Horrorfest 2023: Doctor X

DOCTOR X

Screenplay by Robert Tasker and Earl Baldwin

Based on the play by Howard W. Comstock and Allen C. Miller

Directed by Michael Curtiz

Starring Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Lee Tracy and Preston Foster

USA, 1932

I almost didn't watch DOCTOR X this year because I wrongfully assumed I had already seen it. I'm glad I didn't make this mistake, because not only did it turn out I hadn't seen it before, but it also turned out to be great.

This two-strip Technicolor mad scientist film tells the tale of a Dr. Xavier (Lionel Atwill) who comes under suspicion of being a serial killer when it appears the ritualistic murders are being carried out with a special scalpel specific to his institution. The killer only kills by the full moon and cannibalizes the corpses. Not only is Atwill under suspicion, but so are there rest of the weird crew of seemingly mad doctors at his institution (Preston Foster, John Wray, Harry Beresford and Arthur Edmund Carewe, all in memorable performances). The cops give Atwill 48 hours to figure out who the killer is, so he takes the whole crew to his isolated cliff-side manor to perform a bizarre experiment intended to expose the murderer.

Also along for the ride is the comic relief, a nosy report (Lee Tracy) who has his eyes on Dr. Xavier's daughter (Fay Wray). I've always liked Fay Wray, ever since childhood, when I was obsessed with the original KING KONG. Aside from Carrie Fisher, she must have been one of the first actresses I actually paid attention to and knew who she was. Probably the only first-grader in 1987 who was a Fay Wray fan. In any case, any time she shows up in a movie, it's a treat for me, and this movie's no different.

I mentioned the two-strip Technicolor earlier -- this is an earlier (and more rare) version of color photography than most audiences of today will be used to. When you hear Technicolor, you think the full rainbow of saturated colors in films like THE WIZARD OF OZ and GONE WITH THE WIND. These movies use the more modern, much more popular THREE-strip process, where red, green and blue are combined to make all the colors you can imagine. With the two-strip method, cameras only had red and green to mix together, so you got some color, but it looks way different -- sort of muted and pastel, in a way. In some ways, it made the flesh tones look more like modern photography, oddly enough. Whatever it is, it makes every frame of the film fascinating to watch, because the film looks unlike most others anyone's seen.

Add to this the fact we've got some pretty sweet mad scientist laboratory sets with lots of weird electrical machines that go buzz and lots of levers to pull and throw, and the whole thing is a pretty satisfying experience and an efficient little thriller that's never boring.