DOCTOR X (32)

[Michael O'Regan]

What a weird film. That whole "synthetic flessshhhhh" scene was downright disturbing
Atwill is excellent. Lee Tracy's "comic" interludes were just plain distracting.
The two-strip creates a beautiful atmosphere in certain scenes.
I have gotta watch it again.......

[bobfells]

DR. X seemed to me a wanna-be Universal horror film but with a contemporary slant - Long Island, NY subbing for Transylvania. I grew up on LI and first watched X there but I never saw a place quite like Atwill's neighborhood. But the film is great fun and it was a favorite of mine in b/w. Later when I saw it in color, it was like icing on the cake. Still later I saw MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM and didn't like it nearly as much.

[Michael O'Regan]

I grew up on LI and first watched X there but I never saw a place quite like Atwill's neighborhood.

How about that synthetic flesh gear? Was there any of that stuff knockin' around when you were there?

[sherry]

I have a question but

SPOILER ALERT


How do you interpret the murder of Rowitz ?
Could he know the identity of the Moon Killer and know something about the matter , or was his reaction simply caused by the stabbing and either of the two Doctors participating in the experiment might as well have been the victim ?
IMHO both situations are possible, but maybe I'm missing something ?

[Jack Theakston]

I grew up on LI and first watched X there but I never saw a place quite like Atwill's neighborhood.

How about that synthetic flesh gear? Was there any of that stuff knockin' around when you were there?

Why don't we discuss that long lost Rosebud Sled while we're at it?

[todmichel]

Since the color version was rediscovered, the black & white one is hard-to-get. It's a shame, as technically speaking they are different versions (made separately, with two different directors of photography, and alternate scenes & dialogue). To complicate matters worse, some b&w prints of the Technicolor version also are in circulation. Some years ago, one of these prints was broadcast on a French channel, and when I gave a phone call to Warners-France, they were totally unaware of the existence of a Technicolor version, although their b&w print had the word "Technicolor" printed in the credits! I insisted and sent them some screen captures of a previous showing on another channel, they made some search in their vaults, and some months later, the color print was re-broadcast...
I have both versions (I mean the "true" b&w and the "true" color) and they are really two different movies.

[Michael O'Regan]

Since the color version was rediscovered, the black & white one is hard-to-get. It's a shame, as technically speaking they are different versions (made separately, with two different directors of photography, and alternate scenes & dialogue). To complicate matters worse, some b&w prints of the Technicolor version also are in circulation. Some years ago, one of these prints was broadcast on a French channel, and when I gave a phone call to Warners-France, they were totally unaware of the existence of a Technicolor version, although their b&w print had the word "Technicolor" printed in the credits! I insisted and sent them some screen captures of a previous showing on another channel, they made some search in their vaults, and some months later, the color print was re-broadcast...
I have both versions (I mean the "true" b&w and the "true" color) and they are really two different movies.

Oh, I didn't know this.
Can you give a summary of the differences?

[todmichel]

All scenes were shot twice, with different camera set-ups, in some places the dialogue was changed, the actor's reactions are sometimes slightly different, etc. There was an old issue of "Video Watchdog" with a 15-pages article depicting the differences, years ago. Of course, it's exactly the same cast, it's not a totally different film (like the Hispanic version of "Dracula" starring Carlos Villarias and Lupita Tovar for instance). It's rather like the two versions (shot in German, then in English) of Werner Herzog's "Nosferatu", or the two versions (in French or English) of Edmond T. Gréville's "Les mains d'Orlac"/"Hands of Orlac", with the additional difference of the color or monochrome photography and lightings.
In the case of the latter movie, you can see the differences even when no actor is on the screen, for instance an ambulance in a street, it's the same street and the same ambulance, but not the same shot. And Christopher Lee says "merde!" in the French version... and lovely Dany Carrel is more prodigal of her (many) talents.

[Michael O'Regan]

So, I watched it again last night and it's still weird Love it.
In fact, watching it again, I feel the Tracy "comedy" was quite necessary at times. Without it, the overall effect would've been too unsettling, IMO.