DOCTOR X (1932)
Label: Warner Archive
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 76 Minutes
Audio: English DTS HD-Master Audio 2.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD 1.37:1 Full Frame
Director: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Lee Tracy, Preston Foster, John Wray, Harry Beresford, Arthur Edmund Carewe, George Rosener, Leila Bennett
Doctor X (1932) is a pre-code murder-mystery thriller filmed in rare two-strip Technicolor, directed by Michael Curtiz (The Mysteries of the Wax Museum) and starring the legendary Lionel Atwill (Murders in the Zoo), scream queen Fay Wray (King Kong), and comedic actor Lee Tracy (High Tide). In Tracy plays the wisecracking reporter Taylor who is working the "Moon Killer" story, a series of gruesome murders that have all occurred under the lunar light of the full moon. The victims have all been lacerated and mutilated with a surgical scalpel, and show signs of cannibalism, and eye witnesses report seeing a disfigured, ghoulish looking killer in the vicinity. The cops suspect that the murderer is a physician at the Academy of Surgical Research run by the esteemed Doctor Xavier (Atwill), as the type of scalpel used is in the murders is known to be exclusive to the academy.
Dr. X is also convinced that culprit is one of his own doctors, all of whom have shady backgrounds and areas of study. For some strange reason the cops give Xavier a 48-hours deadline to suss out the culprit himself before they storm the clinic, with the doctor setting up a wild, pseudo-scientific experiment to reveal who the cannibal killer is.
To that end he summons the doctors to his seaside mansion that atop a stone-faced cliff, we have Dr. Wells (Preston Foster, Kansas City Confidential), Dr. Haines (John Wray, The Cat and the Canary), the one-armed Dr. Duke (Harry Beresford, Murders in the Zoo) and Dr. Rowitz (Arthur Edmund Carewe, Charlie Chan's Secret), all of whom are potential killers with bizarre perversions and/or peculiar specialties, including voyeurism, the study of the effects of the moon on the mind, and cannibal tribes. At his gizmo-filled lab bubbling with alchemy and art-deco quackery Dr. X stages an elaborate recreation of the heinous murders with the help of his creepy scare-happy butler Otto (George Rosener, The Case of the Black Cat) and a scaredy-cat maid named Mamie (Leila Bennett, Mark of the Vampire), as well as his attractive daughter Joanne (Wray) after a nerve-wracked Mamie backs out of a second performance. The experiment ends up being crashed by the smart-talking newshound Taylor who ends up saving Joanne, who he has eyes for, when the light go out and the ghoulish "synthetic flesh" Moon Killer is revealed!
This was a fantastic watch, a pre-code terror with weird comic interludes courtesy of the scene-stealing Taylor that are reminiscent of The Bowery Boys comedies, but it still has plenty of atmosphere and pre-code dark elements like a blood-spattered surgical smock, and the sensational cannibalism element, which this prescient slice of horror was an early practitioner of. Even though the cannibalism is not overt the very thought of it must have jangled some movie-goer nerves back in '32!
Audio/Video: Doctor X (1932) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from Warner Archive in 1080p HD framed in the original full frame 1.37:1 aspect ratio. This is a brand new 2021 1080p HD master sourced from a new 4K restoration of the last-known surviving nitrate Technicolor print by UCLA Film and Television Archive and The Film Foundation in association with Warner Bros. Entertainment. The two-strip Technicolor process gives the film a nightmarish feel with gorgeous emerald greens and peachy looking skin hues. The shadows are wonderfully rich and deep, and those green hues are used to eerie and dramatic effect, with the art-deco architecture and mad science laboratories looking brilliant, bathed in expressionist shadow and eerie green light. There are some occasional missing frames but these pass by nearly unnoticed, and overall this is an epic restoration of a wonderfully entertaining pre-code horror flick. Be sure to check out the over 100 screenshots from the Blu-ray at the bottom of the review, including extras, color versus black white comparison, and before/after restoration comparison!
Audio comes by way of a restored and uncompressed English DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono with optional English subtitles. The audio clean-up and restoration is excellent, at nearly ninety-years old I didn't expect audio magic, but it nearly is just that. All significant crackle, pops and hiss have been painstakingly removed, though there is still some faint, just barely audible instances of hiss present, but its a remarkable restoration and perseveration. Dialogue is strong and sharp, including scream queen Fay Wray's first onscreen shriek!
Warner Archive always knock it out of the park with their restorations, but are not known for their generous helpings of new extras, so when we do get some it is a cause for celebration, so put on your party hats! Extras kick-off with a pair of audio commentaries, the first is a new commentary with author/film historian Alan K. Rode, and the second with Scott MacQueen, head of preservation, UCLA Film and Television Archive. Both commentaries are exclusive to the Technicolor version of the film, and are overstuffed with info about the film, Warner Bros, director Michael Curtiz, the two-strip Technicolor process and how influential this film is.
We also get a 28-min featutette Monsters and Mayhem: The Horror Films of Michael Curtiz with both Alan K. Rode and Scott MacQueen giving an appreciation for the director whom they argue should be re-evaluated as a true Master of Horror based on his three pre-code entries in the genre. They dig into each of the films and the director's later career.
Another fantastic inclusion is the 97-min black and white version of the film. Unique in that it is not merely a monochromatic version of the movie but a separately filmed version with the same cast and the same sets, not unlike the Spanish version of Universal's Dracula (1931). Its a terrific looking 1080p HD presentation, with uncompressed mono audio, that is actually a bit sharper and more detailed than its two-strip Technicolor sibling, but doesn't have that awesome green glow! This too has been restored from its original nitrate camera negative, it originally having been intended for small U.S. markets and International distribution, and which has been out of distribution for over 30 years!
Another eye-opening extra is an 8-min UCLA Before & After Restoration featurette with commentary by Scott MacQueen, head of preservation, UCLA Film and Television Archive, detailing the extensive restoration process with before and after clips showcasing the raw scans of the nitrate print versus the restoration, and its nothing short of cinematic-magic. The disc is buttoned-up with a 2-min trailer for the black and white version of the film, which sells it as a romantic comedy for some off reason, apparently Warner Bros. were a bit nose-up about the whole horror thing, even though they were aiming to out-Frankenstein Universal's monster flicks.
The single-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a one-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the outstanding, original movie poster illustration, the same artwork is excerpted on the Blu-ray disc.
Special Features:
- Alternate B&W version of DOCTOR (97 min) HD
- UCLA Before & After Restoration featurette (8 min) HD
- New documentary: "Monsters and Mayhem: The Horror Films of Michael Curtiz (28 min) HD
- New Audio Commentary by author/film historian Alan K. Rode
- Archival Audio Commentary by Scott MacQueen, head of preservation, UCLA Film and Television Archive
- Original B&W Theatrical Trailer (2 min) HD
Doctor X (1932) is a very entertaining pre-code murder thriller with some fun comedic interludes, gorgeous two-strip Technicolor visuals, and it offers not one, but five, potential murderous mad scientists, a synthetic flesh ghoul, and a cool art-deco laboratory. To see this vintage pre-code horror gets such a lavish, loving and masterful restoration is a cinema lover's wet dream, making this this two-strip Technicolor terror easy to recommend to all and any lovers of vintage genre cinema.
Screenshots from the Blu-ray:
Extras:
Restoration Demo:
Top: Raw Scan of Jack Warner Nitrate Print
Bottom: Restored Version
