Dr. X is the film that made a horror star out of Lionel Atwill, and where would the genre be without him? Here he stars as the titular Dr. (Xavier)convinced that a member of the medical academy he runs is the mysterious moon-killer, a cannibal that strangles his victims and then tears out the left deltoid muscle. Maybe they taste like chicken? Meanwhile our intrepid reporter-hero-comic relief-annoying little git is out to get the inside story. The latter trait is much to the for, as Lee Tracey, who plays him, is about as funny as finding out Hannibal Lecter was your chef for the evening. Even fairly early in the proceedings, when he clings to a gutter to listen in to Xavier's plans, I was willing him to fall.
Luckily as well as the ever reliable Atwill we have Fay Wray on hand to concentrate on. In the excellently restored DVD I watched Miss Wray looks strikingly beautiful and gives a natural and likable performance as Xavier's daughter Joanna. This being a Warner Bros film, it's fast-paced, yet retains a creepy atmosphere. Legendary director Michael Curtiz, responsible for such classics as Casablanca and Angels With Dirty Faces, never lets the action stop and gives us a marvellous experiment scene, with Xavier trying to uncover the murderer's identity by having the chief suspects watch a re-enactment of the killer's crimes.
Of course the solution to the mystery is absurd, but this is a fantasy-horror and it works well within the context of the film. The two-tone colour (Red and Green) looks fantastic in the now fully remastered DVD; and Dr. X will hold your interest to the very end. Wray and Atwill were soon to reunite in The Vampire Bat and Mystery of The Wax Museum, the latter another excellent two-tone horror from Warners.
Luckily as well as the ever reliable Atwill we have Fay Wray on hand to concentrate on. In the excellently restored DVD I watched Miss Wray looks strikingly beautiful and gives a natural and likable performance as Xavier's daughter Joanna. This being a Warner Bros film, it's fast-paced, yet retains a creepy atmosphere. Legendary director Michael Curtiz, responsible for such classics as Casablanca and Angels With Dirty Faces, never lets the action stop and gives us a marvellous experiment scene, with Xavier trying to uncover the murderer's identity by having the chief suspects watch a re-enactment of the killer's crimes.
Of course the solution to the mystery is absurd, but this is a fantasy-horror and it works well within the context of the film. The two-tone colour (Red and Green) looks fantastic in the now fully remastered DVD; and Dr. X will hold your interest to the very end. Wray and Atwill were soon to reunite in The Vampire Bat and Mystery of The Wax Museum, the latter another excellent two-tone horror from Warners.