The Return of Doctor X

1939 "HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD...TO HAUNT THE LIVING!!!"
5.7| 1h2m| NA| en| More Info
Released: 02 December 1939 Released
Producted By: Warner Bros. Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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When news reporter Walter Garrett arrives at the hotel room of bombshell actress Angela Merrova to conduct an interview, he finds her dead from multiple stab wounds. He returns with the police to find the hotel empty and the body vanished. Garrett writes about the incident but is fired when Merrova, alive and well, goes to the paper to complain. Now his only chance to get his job back is to find the truth, which involves the grisly scheme of a madman.

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Director

Vincent Sherman

Production Companies

Warner Bros. Pictures

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The Return of Doctor X Audience Reviews

CheerupSilver Very Cool!!!
Greenes Please don't spend money on this.
Kidskycom It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.
Maleeha Vincent It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.
alexanderdavies-99382 There is no way that this horror film from "Warner Bros." can be compared with the 1932 masterpiece. That other film had style, imagination, great acting and direction, plus it was genuinely eerie. This 1939 film is strictly routine fare and at best, is a tolerable programmer. The low budget is in evidence but that has always been the way for most horror films. Humphrey Bogart looks slightly ill at ease in his role of a dead man brought back to life. According to various reports, he slammed his copy of the script across the desk of Jack Warner and demanded more money for having to appear in this particular film. However, at least he is making an effort in being a bit different in his performance and he is the best known actor by far in "The Return of Doctor X." Wayne Morris and Dennis Morgan join forces in order to determine what the mysterious Doctor Xavier has been up to, regarding some of his patients at the local hospital. The actor who plays the evil doctor is rather stiff and dull. No way can he hold a candle to the creepy and effective performance of Lionel Atwill from the 1932 film. The script isn't up to much but the pace of the film keeps everything ticking along agreeably enough. The running time is just over an hour which is a relief.
utgard14 Reporter Wayne Morris and doctor Dennis Morgan team up to investigate some murders and a possible connection to people with a rare blood type. This leads them to suspect doctor John Litel and his creepy assistant Humphrey Bogart. In-name-only sequel to Doctor X that is best known today as Humphrey Bogart's only horror or science fiction film. As such, it's usually mocked or joked about. It really doesn't deserve to be. It's not a great film but a perfectly entertaining hour-long horror flick. Bogart's performance is fine. His nervous twitches and weird makeup give him a creepy presence that is the film's most memorable asset. For those looking to see him act much worse, I suggest seeking out more mainstream-acceptable fare as Dark Victory.Interestingly, Bogie doesn't even get top billing. Neither does Dennis Morgan. Both are billed below Wayne Morris and Rosemary Lane. This seems odd today when Bogart and Morgan are more well known to classic film fans than either Morris or Lane. But in 1939 neither was a big star yet. Morgan was an up-and-comer and Bogie had been toiling away at WB for years as the villain in gangster pictures. Still, it seems strange WB at that time thought Wayne Morris had more potential than Bogie or Morgan. Morris is actually the weakest link in the film. He was an actor with a big frame and a boy-next-door likability but was ill-suited for a streetwise investigative reporter. The fact that he wore a silly hat with the brim turned up in front and was pretty much comic relief for the first half hour of the movie doesn't help the audience take him seriously. The supporting cast is nice. Rosemary Lane receives second billing and is the female lead but really has nothing to do but be the victim. I haven't added up everybody's screen time but it seems to me she was in the picture very little. Huntz Hall of Bowery Boys fame appears as a copy boy who needles Morris. Lya Lys has a meatier part than Lane as a woman brought back to life in the same manner Bogart was. She even allows herself to be made up to look waxy and dead, which was a big deal back in the day for any actress who wanted to be thought of as a romantic leading lady. John Litel turns in a typically stable performance as the doctor behind bringing Bogie back. He actually seems to be the movie's villain for most of the running time before Bogie's Dr. X takes over.Overall, an enjoyable B horror film that should please fans of the genre. It's unfairly slammed a lot, even more than the usual B movie from the period. My guess is that's because a lot of Bogart fans who don't normally like this type of movie checked it out for him and didn't like it. The movie definitely garners more attention because of his part than it would otherwise. At its heart it's just another in a string of mad scientist movies made from the '30s through the '50s, albeit an enjoyable one. If you're a Bogart completist, I'm sure you'll want to check it out for curiosity's sake. Hopefully you'll like it. Fans of old sci-fi and horror films will definitely enjoy it.
madmonkmcghee What's worse than a bad horror movie? A dull one, and this one's both. It tries to be both scary and funny but is neither. If they had decided to go either way it could have been, well probably still pretty bad, but at least they would have failed trying. Now it's seems slow even at just over an hour. Bogie is about as scary as a Halloween pumpkin and he's hardly in the movie at all. Just shows how much regard Jack Warner had for this future screen legend.Instead we're given an annoying wisecracking reporter and a dreamboat doctor, corny dialog and a routine chase sequence that's over before it begins. The only scary thing about this movie is that they decided this was good enough to release, and that it even made a big profit! Lucky for Bogart they didn't go for Son Of Doctor X, Bride of Doctor X or Revenge of Doctor X. Watch it once to see how low Bogie had to go before his rise to stardom and then rinse away the aftertaste with, say a dose of Maltese Falcon or Big Sleep. This movie sent me into a Big Sleep. (Believe me, this is still a better joke than any in this movie.)
nova-63 I love this film and that's the reason I'm adding a review to a film that already has 30 reviews. First of all, many previous reviewers complain that this is not a typical horror movie from the period. For example there is no Karloff or Lugosi in a starring role. That is true, but the film plays more like a breezy, fast paced Warner Bros. B' crime film. I have no problem with that. Although the horror isn't stressed, the finale with Bogart taking the girl to the abandoned farm house is pretty spooky.I argue with those saying the cast isn't very good. While Bogart isn't at home playing a corpse who has returned to life, he doesn't disappoint. John Litel, is over the top (and great) as the doctor who returns Bogart from the dead. Finally Wayne Morris, who is the real star of the film, plays the wise guy reporter investigating the strange happenings. The rest of the cast is well above average for a "chunk it out as fast as possible" B' picture. This includes, Dennis Morgan, Rosemary Lane, Huntz Hall, and the spooky Lya Lys.This is no masterpiece, but this is fast and fun and never boring for a second. Ah, if only there were only more films like this. Who doesn't love a Bogart zombie film? Must viewing for any film buff.