, checking them both out is the village idiot and a headless ghost - suddenly there's more mine traffic than anyone's seen in years.

This is one of those films in which one has to drop all questions - at 57 minutes, there isn't time to ask any, and just enjoy the atmosphere. Not only the moors and the mine, but the performances of a Britain as only Hollywood could conceive it and transplanted British actors could play it. The characters in the inn could well have come from Whale's "The Invisible Man" - or perhaps more aptly Beebe's "The Invisible Man's Revenge." No matter, they're colorful and led by local squire John Loder who had the pleasure of going home to Hedy Lamarr at the time. He lent a solid presence to several "B" horrors of the 40s - such as "The Brighton Strangler" and "A Game of Death." Also in the cast is a most youthful Eleanor Parker looking radiant. Matt Willis is the mentally challenged villager, and damned if he doesn't resemble Lon Chaney Jr's Lennie - just as he resembled Chaney's Wolfman in "Return of the Vampire."

The sharp cinematography is by Henry Sharp (a deliberate pun) who photographed Vidor's "The Crowd" as well as Lang's "Ministry of Fear" and the Technicolor opus "Dr. Cyclops." This was quite a talent to snare for a "B" film, one would want to credit the producer for such a coup, but for some reason there isn't one credited. Bryan Foy was over at Warners and in charge of their "B" unit, but his name isn't on screen. If someone thought the project unworthy, they were wrong - it may have had only slightly better than a PRC or Monogram budget, but the results were light years apart. It's closer to Val Lewton, or 20th-Fox' "The Undying Monster" and from this writer's perspective, that's praise indeed.

16 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
Fogbound In Cornwall, 1 June 2001

Author: telegonus from brighton, ma

This not perhaps one of the great films but is yet the umpteenth example of how a well-made and nicely acted picture can work wonders even without a particularly outstanding script. A doctor on a walking tour in foggy Cornwall finds himself at a village inn. He has to knock hard to get someone to open the door, and when it does open he is greeted by a man with a black hood over his head. Once inside the stranger meets the customers at the bar, who are the usual dour, sullen, somewhat eccentric British types moviegoers are familiar with thanks to such lively and observant directors as James Whale. Whether such characters have ever existed in the real world is of course irrelevant. The actors are British enough, and the setting sufficiently evocative to satisfy even the most finicky moviegoer. We are in Hollywood's England of the forties, when Brittania ruled with an authority and prestige not seen since, and when dry ice fog and mists suggested a quaint and cozy never-never Albion out of Dickens and Doyle almost as well as the authors themselves had done. One of locals tells the doctor the tale of the headless ghost of Black Morgan, which many believe to still be haunting the village and local mine. For a while, due to the exceptionally suspenseful build-up and clever art direction, one might have expected a werewolf or two to show up before the picture ended. This alas does not happen, and the film, though satisfying in its way, never fulfills the promise of its early, expository scenes.

What follows is a mystery, reasonably well done, highly unoriginal, and unworthy of the actors and set designers, who deserved better for their sterling efforts. This film is highly recommended for its atmosphere, though as a story it contains few surprises. Director Ben Stoloff does a commendable job in the dramatic scenes, and has a feel for the nuances of mood in terms of psychology and setting, as the two interact well and properly, as they always should. Leading lady Eleanor Parker handles her generic role quite well and comes close to being convincingly British without any excessive mannerisms. John Loder is decent as the local 'Sir', and the various supporting players are credible if predictable in their routines. Lester Matthews makes a fine Dr. Holmes, and plays his part with an authority and empathy one does not expect in an English actor at this time and in this sort of film. Matt Willis is excellent as the chief suspect. He was always a fine actor, and was never given the parts he deserved in his brief film career. In what one might call the Laird Cregar (or Vincent Price) role he is in his very different way as good as they were, and far more natural. The film's final scenes are badly dated, but overall this is as finely polished a B gem as one can find, and might have been a masterpiece of its kind with a better screenplay.

Technically it is a virtuoso piece, suggesting at times Hitchcock, at other times Lang; there's a touch of Val Lewton in the sensitive use of second-hand sets; in its locale, concluding scene and one of its leading actors it is strangely reminiscent of Ford's How Green Was My Valley; and early on it feels like a horror film. Not a bad showing for a little under sixty minutes running time.

8 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
neat little programmer, 11 October 2005

Author: blanche-2 from United States

"The Mysterious Doctor" is an enjoyable, atmospheric B movie about a unmine-able tin mine in Morgan's Head, England, due to the presence of a headless ghost. It's wartime and the country needs the tin, but no amount of persuading can get the workers back after so many people have been killed by the spirit, which goes back to a local legend in the town.

It sure feels and looks British, and the cast includes a young, vibrant Eleanor Parker who fits right in with actors John Loder and others.

This is an excellent little wartime gem. Don't miss it when it's on TCM.

8 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Unoriginal but not bad, 26 June 2003

Author: Wayne Malin (wwaayynnee51@hotmail.com) from United States

The doctor of the title is Dr. Frederick Holmes (Lester Matthews). He comes upon a small, fog-bound English village in WWII England. It contains a tin mine--tin which is badly needed in the war against the Nazis. But the local men are terrified to go into the mine because of the headless ghost that roams the mine and kills people. The bodies start piling up and the village starts to get very panicked....

Strange combo of patriotism and horror story. The plot is totally predictable (although there were a few surprises at the end) and this has a cast of B actors (John Loder, Eleanor Parker) or total unknowns. Still, it's pretty good. The settings are fairly elaborate (I suspect they were shooting on the sets of other films), the constant fog provides a nice spooky atmosphere, the appearances of the ghost are kind of fun and the acting is pretty decent--Parker especially does wonders with her role as "the girl" and Loder is tall, handsome and seems to be really enjoying himself.

Nothing new or thrilling but competent and quick (59 minutes). There are worse ways to kill an hour.

4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Warner Brothers Pro-British, World War II Propaganda Potlboiler, 17 June 2008

Author: Van Roberts (zardoz@bellsouth.net) from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

"The Mysterious Doctor" was a Warner Brothers' World War II era propaganda B-movie that entwined horror and espionage. Originally entitled "The Mystery Doctor," this mild horror chiller whodunit was helmed by "Secret Enemies" director Ben Stoloff between August 13, 1942, and late September 1942. "G.I. Honeymoon" scenarist Richard Weil penned the original screenplay.

"The Mysterious Doctor" qualifies as a solid melodrama with an adequate cast, and richly atmospheric sets and surroundings. Initially, the plot seems pretty minor, but you have to remember that B-movies rarely lasted no more than an hour, and Warner Brothers designed this movie to make our British allies look good. Despite its small potatoes storyline, the movie takes on added significance when you study its production history within the context of Hollywood censorship and Federal censorship.

Posing as a man the British Army has rejected for active duty, a mining engineer, Dr. Frederick Holmes (Lester Matthews of "Jungle Man-Eaters"), takes a week-long walking trip through Cornwall. The first time that we see Dr. Holmes, he is tramping about the foggy moors after dark and catches a ride with a peddler (Harold De Becker of "Crime Doctor") to Morgan's Head. He wants to know why local miners refuse to work a tin mine that could yield a valuable asset to the English war effort. Holmes learns that the villagers are not working the mine because they fear the ghost of a headless man who haunts the moors and the mine. Eventually, the engineer exposes the ghost as a hoax. As it turns out, the village benefactor, Sir Harry Leland (John Loder of "The Gorilla Man"), has been masquerading as the headless ghost. Sir Harry explains that he is the offspring of German nobility who came over back in the days of King George to supervise other Germans in the tin mines of Cornwall. He has turned the superstitious fears of the villagers against them to keep the mine out of operation. Sir Harry shoots a simple-minded villager who rushes him. Sir Harry attacks Holmes, they struggle, and Sir Harry falls onto knife and dies.

The Production Code Administration served as the Hollywood censorship organization. The PCA file on "The Mysterious Doctor" contains only one letter, an Analysis Chart, and a certification of release permit. In his August 6, 1942, letter, Joseph Breen warned Warner Brothers to exercise restraint in "the gruesomeness and horror angles of this story, not only from the angle of the Production Code, but also from the angle of political censorship." He warned the studio never to show the village alcoholic Hugh Penhryn as "offensively drunk, although he may be suggested as a bit high." Breen cautioned them about the mentally challenged character of Bart Redmond, "If he is indicated as being insane, it is possible that the British Board of Film Censors will delete the scenes in which he appears." Another "Mysterious Doctor" character named Simon, who owns the local inn and tavern, wears a black executioner's hood to conceal a face horribly scarred from an accident involving dynamite. The censor advocated "restraint be exercised as to the gruesomeness appearance of Simon." Breen also warned Warner Brothers about the mob scene when the unruly village children heckle Bart, because some political censor broads would cut them. Finally, the chief PCA censor instructed the filmmakers to suggest out of frame the business of a character being "clunked" over the head. Warner Brother bowed to Breen's demands in each instance, based on the final version of "The Mysterious Doctor" that received its certification of approval on October 15, 1942.

"The Mysterious Doctor" file in the U.S. Government's Office of War Information film collection at the National Archives in Maryland contained only the Feature Viewing analysis. The agency judged "The Mysterious Doctor" as "an average horror story which has been filmed against a timely background of England at war." Although the analysts admitted that the film presented a few useful points to Washington's war information program, they observed that it could have told its story without any reference to the war. The OWI took the filmmakers to task for their failure to examine either Nazi ideology or the greater issues of the war. As "another example of the use of the war as a backdrop for a melodramatic story," "The Mysterious Doctor" made only minor contributions to the OWI's war information program. The officials complemented the film for (1) its emphasis on the importance of raw materials to the war effort, (2) that everyone should contribute in some way to the war, (3) its images of an England at work, (4) the timely importance of raw materials geared to war production without delay, and (5) "a partial recognition of what is a stake in this war." The analyst lamented, however, that Warner Brothers offset all these positive contributions because "The Mysterious Doctor" "casts suspicion unnecessarily on all person of German descent." According to the OWI, this story element impugned the loyalty of millions of British and Americans whose ancestors hailed from Germany. Worse, the analyst argued, this ideology gave a false impression of the enemy. The OWI echoed their own ideology from the Government Information Manual, "We are not fighting Germans unto the fourth and fifth generation; we are fighting a system of force and militarism which threatens to enslave the earth."

Director Ben Stoloff generates atmosphere, suspense, and mystery with "The Mysterious Doctor." The only real flaw is the surprise at the end when we learn that the fellow whose face had been blown off was a plot contrivance so that the hero could work undercover. The headless fiend outfit is pretty neat.

7 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Fog Equals Atmosphere, 30 May 2001

Author: Eric Chapman (caspar_h@yahoo.com) from Pittsburgh, PA

A few chills and some decent atmosphere (atmosphere usually meaning fog) but the modest storyline takes a back seat to war time "rally 'round the troops, boys" sentiment. Seen with that in mind it does possess a certain degree of charm. I like the early shot of the mysterious headless "ghost" wandering through the fog, but it rather quickly becomes apparent that there is a very earth-bound, prosaic explanation. It's all a bit of a mess of course, but quite understandably America and Great Britain had more important things on their mind at the time. Eleanor Parker is porcelain beautiful in one of her early roles.

4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Miners Losing Their Heads, 10 November 2006

Author: BaronBl00d (baronbl00d@aol.com) from NC

Dark, foggy, lantern-lit settings abound in this 1943 second run feature about a headless ghost(no horse) that terrorizes an old mine, still laden with tin needed by the British against the Germans in WWII. Heavy on atmosphere and light on originality, The Mysterious Doctor comes off rather well due to its effective and crisp cinematography, solid character acting, and competent direction. Director Benjamin Stoloff moves with such a fast pace that the film's 57 minute length seems almost too short to have covered what this film covers. Don't expect any great and clever plot twists here as the film's hero and villain should be quite obvious shortly - especially if you remember what the title of the film is. Eleanor Parker is in the film as the female lead, but her role has little depth to it. There are some nice performances by John Loder, Lester Matthews, and I particularly liked the feeling and sincerity in Matt Willis's portrayal of the village idiot. Willis gives more than just a one-dimensional performance, and this is quite evident in the scene with the children goading him. But these actors and the fine, able group of terrified, pub-drinking villagers of Cornwall are far more defined by their aiding the atmosphere of the film - the film's chief character. Though their are a few grisly murders shown off-stage, the film has a rather light touch to it despite this and the foggy mood. Films like this were very formulaic, and it is important that one of its chief goals was to serve England in its battle with the Germans. Once you understand that, everything falls into place. Nonetheless, this is an interesting film with some style.

7 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Very Good, 12 March 2008
Author: Michael_Elliott from Louisville, KY

Mysterious Doctor, The (1943)

*** (out of 4)

Strange horror/mystery from Warner has a small town living in fear that a headless ghost stalks their fog filled town. Legend has it that the ghost haunts a local tin mine and will kill anyone who goes close. This is a rather unique little film because of what was going on in the real world at the time. We all know that WW2 was going strong and a lot of war talk often made its way into movies but very few horror films had this. That's not the case here as this film features plenty of talk about the war and Hitler, which is used to show that other fears can cause people to hide when they should be out fighting. The actual story isn't all that original but with these added fears it makes for an interesting film. The mystery aspect of the movie also works quite well as the truth behind the legend is never really known. The atmosphere is another bonus as it really comes off and feels like a Universal film from the period. John Loder, Eleanor Parker, Bruce Lester and Lester Matthews turns in good performances in this forgotten gem, which desperately needs to be released to DVD.

3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Tales of he "Headless Miner", 29 October 2006

Author: sol from Brooklyn NY USA

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

(There are Spoilers) Srange combination horror/war movie that has to do with the ghost of Black Morgan a miner who lost his head years ago and has been hunting the deserted Morgan's Head tin mine ever since looking for it. Taking a three week walking tour of Scotland Dr. Fredrick Holmes, Lester Matthews, hitches a ride and is dropped off at the Running Horse Inn owned by a faceless, he 's always wearing a black execution hood, Simon Tewksbury, Frank Mayo, who's head was badly scared in a mining explosion

Having a drink on him for all the patrons in the inn Holmes is later accused by a number of locals of being a spy from the Germans who was secretly parachuted into the area. With the towns top official Sir. Henry Leland, John Loder, dropping in to check on the rumor's of a German fifth columnist in their mist Holmes shows evidence that he's really who he says he is Dr. Fredrick Holmes British citizen and patriot. Later war hero Lt. Kit Hilton, Bruce Lester, just back from the North African campaign drops into town to first see his girlfriend Letty, Eleanor Parker, but also to whip up support for the war effort among the local miners who haven't worked the local tin mine since the war began.

The miners are more terrified at working in the Black Morgan Mine then facing Hitler's Whermacht and Luftwaffe in that the headless Back Morgan is haunting the mine and has already killed, by decapitation, some dozen persons who dared to enter it. Kit Hilton wants the miners to overcome their baseless superstitions about Black Morgan and go into the mine to dig up the tin in it thats desperately needed for the war in defeating Hitler. That's saying a lot since Black Morgan is to strike again, this time against both Simon and Holmes, who are foolish enough to enter his hunted mine.

With the townspeople now up in arms over the latest killing they single out village idiot Bart Redmond, Matt Willis, as somehow being in league with the headless miner Black Morgan since he's been seen in and around the mine just before Holmes, or was it Simon, was murdered. Captured and then escaping with his life Redmond hides out in the Morgan Mine where Letty, who knows that the big and lovable slub is innocent, secretly brings him food and water. It's on a visit to Bart that Hetty is confronted by the headless Morgan and is rescued by Bart who risking his life bring Hetty back to town where he's almost shot by Kit Hilton but again gets away and escapes back into the mine.

Hetty later that night is contacted by the fugitive Bart who urges her to come with him back to Morgan's Mine in that he found out what's really behind all these headless killings. As Bart takes Hetty back to the Morgan Mine he leads her to this secret room thats hidden deep in the mine-shaft that reveals what's really behind all these "Headless Miner" stories and it doesn't at all have to do with the headless miner!

Typical WWII propaganda flick that has to do with the enemy within, not without, and for once didn't depict the Nazis as the helpless and comical buffoons as were used to seeing them in movies like this but as very dangerous and conning adversaries as they were in real life. At the end of the movie with the secret of the headless Black Morgan reviled as a Nazi plot to disrupt the war British effort, by preventing the tin from being mined, we see dozens of Morgan's Head citizens proudly marching to work to mine the tin that will in the end bring Hitler's war machine to a halt and singing patriotic and feel-good songs, like "Whistle while we Work", as their doing it.

THE MYSTERIOUS DOCTOR (Benjamin Stoloff, 1943) **1/2, 23 January 2010

Author: MARIO GAUCI (marrod@melita.com) from Naxxar, Malta

I cannot say I was aware of this one before our own Michael Elliott gave it a thumbs up not that long ago; actually emerging as only borderline horror, it effectively mingles a traditional plot – an English village, complete with hulking idiot and disfigured bartender hiding his features behind a hood(!), lives in fear of an ancient curse involving a headless ghost – with topical (i.e. WWII) concerns. The village mine was being utilized to produce tin for the Allied cause so the Axis powers apparently felt the need to send out one of their own to intermingle in the community and recreate by night the legend of The Headless Ghost, thus curtailing the mining operations which are subsequently abandoned. The prerequisite foggy atmosphere is thickly laid on, the plot is fairly engaging and the modest but pleasing cast – squire John Loder, the lovely Eleanor Parker, title character Lester Matthews, dim-witted Matt Willis, etc. – is sympathetic to the material at hand. Besides, being a compact 57-minute 'B' flick, it is essentially comparable in quality and effect to the likes of Fox's DR. RENAULT'S SECRET and THE UNDYING MONSTER (both 1942).

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