Doctor X (Warner Bros.) (1932)

your 1. story Screen Enhances Thrills in Mystery-Melo, ‘‘Doctor X”’ The magic of the screen adds to the thrills of another well known stage play which has been cinematized with great effect. “Doctor X,” the play by Howard W. Comstock and Allen C. Miller, has been given a thorough screen treatment by Robert Sam Tasker and Earl ge Baldwin and& produced by§ First National. § to thes =< Theatre next: tent of this! .... it promises to give its audience something new in the _way of myster series of murders, committed only at the full of the moon, take place in the vicinity of their academy. To avert scandal, Doctor Xavier conducts his own investigation to discover the mysterious murderer. Much against his better judgment and against the opposition of all involved in the investigation, a breezy young newspaper © puR reporter trails the story to the _Doctor’s weird country home, where he complicates matters for himself by falling in love with the Doctor's daughter. He falls heir to a series of adventures and misadventures in this eerie atmosphere, and is happily on hand to form a solution of the crimes while the others are handcuffed to their chairs during an experiment. The splendid acting and light comedy of Lee Tracy, who again sticks to his long record of reporter roles, help lighten the tense melodrama of the plot. Fay Wray provides the romantic interest opposite Lee Tracy by being cast in the ingenue role as the Doctor’s daughter. The title role of “Doctor X” brings to the screen Lionel Atwill, actor and director of stage plays, whose performance in this picture is reported to be one of the outstanding characterizations of the year. Besides these principals, the all-star cast of well known names promises a well-acted production. The other doc § = ertson, Thomas Jackson, Holman and Tom Dugan. Michael Curtiz, who directed the Richard Barthelmess picture, “Alias the Doctor,” so realistically, is responsible for much of the fine technique with which “Doctor X” has been filmed in Technicolor. Harry your 2 nd story No Writer Could Dictate Mystery Effects Seen in Thrilling “Doctor X” Carrying the old adage that “the pen is mightier than the sword” one step further and bringing it down to date, it is equally true that the screen is mightier than the pen—at least it can put the typewriter to shame in presenting an absorbing mystery to an audience. _This is demonstrated by First Na tional in the mystery melodrama, “Doctor X,” coming to the... . Theatre . . . ., and filmed entirely in Technicolor with an all-star cast of stage and screen personalities, The printed or written word could never conjure up for the mind a mental picture of mystery equal to that prodaced in the filmed version of the “Doctor X” Boasts Fine Cast of Dramatic Players One of the finest casts of actors assembled in Hollywood this year will be seen in “Doctor X,” a First National mystery melodrama, filmed entirely in Technicolor, which comes to the .... Theatre next . . .. . Lee Tracy, Broadway and Hollywood star, heads the roster, which also includes LionelAtwill, star of “The Silent Witness”; Harry Beresford, creator of “The Old Soak” role; John Wray, star-playwnight of “The Nightstick”; Preston Foster, sensational Broadway recruit; Fay Wray, famed beauty and featured actress, and Leila Bennett, noted character comedienne of stage and screen. stage play, “Doctor X.” Effects which the mystery story writers always strive for have been accomplished. Mystery stories, mystery plays and mystery thrillers on the screen, when properly done, have been popular with the public. By poking his camera into every threatening shadow. and close against every appalling development of the story of “Doctor X,” Director Curtiz has managed to bring the mystery and thrills closer to an audience than ever before. A pretty romance and an abundance of comedy add to the enjoyment of the story, by easing the terrific tension of the story when the suspense becomes too terrific. Lee Tracy, Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Harry Beresford, John Wray, Preston Foster, Arthur Edmund Carewe and George Rosener are in the cast. Lee Tracy Had Grand Time Making “‘Doctor X”’ During the unraveling of the mystery that makes “Doctor X,” which First National Pictures will present in Technicolor at the... . Theatre next ...., Lee Tracy has enough things scare him to cheat him out of several years’ growth. He goes to hide in a closet and finds it inhabited by skeletons; then he is put to sleep by a narcotic gas; a cop gives him a cigar which blows up in his face; a maniac tries to hurl him from a tower window; a girl tries to shoot him; a wall cabinet opens and a board shaped like a coffin slaps him in the neck. Tracy heads an all-star cast in the mystery melodrama, which features Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, John Wray and other screen favorites. LICITY! your a 4 rd story *“Moon Madness’’ Cause of Unusual Actions, Says Famous Scientist “Moon madness,” which plays such a@ prominent part in “Doctor X,” the First National Technicolor mystery thriller coming to the .... Theatre next ... . with Lionel Atwill, Lee Tracy and Fay Wray heading an allstar cast, is not an expression that has been merely created in the mind of the author. Far from it, it is an actual condition that physicians, psychologists and _ psychiatrists frequently have to contend with in patients suffering from nervous disorders. There is no doubt in the minds of physicians that the moon’s rays have an effect upon the actions of such people. Precisely what effect, science does not know. « + he idea of ‘moon madness,” said : famous scientist Pcholos len aot based on the observation of a natural condition among near-insane and nervous persons. The attacks of extreme nervousness usually occur at regular intervals—about 28 to 30 days apart. Coinciding as they do with the full moon, it has long been thought that the moon’s rays are responsible. “Even the word ‘lunar,’ which we use in referring to the moon, has grown into the language as lunacy, which proves that for many years the effect of the moon on nervous and insane persons was an accepted belief.” Of course, to laymen the moon was made for love. Poets, composers and writers have even made the moon the basis for romantic inspiration. Therefore, to keep the story in keeping with the romance the-moon inspires, and in order to make “Doctor X” utterly different from any mystery story ever filmed, the producers have developed a touching love affair between Lee Tracy as the newspaper reporter and Fay Wray, the feminine lead, who plays the part of Doctor X’s daught = aambinetian of -” on ee conieuy; “tse stery it 1 by psychiahave a serious persons afflicted with nervous disorders. “The theory,” he explained, “is ‘Michael Curtiz, the director, has . “Doctor X” the most extraordina,, thriller he has ever known, with the comedy and love interest serving to relieve the terrific suspense with which the picture abounds. your Mun story Mystery Stories Favored by History’s Famous Men The theatre-going public, which has _ registered the approval of screen mys tery stories in no uncertain manner in recent months, has distinguished company among the great and near great. Napoleon, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Edison, Woodrow Wilson and many other men who have made history would have enjoyed “Doctor X,” First National’s new Technicolor mystery melodrama, which is being brought to the screen. at the... . Theatre... .. These famous men and many others like them found so much relaxation, enjoyment and mental stimulation in mystery stories that they were all avid readers of the mystery literature of their day. Any one of them might well have revelled in the fascinating developments of “Doctor X,” which presents a new departure in plot as well as an innovation in screen technique. It is the first. mystery thriller to be filmed which combines drama, myster, comedy and a_ beautiful romance, which adds to the enjoyment of the picture and serves as a surcease from the gripping thrills with which the picture abounds. “Doctor X” has a unique and distinguished cast which includes Lee Tracy, who supplies plenty of laughter, Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, John Wray, Preston Foster, Arthur Edmund Carewe and George Rosener. Michael Curtiz directed this picture, said to be one of the finest mystery melodramas ever filmed, because it not only keeps audiences in suspense until the final fadeout, but combines laughter and romance with the mystery. : Unusual Sets Devised for “‘Doctor X’’ In “Doctor X,” a First National mystery melodrama filmed entirely in Technicolor, which comes to the .... Theatre next ...., there are said to be some of the finest settings ever devised in Hollywood. There is a research laboratory in which the most unusual electrical effects have been staged, and there is a hand-carved staircase, part of a castle whose vaulted ceilings suggest the Middle Ages, that has been pronounced a real work of art. The picture also brings one of the finest casts of the year, with Lee Tracy heading an all-star personnel that includes Lionel Atwill, Preston Foster, Harry Beresford, Robert Warwick, Fay Wray, John Wray and Leila Bennett. _ “Doctor X’? Aims to Confound the Audience “Confound the audience.” That is the spirit in which Director Michael Curtiz has made First National’s all Technicolor mystery melodrama, “Doctor X,” which comes to: the eaten ext 4 Ss It is a kindly wish, not an expression of disparagement. “Unless the audience is confounded,” Curtiz declares, “we lose our object. We must put over the feeling of suspense, the mystery of the thing, in the face of the unknown.” “Doctor X” was made with the ambition to out-mystery all previous screen mysteries. The cast includes Lee Tracy, Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, John Wray, George Rosener, Preston Foster and Arthur Edmund Carewe. Page Fifteen