Yes, the moon is powerful. Why, twice a day it lifts billions of tons of water at high tide that wash the shores of the world, like an eternal old scrubwoman – Doctor X (1932)
Hello to all of the classic people that are returning. I am glad you are back. I want to welcome any new visitors. Today on Classic Movie Review, we are taking on Doctor X (1932).
iMDB.com rates this comedy/horror film at 6.4[1]. This seems to be a fair rating. It could have been a decent horror film or a low-grade comedy. But it doesn’t work as both.
On Rottentomatoes.com, this film has an 82 percent on the Tomatometer and 50 percent audience approval.[2] Again, the film is stuck in the middle. The critics like it because of its early use of Technicolor. Still, I believe the audiences are put off by the amount of comedy, much of which is slapstick.
New York Times film critic Mordaunt Hall said in an August 4, 1932, review:
“Besides having quite enough excitement to satisfy the most ardent admirer of murder mysteries, the general effect of “Dr. X,”… is considerably enhanced by being filmed in Technicolor. It has some remarkable laboratory settings and, lest the spectators find the spine-chilling too much for them, there is a vein of adroitly conceived comedy relief. It is a production that almost makes “Frankenstein” seem tame and friendly, particularly in its penultimate glimpses … This parcel of thrills streaked with fun was directed by Michael Curtiz, who always keeps his eyes open wide for chances for striking camera work, and here his penchant in that direction is assisted by the impressive settings, the more or less natural color effects, and also by the weird sounds emitted during Doctor Xavier’s experiments.”[3]
Actors – Doctor X (1932)
Returning
In his first significant role, Lionel Atwill played the mysterious Dr. Jerry Xavier. Atwill was first covered as the inspector in Son of Frankenstein (1939).
The original scream queen, Fay Wray, played Joanne Xavier, the daughter of Dr. X. Of course, Wray was first covered in King Kong (1933).
Preston Foster was in the role of Dr. Wells. This actor was covered in the Film Noir Kansas City Confidential (1952).
New
Lee Tracy played reporter Lee Taylor. Tracy was a skinny redhead with a high voice and a rapid-fire vocal delivery style. Tracy was born in Georgia in 1898. Tracy’s father worked for the railroad, and his mother was a former schoolteacher. The young Tracy was sent to a military school in Illinois. While he was at school, the family relocated to upstate New York.
After high school, Tracy attended Union College to study engineering. However, he showed a fondness for acting. Following graduation, Tracy joined an acting troop. However, this work was interrupted when Tracy entered the Army for World War I.
Following the war, Tracy became an agent for the U.S. Treasury. After about two years working for the government, Tracy left to work in vaudeville and tour with acting companies. He made his Broadway debut in 1924.
Tracy continued to act until he was given the first of many roles as a newspaperman in Broadway’s “The Front Page.” His tendency for excessive drinking and causing trouble was beginning at this time.
Tracy signed with Fox for films such as Big Time (1929), Born Reckless (1930), Liliom (1930), and She Got What She Wanted (1930). He jumped back to stage work but signed with Warner Bros. for
The Strange Love of Molly Louvain (1932), Doctor X (1932), and Blessed Event (1932). For Columbia, he was in Washington Merry-Go-Round (1932), The Night Mayor (1932), and Carnival (1935).
Tracy went to work for MGM, making Clear All Wires! (1933), The Nuisance (1933), Turn Back the Clock (1933), Advice to the Forlorn (1933), Dinner at Eight (1933), and Bombshell (1933). Tracy traveled to Mexico City to film Viva Villa! (1934). However, his activities resulted in him being fired and the studio issuing a formal to the Mexican people. It has been reported that he urinated off a balcony on a passing military parade.
Tracy worked on stage and for small film companies like RKO. He did well in The Pay Off (1942) and High Tide (1947). Tracy worked on television in the 50s and 60s. He was part of a couple of television series.
He reprised his Broadway role in The Best Man (1964) and received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Tracy died in 1968.
Story – Doctor X (1932)
This early Technicolor film begins late at night near a fog-shrouded dock. A solitary policeman, Mike (Harry Holman), walks his beat. After he passes, a man in a light-colored fedora rises from behind some barrels. The sign on the nearby building reads Mott Street Morgue. The man in the hat lights a cigarette and shudders as he sees the full moon.
The man ducks as a car arrives at the morgue. Three men get out of the car, walk past the waiting guard, and enter the morgue. One of the men wearing a bowler hat and a fur-collared coat is addressed as “doctor.”
The man in the light fedora tries to get past the police guard. He cracks wise and shows the guard a press badge but is turned away as the morgue is off-limits for the night. The newspaper man Lee Taylor (Lee Tracy), heads down the street to the local cat house where he can use the phone.
The cat house has a piano player downstairs and a few girls hanging around. The madam, ironically played by Mae Busch, doesn’t want non-clients around. Lee calls the newspaper desk and says that an old murdered scrub woman was brought in under mysterious circumstances. Lee says Police Commissioner Stevens (Robert Warwick), Detective O’Halloran (Willard Robertson), and Dr. Xavier (Lionel Atwill) have just arrived at the morgue.
The desk editor doesn’t believe Lee until he is told to look out the window and sees that the moon is full. Lee says it is another “Moon Killer” murder. The editor tells him to stick with it. On the way out, Lee smarts off to the piano player and says hey, Rachmaninoff, how about the prelude? The piano player switches to a perfect Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C Sharp Minor (Op. 3 No. 2).[4]
Back by the morgue, Lee runs into cop Mike. Mike doesn’t know what’s going on at the morgue. Mike gives Lee a cigar, and ever the joker, Lee shakes the cop’s hand while wearing a joy buzzer invented in 1928[5].
Lee follows another ambulance back to the morgue. The police watch as Dr. X examines a body under a sheet. Dr. X says the body was killed by strangulation, and the killer was extremely powerful. There is a scalpel incision at the base of the brain. Dr. X shocks the police when he tells them that the left deltoid of the body has been eaten away by a human.
Dr. X. says he has to return to a crucial experiment he is conducting. Police Commissioner Stevens stops Dr. X and says there have been six full moon murders in the last six months, all by strangulation and all with the use of a medical knife tool.
Dr. X explains that the individual has a kink in the brain that is triggered by something they smell or see. Then the Commissioner drops the bomb that all of the murders have been committed in the vicinity of Dr. X’s Academy of Surgical Research. The Commissioner insists that the killer is from his school as it is the only place where the type of knife is used is at the academy. Dr. X begs to be allowed to examine his staff so the press will not destroy the academy’s reputation. The police agree to keep the story from the press.
When Dr. X and the police leave, a body rises from one of the gurneys. It is Lee who has been hiding and listening to the conversation. Lee does a little slapstick as he leaves the morgue.
At the Academy of Surgical Research, Dr. X is searching for a file at the top of a giant ladder. His daughter, Joanne Xavier (Fay Wray), comes into the room and screams when she sees the unrecognized person high above the floor. Joanne opens the window to let the moonlight fill the room. Joanne worries that her father is working too hard. He closes the window and complains about the bright moonlight.
Dr. X explains to the police that all the students are away from school on a break. They then hear a noise, and Dr. X says it is Dr. Wells (Preston Foster) working on an experiment. Dr. X says Dr. Wells is an expert on cannibalism and has written a book about it and studied it in Africa. The police are very excited to hear this news.
The three men go into Dr. Wells lab, and he is very friendly. Dr. Wells has been using electrolysis to keep a heart in a jar alive. The Commissioner notes that Dr. Wells’ boots are muddy and drying on the radiator. Dr. Wells says he has been on the waterfront, but then he removes his prosthetic right hand. The police are convinced he is not the man.
They next go to see Dr. Haines (John Wray). Dr. X tells that Dr. Haines and two other scientists were shipwrecked and left adrift. When they were rescued, one man was missing. There was the implication that Dr. Haines and the other scientist ate the third man. Well, that sounds suspicious.
Dr. Haines also is friendly to the group. When he is first shown, he is backlit with green light. His hair and bread give the illusion of him being the devil. The police find that Dr. Haines was looking at girly magazines instead of working. He asked Dr. X to get the police out of his lab.
They next visit Dr. Rowitz (Arthur Edmund Carewe), who, it turns out, was the other scientist that survived the shipwreck. Dr. Rowitz has a dark monocle on one eye. His face is also disfigured, as the killer was described. Dr. Rowitz studies the moon’s rays and determines if they are harmful to afflicted people. He also mentions lifting water like an old scrub woman. This catches the Commissioner’s attention. Dr. Duke (Harry Beresford) rolls into the laboratory in his wheelchair. He is pretty grumpy.
The Commissioner decides to let Dr. X have a go at finding out if one of his staff is the killer. They settle on 48 hours to test the suspects.
Lee appears outside of the second-story window. An outside shot reveals that he is standing on the fire escape. Joanne comes outside and forces Lee down by pulling a gun on him. Lee shows his press badge and makes her think he is a police officer. The police are shown out by the mysterious butler Otto (George Rosener).
Lee is waiting outside the house when a hideous monster comes out the front door. Lee lights the cigar that Mike, the cop, gave him. The killer is almost on Lee when the cigar pops as a trick load was previously inserted. The killer flees at the sound.
Lee’s story comes out in the newspaper with the headline, “Scrubwoman is Moon Killer’s latest victim. The editor wants Lee to stay on the story.
Lee goes to Dr. X’s home. The door is answered by the cleaning lady Mamie (Leila Bennett). Lee uses flattery and misdirection to gain access to the home. Lee goes into the study and steals a picture of Joanne. He is caught by Joanne as he is stealing a picture of Dr. X. She calls him out about stealing the pictures. Lee fesses up that he is a reporter. Joanne is mad about Lee writing the story. She does tell him that Dr. X is going to another location to conduct his examination of the suspects. When Lee goes outside, Mamie dumps a bucket of wash water on him.
A train takes the group to Blackstone Shoals, Long Island. They are staying at an old mansion on the edge of a cliff. It looks like the house from “Dark Shadows” 1966-1971. Dr. X explains that the surgical knife indicates one of them is possibly the killer. Lee arrives at the mansion via a horse-drawn carriage.
Lee climbs a drainpipe and watches the doctors from the balcony. Dr. X proposes that he give a psychological exam. He recommends suicide if anyone is found guilty. Lee climbs back to the ground and accidentally finds a way into the mansion. He spills some salt and throws a pinch over his left shoulder. He then spits in his hat.
Lee sees a skeleton coming out of the room. But it is simply Otto moving some of the doctor’s equipment. Joanne sends the very nervous Mamie off to bed. Lee makes his way to the basement lab. Otto brings Mamie down to the lab and scares her as he does. Lee hides in a room full of skeletons.
Otto tells Mamie that she will have to wear the clothes that the murdered scrubwoman wore when she was murdered. Dr. X tells her that she has to wear the clothes and act out the part while the experiment is taking place. Otto is playing the part of the killer.
The doctors all arrive at the lab. There is equipment that will monitor their responses during the experiment. Dr. Wells hooks the other doctors up to the machines. The full moon shines through the window, but Dr. Duke insists that the shades be closed. Dr. X says Dr. Wells will run the equipment because he only has one hand.
In the skeleton room, someone looks at Lee through a hole and then fills the room with smoke. Lee begins to pass out.
Dr. X explains what is happening as he turns on the Frankenstein laboratory equipment. He believes the killer was driven to cannibalism and cannot always suppress his desire. All the doctors watch the tube. If their tube fluid goes to the top, they are the killer. He shows images of the people that have been killed.
Otto and Mamie come out and begins to reenact the latest murder. A hand is shown flipping a switch, and the lights go out. Dr. X sees one tube fill to the top and announces that the killer is Dr. Rowitz. The lights come on, and Dr. Rowitz is dead on the floor. Like the other victims, he has been stabbed in the base of his brain. Dr. Duke has risen from his wheelchair and is walking.
Dr. X calls for Dr. Well just as the missing doctor crashes through the door of the experiment control room. Dr. Well says he was hit from behind when the lights went out. Joanne is shocked, having seen the body of Dr. Rowitz. The group finds Lee passed out in the skeleton room. Lee confesses who he is and why he was hiding in the room. Joanne convinces Lee not to file his story by agreeing to have breakfast with him. Dr. X orders Otto to watch Lee and make sure he doesn’t leave or make a phone call. Otto arrives and takes Lee to his room.
Around midnight, Joanne has a worrying dream about her father. Someone is walking in the hall, but she can’t see who it is. She finds her father leaning over the dead body. As they begin to leave, Dr. Haines comes to look at the body as well. Joanne is sent to her room. Otto watches from the shadows. The two doctors confirm that part of the body has been eaten since it was left alone.
In the morning, Joanne and Lee go to the beach, where they flirt a little bit. Joanne sees that someone is watching them from the cliffs. Joanne implies the way her father was leaning over the body as if eating it. It is Dr. Haines that is watching from above.
Mamie is sick from the previous night’s adventure. She is treated by Joanne and Dr. Wells. They all agree that Mamie will not do the experiment. Lee is missing.
Lee searches the dark mansion, but his flashlight fails. The hands of the killer reach from a doorway toward Lee. The killer is scared away at the last minute. Lee enters the killer’s door and falls down a chute into another room. Mamie reads the tea leaves in her cup and sees a skull and crossbones. She fills the tea cup with Dry Gin.
The Commissioner shortens the deadline to midnight. He orders an officer to be at the mansion at midnight.
It is 11:00 pm when Drs. X and Wells have the experiment setup. Joanne will be in the role of the victim. Dr. Duke, Dr. Haines, and Dr. X are attached to the machine and are handcuffed to the chairs. Dr. Wells is the only one from the academy that is loose.
Otto prepares Joanne for the role. She is only worried about her father. Otto tells her to keep her eyes closed and to relax. Dr. Wells goes to the control room. Otto is sent to lock all the doors so no one can get in, even Wells. In the control room, Wells stares at the full moon and begins growling like a wild animal. He removes his prosthetic hand.
Wells opens a secret door, replaces his hand with a monster hand, and says synthetic flesh. He turns on an electrical machine and places the hand in the stream until it becomes animate. Dr. Wells covers his face with liquid synthetic flesh until he is transformed into the killing monster that has been shown before. After the synthetic flesh is fully animated, he leaves the room through the chute Lee fell through.
Otto is dressing to act out the murder when Dr. Wells, the killer, attacks him from behind.
The three doctors are handcuffed in front of the reenactment. Dr. Rowitz, having replaced Otto, approaches Joanne on the stage. She sees his hideous face and cries out. They struggle but cannot get loose. Dr. Wells reveals that he is the killer. Then he becomes a Bond villain and explains how he went to Africa to get flesh samples for his experiments in creating replacement flesh.
Lee busts onto the stage and attacks Dr. Wells. Joanne is passed out. Finally, she wakes and sets the three doctors free. Lee is losing the fight. Lee throws a lamp at Dr. Wells, covering him in flames. Lee linebackers the killer, sending the flaming body over the cliff.
They all run in and check on Lee. Lee calls in his story to the newspaper. He is frightened when Joanne comes out of a doorway. They decide that they will be married. Lee says he used the joy buzzer on the killer. They kiss in the dark, and he buzzes her with his gag device.
Conclusion – Doctor X (1932)
Today’s film was an early Technicolor release. However, a black-and-white version was also shot. The color camera took the primary position, and the B&W camera was off to the side, filming another angle. The color version was sent to major markets, and the B&W copies went to smaller markets. The B&W version became the most commonly played version. This gave most people the impression that this film was only B&W.
Warner Bros. did not have a color print of the film, which was assumed to be lost. Following his death, a color copy was found in the personal collection of Jack L. Warner. The color version was restored in 1978.
They called the killer in this film the Moon Killer. The Moon Killer was modeled after Albert Fish. The latter was known as the Moon Maniac for his cannibalistic murder spree that lasted from 1924 to 1932. The killer was still on the loose when this film began production.[6] This will tie in with the following film review, The Return of Dr. X (1939), starring Humphrey Bogart.
World-Famous Short Summary – Beware the light of the full moon
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Beware the moors.
[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022827/
[2] Doctor X – Rotten Tomatoes
[3] https://www.nytimes.com/1932/08/04/archives/lionel-atwill-and-lee-tracy-in-an-exciting-murder-mastery-at.html
[4] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022827/trivia/
[5] Joy buzzer – Wikipedia
[6] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022827/trivia/
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