Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Doctor X Blu-ray Movie Review

Synthetic flesh...!

Reviewed by Randy Miller III April 6, 2021

Michael Curtiz's Doctor X is the first full-length horror movie shot entirely in color, a two-strip Technicolor oddity that also stood as the director's first of three entries in that genre. Yet while it was entirely supplanted by his own Mystery of the Wax Museum the following year, its importance as an early pre-Code production makes it well worth revisiting. And in wonderful color, no less! Beautifully restored by UCLA Film and Television Archive and The Film Foundation, in association with Warner Bros. Entertainment, it marks yet another outstanding Warner Archive Collection Blu-ray that, in addition to the terrific new 1080p presentation, comes fully loaded with a few brand-new bonus features.

An unsurprising success upon its 1932 theatrical release, Doctor X was basically Warner Bros.' response to the huge public response towards Universal's then-recent horror films Dracula and Frankenstein. In keeping with the studio's avoidance of an all-out fright fest, however, Doctor X was infused with a dose of comedy and Warner Bros.' house style of "ripped-from-the-headlines" stories led by fast-talking newspaper men -- in this case, NYC reporter Lee Taylor (Lee Tracy), who's investigating a series of brutal, cannibalistic murders all taking place under a full moon. These murders are also all in the vicinity of the Mott Street Morgue, headed by Doctor Xavier (Lionel Atwill) and his team of dedicated scientists including one-armed Wells (Preston Foster), Haines (John Wray), Duke (Harry Beresford), and Rowitz (Arthur Edmund Carewe). The police investigate and Dr. Xavier, desperate to keep his business out of the paper, begs them to let him find the killer in his own way. He's got 48 hours to do the job, but it'll all be over before then.

Besides for its borderline ridiculous plot, Doctor X's infusion of comedy does it almost no favors... but it does amp up the terrific production design and a few genuine scares, amplified by the film's two-strip Technicolor visuals. Audiences of the day were no doubt horrified to see its gruesome make-up effects and the occasional blood-spattered lab coat, which led to its box office success and an immediate encore crafted by several of the same cast and crew members, Curtiz's superior The Mystery of the Wax Museum. (Even its title theme is recycled!) Incidentally, both were also made for another very specific reason: to finish the studio's contract for two-strip Technicolor pictures, which audiences had mostly grown tired of by the early 1930s -- after early successes with musicals like On With the Show and Gold Diggers of Broadway -- but was put to good use here. The performances are either solid or deliciously campy, chief among them the first horror showing by future scream queen Fay Wray (just one year away from King Kong), who portrays Dr. X's lovely daughter Joanne and is the unwitting bait in his creepy experiments to catch the murderer.

Doctor X is surprisingly effective during key stretches and truly memorable in others... but during at least half of its brief 76-minute lifespan, it plays out like the blueprint for Scooby-Doo. It's still a pretty enjoyable time at the movies... and what's more, Warner Archive's stunning new Blu-ray offers some of the most impressive support for a catalog title that I've seen to date. Much like last year's treatment of The Mystery of the Wax Museum, it combines a terrific new 4K-sourced restoration of original Technicolor nitrate materials with lossless audio and a terrific collection of mostly new extras -- this time around, there's even a second version of the film included! This one's already on the short list for 2021's best home video releases in my book, which makes it an absolute no-brainer for die-hard fans.

Doctor X Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Doctor X was meticulously restored from a recent 4K scan of the last surviving Technicolor nitrate print, which was famously discovered in Jack Warner's personal collection during the 1970s. As seen in an accompanying restoration featurette, the raw 4K scan of this source was treated to frame-by-frame cleanup with some missing elements filled in from other sources, including a reel of fragments held at the Library of Congress. Additional color balancing and other corrections were used to smooth out its overall consistency, bestowing a level of vibrancy not unlike the restoration for The Mystery of the Wax Museum. Fine detail and contest levels are more than respectable under the circumstances, but two-strip Technicolor films are defined by their very specific red-and-green dominant color palette, which produces satisfying neutral colors and features a soft, almost powdery appearance. Within those narrow boundaries it's another clear winner, as Doctor X looks better than ever on this outstanding 1080p transfer from Warner Archive. Perhaps the best compliment I can give the new transfer is this: its appearance is so fluid, colorful, and satisfying that the occasional missing frames are really jarring -- films that look this good can't be incomplete, can they?

Warner Archive also recently uploaded a half-dozen short videos showing off the new transfer, including the opening sequence in both color and black-and-white, a second clip in color and black-and-white, a segment from the included restoration featurette with comments by Scott McQueen, plus the black-and-white theatrical trailer. Whew!

Doctor X Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio has been similarly preserved and, like its new restoration, pieced together from multiple sources including the black-and-white version detailed below. This is a great track with almost no perceivable levels of hiss, popping, or crackle, with very clear dialogue and an original score -- partially recycled from Mystery of the Wax Museum -- that likewise comes through clean and clear. It's another sterling restoration job that, while a little thin on the high and still a victim of age-related wear-and-tear, sounds surprisingly crisp and detailed. While it'll undoubtedly stand in the shadow of its new restoration, this lossless audio track has been treated with just as much care.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are offered during the main feature and select extras.

Doctor X Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray ships in a standard keepcase with original one-sheet poster art and several great new extras.

• Black-and-White Version (77:03) - Doctor X with no color? Yes...and no. This slightly longer version of the film is actually a different experience entirely; shot simultaneously by cinematographer Richard Towers (working around Technicolor DP Ray Rennahan), it was likewise directed by Michael Curtiz and stars the same cast... and was considered the standard version for decades after airing on TV beginning in the 1950s. This version is largely comprised of alternate angles and different takes, featuring a few new establishing and transition shots as well all slightly more rushed dialogue exchanges. Additionally, many of its compositions are noticeably flatter and less artful -- an unfortunate byproduct of working beside bulky Technicolor equipment. It's a fascinating alternate experience and, though many consider the color version superior in construction, the black-and-white variant is stunning its its own right and has been restored beautifully on this 1080p transfer. Please note that screenshots #26-30 are taken from this version, which also features lossless audio and optional subtitles.

  As an aside, it's unfortunate that no new featurette (or even introduction) was created to shed light on these version differences, although some info is provided on at least two of the extras below. However, a fantastic article by Richard Harland Smith offers lots of history and comparisons; it was originally published in Video Watchdog issue #42 in 1997, still available digitally for only $3.99. A highly recommended read!

• Audio Commentary #1 - Available during the color version only, this full-length track features author/film historian Alan K. Rode, who delves into a lot of history surrounding the film's production and legacy while paying special attention to the cast and crew -- including a number of bit players -- via a series of mini-biographies. Much like his commentary for Mystery of the Wax Museum, it's a very well organized session that's informative and entertaining, whether you're a long-time fan of the film or seeing it for the second time.

• Audio Commentary #2 - Also only available during the color version, this second commentary features Scott MacQueen, head of preservation at UCLA's Film and Television Archive (who likewise also contributed a track on Mystery of the Wax Museum). Not surprisingly, much of this commentary is more technically minded and focuses on the two-strip Technicolor process and the curious history of both the black-and-white and color versions. Along with Alan K. Rode, he'll be back for more comments soon enough.

• Monsters and Mayhem: The Horror Films of Michael Curtiz (27:39) - This mid-length retrospective covers all three of the director's mostly overlooked horror films, which also include Mystery of the Wax Museum and The Walking Dead, released in 1936 and starring Boris Karloff. Featuring interviews with Alan K. Rode and Scott MacQueen, it also features a wealth of behind-the-scenes photos that paint a great picture.

• UCLA Before & After Restoration Reel (7:40) - A terrific piece that compares a few before-and-after clips, highlighting restoration work on the color version that greatly improved its picture and sound clarity. Comments by Scott MacQueen also play over the footage, although he steps back during most of the sound clips.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:15) - This vintage black-and-white promotional piece can also be seen here.

Doctor X Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Michael Curtiz's Doctor X is an uneven but very influential pre-Code horror production that offers clear nods to German expressionist films like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Created as Warner Bros.' response to Universal's one-two punch of Dracula and Frankenstein, it unfortunately favors light comedy over horror but does serve up more than a few effective scares, great atmosphere, and the first on-screen scream of Fay Wray. Warner Archive's sterling Blu-ray is basically a companion piece to their own Mystery of the Wax Museum (one of my best discs of 2020) and every bit as satisfying: sporting a top-tier A/V presentation and a fantastic slate of bonus features, this is an absolute home run.