The 1930's was one of the most interesting transitional periods for the horror genre; it marked the heyday of the classic Gothic horror film, and the seeds of elements from the contemporary noir thrillers and 'Old Dark house' comedies which would later evolve into the 'Gruesome True Crime' films, and much later; the Slasher flick. 'Doctor X' is a great embodiment of all those different eras in one neat package.
Like a noir film, the film takes place mostly at night with many expressionistic camera angles and reliance on shadows to create ambiance, like a crime thriller/whodunit, the film has police, reporters and multiple suspects, like an Old Dark House film, there's creepy but comical servants and well, an old dark house, and like various Gothic horror films, there's a mad scientist villain who may as well be a magician. Half the fun, however, is figuring out who the villain is.
The plot is somewhat convoluted, but told in a linear enough fashion. A series of grisly killings that take place in the full moon(which may or, may not involve cannibalism) which the police determine could have only been committed using a certain kind of scalpel found exclusively at a currently closed university run by Doctor Xavier(Lionel Atwill); it seems all the doctors are likely suspects, but at the same time each has a plausible alibi, Xavier is given 48 hours to determine which of his faculty is the killer. Meanwhile, a wisecracking reporter(Lee Tracy)is hot on the trail not only of the killer, but of Xavier's daughter(Fay Wray, a year away from the role that would make her famous in 'King Kong'). Hilarity, or what we're supposed to see as hilarity, ensues, along with some good natured scares.
The film has several odd elements worth mentioning, not the least of which is that it was one of the rare films of this era shot in color. For one, as often as Tracy's reporter character is criticized for being annoying(And a gag involving a hand-buzzer wears thin REALLY fast), he does not slow down the narrative as much as you would think. For some odd reason, characters like him who are often the sidekick of the main hero really do annoy me, but I had no problem with him here, because he IS the hero, not a sidekick. You'd expect that giving such a character such prominent screen time would make him more annoying, but it doesn't. Thankfully, there is no straight man for his antics to draw attention from, so his antics seem natural. Plus, it works as a character trait when you think about it, he's selfish and annoying and only thinks he's funny, but that's one of his flaws. And best of all, he actually does get to show some depth and dignity by being THE man who defeats the villain at the end. It may not be three-dimensional character development, but it's something you didn't see everyday in such comedy-relief characters.
What's also interesting are some of the 'jump' scenes. Several years before Val Lewton perfected the 'bus' sequences in his films, 'Doctor X' throws in several; from a genuinely chilling scene where the Moon Killer zeroes in on our hero, to a scene where one of the suspected doctors is introduced in silhouette, his pointed beard and disheveled, pointing hair spikes making him look like the devil. Great stuff. It's also interesting how the title could refer to either Xavier(Who IS a suspect just as much as the others), or as a metaphorical term for the search, after all, if one of the doctors has to be the killer, than the search is for 'Doctor X'. Clever.
So other than some plot holes, flat gags, the usual contrived love story, and a never explained motive for why the killer is compelled by the full moon, the film is a ton of fun to watch. And even just the HINT that the killer may or may not be a cannibal must have made this too gruesome for words back in the '30's. The color is also a nice plus.
Don't miss it. Just be sure to apply a lot of 'Sssssssynthet-tic Flessshhhh' before watching it(A scene which was a real creeper then, and still is today).
Y'know what's funny? The more I re-evaluate the '30's horror classics I loved as a kid, the more I realize that, aside from the Whale films and the Lugosi/Karloff trilogy, the majority of the best films of the era were not from Universal. Bizarre.~
Like a noir film, the film takes place mostly at night with many expressionistic camera angles and reliance on shadows to create ambiance, like a crime thriller/whodunit, the film has police, reporters and multiple suspects, like an Old Dark House film, there's creepy but comical servants and well, an old dark house, and like various Gothic horror films, there's a mad scientist villain who may as well be a magician. Half the fun, however, is figuring out who the villain is.
The plot is somewhat convoluted, but told in a linear enough fashion. A series of grisly killings that take place in the full moon(which may or, may not involve cannibalism) which the police determine could have only been committed using a certain kind of scalpel found exclusively at a currently closed university run by Doctor Xavier(Lionel Atwill); it seems all the doctors are likely suspects, but at the same time each has a plausible alibi, Xavier is given 48 hours to determine which of his faculty is the killer. Meanwhile, a wisecracking reporter(Lee Tracy)is hot on the trail not only of the killer, but of Xavier's daughter(Fay Wray, a year away from the role that would make her famous in 'King Kong'). Hilarity, or what we're supposed to see as hilarity, ensues, along with some good natured scares.
The film has several odd elements worth mentioning, not the least of which is that it was one of the rare films of this era shot in color. For one, as often as Tracy's reporter character is criticized for being annoying(And a gag involving a hand-buzzer wears thin REALLY fast), he does not slow down the narrative as much as you would think. For some odd reason, characters like him who are often the sidekick of the main hero really do annoy me, but I had no problem with him here, because he IS the hero, not a sidekick. You'd expect that giving such a character such prominent screen time would make him more annoying, but it doesn't. Thankfully, there is no straight man for his antics to draw attention from, so his antics seem natural. Plus, it works as a character trait when you think about it, he's selfish and annoying and only thinks he's funny, but that's one of his flaws. And best of all, he actually does get to show some depth and dignity by being THE man who defeats the villain at the end. It may not be three-dimensional character development, but it's something you didn't see everyday in such comedy-relief characters.
What's also interesting are some of the 'jump' scenes. Several years before Val Lewton perfected the 'bus' sequences in his films, 'Doctor X' throws in several; from a genuinely chilling scene where the Moon Killer zeroes in on our hero, to a scene where one of the suspected doctors is introduced in silhouette, his pointed beard and disheveled, pointing hair spikes making him look like the devil. Great stuff. It's also interesting how the title could refer to either Xavier(Who IS a suspect just as much as the others), or as a metaphorical term for the search, after all, if one of the doctors has to be the killer, than the search is for 'Doctor X'. Clever.
So other than some plot holes, flat gags, the usual contrived love story, and a never explained motive for why the killer is compelled by the full moon, the film is a ton of fun to watch. And even just the HINT that the killer may or may not be a cannibal must have made this too gruesome for words back in the '30's. The color is also a nice plus.
Don't miss it. Just be sure to apply a lot of 'Sssssssynthet-tic Flessshhhh' before watching it(A scene which was a real creeper then, and still is today).
Y'know what's funny? The more I re-evaluate the '30's horror classics I loved as a kid, the more I realize that, aside from the Whale films and the Lugosi/Karloff trilogy, the majority of the best films of the era were not from Universal. Bizarre.~