The Return of Doctor X (1939)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Vincent Sherman

Writers:

Lee Katz (screenplay)
William J. Makin (story)

Release Date:

2 December 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD...TO HAUNT THE LIVING!!!

Plot:

A hotshot reporter and a young doctor team up to investigate a series of grisly murders and a mysterious sample of synthetic blood.

Plot Keywords:

Blood | Reporter | Doctor | Murder | Actress

Cast

Wayne Morris	...	Walter 'Wichita' Garrett (onscreen credit reads 'Walter Barnett')
Rosemary Lane	...	Joan Vance
Humphrey Bogart	...	Dr. Maurice Xavier, aka Marshall Quesne
Dennis Morgan	...	Dr. Mike Rhodes
John Litel	...	Dr. Francis Flegg
Lya Lys	...	Angela Merrova
Huntz Hall	...	Pinky
Charles C. Wilson	...	Detective Roy Kincaid (as Charles Wilson)
Vera Lewis	...	Miss Sweetman
Howard C. Hickman	...	Chairman (scenes deleted) (as Howard Hickman)
Olin Howland	...	Undertaker
Arthur Aylesworth	...	Guide (scenes deleted)
Cliff Saum	...	Detective Sgt. Moran
Creighton Hale	...	Hotel Manager
John Ridgely	...	Stanley Rodgers
Joseph Crehan	...	Editor
Glenn Langan	...	Interne
William Hopper	...	Interne (as DeWolf Hopper)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nat Carr	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Loia Cheaney	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Eddie Graham	...	Hospital Attendant (uncredited)
John Harron	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Mike Lally	...	Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Frank Mayo	...	Attorney (uncredited)
John 'Skins' Miller	...	Newspaper Vendor (uncredited)
Jack Mower	...	Policeman Guarding Rodgers' Room (uncredited)
Paul Panzer	...	Hospital Attendant (uncredited)
Frank Pharr	...	Andy, the Night Editor (uncredited)
Gwen Seager	...	Miss Lawrence (uncredited)
Claude Wisberg	...	Office Boy (uncredited)
Ian Wolfe	...	Cemetery Caretaker (uncredited)

Directed by
Vincent Sherman

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Lee Katz		screenplay
William J. Makin		story "The Doctor's Secret"

Produced by
Bryan Foy	....	associate producer (uncredited)
Hal B. Wallis	....	executive producer (uncredited)
Jack L. Warner	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Bernhard Kaun		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Sidney Hickox		(as Sid Hickox)

Film Editing by
Thomas Pratt

Art Direction by
Esdras Hartley

Costume Design by
Milo Anderson		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Perc Westmore	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Louis Baum	....	unit manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Richard Maybery	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Charles Lang	....	sound

Stunts
Buster Wiles	....	stunt double: Humphrey Bogart (uncredited)

Music Department
Bernhard Kaun	....	composer: music cues (uncredited)
Bernhard Kaun	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Max Steiner	....	composer: music cues (uncredited)

Other crew
John Langan	....	dialogue director
Dr. Leo Morton Schulman	....	technical advisor (as Dr. Leo Schulman)

Production Companies

• First National Pictures
• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1939) (USA) (theatrical)
• Fang Video (video)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD) (on "Hollywood's Legends of Horror Collection")

Also Known As:

The Return of Dr. X (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

62 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Sweden:15 | UK:H | USA:Approved (PCA #5541)

Company:

First National Pictures

Trivia:

Humphrey Bogart said of this film: "This is one of the pictures that made me march in to [Warner Bros. studio chief Jack L. Warner] and ask for more money again. You can't believe what this one was like. I had a part that somebody like Bela Lugosi or Boris Karloff should have played. I was this doctor, brought back to life, and the only thing that nourished this poor bastard was blood. If it had been Jack Warner's blood, or Harry's, or Pop's, maybe I wouldn't have minded as much. The trouble was, they were drinking mine and I was making this stinking movie."

Quotes:

Dr. Mike Rhodes: Thank you very much.
Walter 'Wichita' Garrett: Well, I hope to see you again sometime.
Undertaker: I'm sure you will!
[Garrett does a reactive 'take.']

Movie Connections:

Featured in Becoming Attractions: The Trailers of Humphrey Bogart (1997) (TV)

Fright Night With Bogie

This picture isn't bad at all, and is quite entertaining. It's problem is that it isn't very credible. In order to enjoy it one has to put oneself back into the spirit of the late thirties, as the nation was still reeling from the Depression and very much in need this sort of anodyne movie.

Basically it's a mad doctor movie mixed with the sort of breezy newspaper comedy (such as His Girl Friday) then popular. The story has little to do with the first Doctor X movie, which is quite different. Vincent Sherman directs his scenes for maximum suspense and energy, and makes a go at a contemporary horror film set in New York, with brownstones, hospitals and funeral parlors filling in for the usual old dark houses and castles. He succeeds very nicely.

The young leading players are likable but unexceptional. John Litel is, however, very fine as a sane doctor being manipulated by a mad one. The most notable casting is Humphrey Bogart as the resurrected Dr. X, and he is if nothing else visually striking, with his chalky face and hair with a white streak down the middle. He is altogether too familiar to be convincing in the role, which he handles competently.

Overall, I think it's fair to say the movie wasn't meant to be taken too seriously. It was made at a time when horror movies were made for fun as much as fright. Taken on its own terms it delivers the goods, and makes the Warners' standard issue New York streets look as spooky as a graveyard at Halloween.