Very early horror entry from Warner Brothers on the heels of Universal's success with Dracula and Frankenstein. Rather than use older, more costly period piece backdrops for their horror movie stories, Warner Brothers innovatively(and frugally I might add) decided to use modern settings and modern "monsters." Doctor X is a fast-paced thriller about a moon killer that strangles his victims and uses a very sharp surgical instrument to dissect them for...let's just say its seems for a late midnight snack. The story for its time is quite shocking, and director Michael Curtiz(of Casablanca fame) has obvious talent creating ominous moods, dark, barely-lit streets, and hands coming out of the darkness. Lionel Atwill, the oily/suave-British-character actor stalwart, plays Doctor X, a man who tries to find the moon killer from his scientific institution rather than have the police bring the school's name in the mud. Doctor X is himself a suspect and the cast of doctors along with John Wray and Preston Foster is an eccentric bunch indeed. Atwill and his scientific cronies give solid performances as does Fay Wray as Atwill's daughter and the love interest of reporter Lee Tracy. Tracy; however, tries to give more of a comedic turn as the stereotypical wise-cracking, joke-buzzer-in-hand reporter out to get a story no matter what. He really got on my nerves with his portrayal and obvious shortcomings as a thespian. But the film zips by and has a whole lot of punch for its day.
Review of Doctor X
