Bedside (1934)
** (out of 4)
Two years after directing MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE, Robert Florey was back dealing with another dangerous doctor. Warren William plays a man who could have been a doctor but he was just too lazy to do the actual work and instead used his charm to get whatever he wanted. An agent (Allen Jenkins) one day talks him into becoming a fake doctor and with the help of headlines he could start a major practice but this soon backfires. BEDSIDE has some pretty interesting aspects that will make it worth checking out to film buffs but I just had way too many problems with the story to give it a full recommendation. The biggest problem I had is that there wasn't a single second where I bought the story. I mean, are we really to believe that simple headlines could turn this fake doctor into someone respected the world over? Wouldn't someone eventually catch on and wouldn't someone at some point realize that this guy wasn't doing any actual work? I simply couldn't buy into this story as it was just way too far fetched for its own good. Another problem I had was the final five-minutes, which I thought were quite horrid but I won't give away anything. William has no problem in the lead role as there was never anyone in this period that could play a charming bad guy better. Jean Muir is good as his head nurse and David Landau is memorable as a drug addict. Donald Meek has a nice bit as well. Florey does a good job directing and even gets in some pretty dark moments that will remind folks of his horror pictures. Still, BEDSIDE simply is too far fetched to be completely entertaining but fans of the director and cast will still want to see it.
** (out of 4)
Two years after directing MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE, Robert Florey was back dealing with another dangerous doctor. Warren William plays a man who could have been a doctor but he was just too lazy to do the actual work and instead used his charm to get whatever he wanted. An agent (Allen Jenkins) one day talks him into becoming a fake doctor and with the help of headlines he could start a major practice but this soon backfires. BEDSIDE has some pretty interesting aspects that will make it worth checking out to film buffs but I just had way too many problems with the story to give it a full recommendation. The biggest problem I had is that there wasn't a single second where I bought the story. I mean, are we really to believe that simple headlines could turn this fake doctor into someone respected the world over? Wouldn't someone eventually catch on and wouldn't someone at some point realize that this guy wasn't doing any actual work? I simply couldn't buy into this story as it was just way too far fetched for its own good. Another problem I had was the final five-minutes, which I thought were quite horrid but I won't give away anything. William has no problem in the lead role as there was never anyone in this period that could play a charming bad guy better. Jean Muir is good as his head nurse and David Landau is memorable as a drug addict. Donald Meek has a nice bit as well. Florey does a good job directing and even gets in some pretty dark moments that will remind folks of his horror pictures. Still, BEDSIDE simply is too far fetched to be completely entertaining but fans of the director and cast will still want to see it.