GL84 After a rash of murders in New York, a reporter's quest for the truth leads to the seaside mansion of a famed scientist are conducting a series of illegal experiments on the nature of evil, forcing him and his still-alive captors to stop their experiments before he can finish.This here was a pitiful and absolutely wretched effort. What makes this one so terrible is the fact that there's just no possible way the story to this one can mean anything when the large portion of what's going on here tends to fall into the rather ridiculous and lame comedy that's supposed to be down-right hilarious but truly isn't. Not only is the lead's constant bungling around his clothes for different objects at a given time or his thousand-words-a-minute smooth-talking to get out of sticky situations unbearably unfunny, but the film has the gall to believe that not just one or two but three separate scenes of him being trapped in a room with skeletons that manipulate themselves on their own are gut-busting hilarious enough to warrant that many repeat returns to that gag that this is a great example of the purposeful horror/comedy that's not funny. That each of these scenes last as long as they do not only makes this one a staggering chore to get into in the first half but also drowns out the horror to a bare minimum in these parts which is really only in the fact that the rampage is on-going and we get detailed explanations of the victims' remains in such a state that the technical jargon for these sequences is almost as bad as the boredom from the supposed laughs to come along. What tends to keep this one remaining as a horror film is the films' final half which is where this one really gets going with some admittedly decent and suspenseful times in their experiment chamber where the different attempts to provide the search for their mission manages to get pretty enjoyable by holding out the killer's identity quite well here in the first sequence as the chaos makes it quite chilling, while the second attempt is even better with the identity switch putting the killer with her while the others are helpless to watch culminating in a great brawl that ends this on a high note. Still, the massive flaws with this one really hold it down the most.Today's Rating/PG: Violence.

gavin6942 A wisecracking New York reporter (Lee Tracy) intrudes on a research scientist's quest to unmask The Moon Killer.This film has it all: a monster composed of "synthetic flesh", a murder mystery, an investigative reporter who could be Abbott or Costello. Even just a hint of romance (thanks to a pre-Kong Fay Wray).Many have remarked on the two-strip Technicolor process and how great (or awful) it looks. Indeed, it is worth noting that this green and brown technique makes an interesting alternative to black and white, and in many scenes really heightens the mood and makes a few things pop.But color or not, this is just a great film, in many ways a 1950s-style science fiction feature decades before its time.

LeonLouisRicci There are Many Enjoyable Elements Incorporated in this Early Talkie/Technicolor Horror Movie. It is Directed with Flair and Style from One of Hollywood's Elite, Michael Curtiz and Shot in a Two-Strip Color Process that was Rare at the Time. It has Horror Icon's Lionel Atwill and Fay Wray. The Exciting Climax Lovingly Displays some Fantastic Horror Makeup and is Filmed in Eerie Closeups and is Quite Impressive. The Sets are Mad-Lab Expressionistic and there is Pre-Code Nastiness and Lurid Inclusions.The Movie is Visually Stunning at Times and is Always Interesting, Using Pulp Magazine Style Art Representations that were Popular at the Time with Bondage and Women in Peril Themes. The Horror Elements may seem Dated but are Still Chilling in a Retro Kind of Way. Fay Wray is a Beauty and is Exploited in a Beach Scene right up to a Money Shot. Lionel Atwill and His Board of Scientists are Creepy and Eccentric with Physical and Mental Scars that are, Again, Pulp Inspired. The Pre-Code Stuff Includes a Whore-House, Cannibalism, a Drug Addict and More. This is a Great Example of Uncensored Hollywood and is Only Brought Down Today by a Heavy Dose of Slapstick Humor and Stilted Love Interest with the Never Appealing Lee Tracy (although He has His Fans).

Theo Robertson A serial killer is stalking New York . At the time of the full moon he strikes and the victims bodies show signs of cannibalism . Newspaper reporter Lee Taylor in needing of a big scoop to keep his job tries to track down the killer and suspicions fall upon a group of doctorsHungarian born Michael Curtiz could possibly be the greatest film director of the 20th Century . If you look through his resume on this website you'll see a long list of films that are legends from the golden era of Hollywood . He didn't confine himself to one genre but what ever type of film he made he could often weave cinematic magic . This early Hollywood contribution from Curtiz however isn't as good as it could have been DOCTOR X is an infuriating combination of good and bad . Based upon a stage play Curtiz manages to hide its origins and keeps the story pacing along nicely . He also manages to bring some very impressive directorial flourishes such a the introduction of Doctor Haines seen as a somewhat satanic silhouette against a wall . The problem with much of the visuals however is that its shot in early colour stock which is rather distracting . One can't help thinking black and white would have been much more suited to the movie and would have made for a better and much more atmospheric movie The fundamental problem with DOCTOR X is a very inconsistent tone with comedy elements that clash painfully with the darker themes . The killer is a cannibal and this shocking element is emphasised at every opportunity . Of course even in a pre-code era mutilated and half eaten bodies dripping blood couldn't be shown but this is explicitly alluded to through the dialogue of Dr Xavier . Strange then that Lee Taylor is written and played by Lee Tracy as a comedic character . Comedy is a subjective thing , one person's comedic genius is another person's irritating clown but it's amazing anyone thought Taylor/Tracy could be amusing in anyway and every time he appears on screen the audience are taken out of the film . Perhaps James Whale would have been a better choice of director ? As it stands DOCTOR X is a strange combination of good and band from an outstanding and superlative director . When the film works it works very well and I had no idea who the villain was going to be . Alas the elements that don't work sometimes threaten to sabotage the rest of the film and it would take another four or five years before Curtiz really hit his stride