Dr. Renault's Secret (1942)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Harry Lachman

Writers:

William Bruckner (screenplay) and
Robert F. Metzler (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

19 October 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Romance | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

His animal instinct cannot be tamed!

Plot:

Dr. Larry Forbes visits the château of Dr. Robert Renault, uncle of his fiancée Madelon, who is idolized by Renault's assistant, a strange émigré from Java.

Plot Keywords:

Assistant | Village | Java | Gardener | Dog

Cast

J. Carrol Naish	...	Noel
Shepperd Strudwick	...	Dr. Larry Forbes (as John Shepperd)
Lynne Roberts	...	Madelon Renault
George Zucco	...	Dr. Robert Renault
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ed Agresti	...	Mr. La Rue (uncredited)
Carmen Beretta	...	Mrs. La Rue (uncredited)
Eugene Borden	...	The Coroner (uncredited)
Alex Chivra	...	Townsman at Dance (uncredited)
Ann Codee	...	Passerby at Marcel's shop (uncredited)
Ray Corrigan	...	The Ape (uncredited)
George Davis	...	Strong Man Contest Proprietor (uncredited)
Jean Del Val	...	Henri, the butler (uncredited)
Joseph DeVillard	...	Townsman at Dance (uncredited)
Charles La Torre	...	Marcel Perron, the barber (uncredited)
Mike Mazurki	...	Rogell (uncredited)
Louis Mercier	...	The Bus Driver (uncredited)
Jack Norton	...	Mr. Austin (uncredited)
Bert Roach	...	The Hotel Proprietor (uncredited)
Arthur Shields	...	Inspector Duval (uncredited)
Charles Wagenheim	...	Jacques, a detective (uncredited)
Max Willenz	...	Louis, the barkeeper (uncredited)

Directed by
Harry Lachman

Writing credits
William Bruckner		(screenplay) and
Robert F. Metzler		(screenplay)
Gaston Leroux		novel "Balaoo" (uncredited)

Produced by
Sol M. Wurtzel	....	executive producer

Original Music by
David Raksin

Cinematography by
Virgil Miller

Film Editing by
Fred Allen

Art Direction by
Richard Day
Nathan Juran

Set Decoration by
Paul S. Fox
Thomas Little

Sound Department
Eugene Grossman	....	sound
Harry M. Leonard	....	sound

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Herschel McCoy	....	wardrobe supervisor

Music Department
Emil Newman	....	musical director
Arthur Morton	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1942) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

58 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:Approved

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Quotes:

Marcel Perron, the barber: [watching Noel dance and chuckling] Maybe we should give Noel some peanuts. He dances like an ape.
Louis, the barkeeper: Ape? You mean a fat little monkey!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Creature Features: House of Dracula/Dr. Renault's Secret (#1.37)" (1971)

Watchable if you like the genre, but not exactly ground-breaking or exciting

George Zucco is a scientist and to fans of the horror genre, it's not at all surprising that he's a mad scientist since he's played this in so many low-budget films. His assistant is the rather dim and violent J. Carrol Naish. It's obvious SOMETHING is wrong here, but at first it is a bit vague. Unfortunately, though, the film telegraphs its "dark secrets" and the plot seems awfully familiar, so when things do heat up, it never really gets very exciting. I'm not a genius, but I pretty much figured out the plot after watching the film for 10 minutes.

So why, then, did I watch this very bland film? Well, I like the genre and assume those who like these cheesy old horror films would also probably stick it out until the end--especially since this film is less than an hour long. However, if this isn't your style of film, there's nothing about this one that will convince you to watch another.

By the way, my wife says I'm too picky, but this was a sloppy film in several places. In one scene, a man is strangled to death but as his corpse is being thrown out a window, the "dead man" visibly moves his arms to give his attacker and easier time tossing him! A short time later, a man is killed in a barber shop where there is a shade drawn over the glass door. But, when the police break the glass to enter, the shade is up, not down!