A hotshot reporter and a young doctor team up to investigate a series of grisly murders and a mysterious sample of synthetic blood.
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Title: The Return of Doctor X (1939)
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Edit
Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Humphrey Bogart | ... | Marshall Quesne | |
| Rosemary Lane | ... | Joan Vance | |
| Wayne Morris | ... | Walter Garrett | |
| Dennis Morgan | ... | Michael 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 Hickman | ... | Chairman (scenes deleted) | |
| Olin Howland | ... | Undertaker | |
| Arthur Aylesworth | ... | Guide (scenes deleted) | |
 |
Cliff Saum | ... | Detective Sgt. Moran |
| Creighton Hale | ... | Hotel Manager | |
| John Ridgely | ... | Rodgers | |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Plot Synopsis
Storyline
New York newspaper reporter Walter Barnett finds himself out of a job after he claims to have found actress Angela Merrova dead in her apartment - only the next day she showed up alive and threatened to sue the paper. Determined to investigate he discovers her involvement with a strange doctor who is an expert on human blood. Barnett then finds a connection to a series of gruesome murders where the victims were all found drained of blood. Written by Col Needham <col@imdb.com>
Taglines:
He lives to kill and kills to live! See more »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
2 December 1939 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
The Return of Dr. X See more »Filming Locations:
Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USACompany Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1
Edit
Editor: If she's not dead, they're playing a dirty trick on her because they're taking her over to Bixby's Undertaking Parlor.
[to both Rhodes and Garrett]
Editor: Now get out of here both of you!
Walter 'Wichita' Garrett: Yes, sir!
Editor: [angrily] And don't come back!
[they leave]
Walter 'Wichita' Garrett: [to Rhodes] I won't believe she's dead 'til I see it with my own eyes. Even then I won't believe it!
See more »
Did You Know?
Goofs
Although Wayne Morris is billed as "Walter Barnett", he is called "Walter Garrett" in the film. See more »Quotes
Walter 'Wichita' Garrett: Maybe she's not dead.Editor: If she's not dead, they're playing a dirty trick on her because they're taking her over to Bixby's Undertaking Parlor.
[to both Rhodes and Garrett]
Editor: Now get out of here both of you!
Walter 'Wichita' Garrett: Yes, sir!
Editor: [angrily] And don't come back!
[they leave]
Walter 'Wichita' Garrett: [to Rhodes] I won't believe she's dead 'til I see it with my own eyes. Even then I won't believe it!
See more »
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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.