El extraño doctor Rx

In spite of a title which sounds like something for a horror film and the second billing of Lionel Atwill, this Universal programmer is a breezy "mystery" (not a lot of mystery here) which opens with a series of murders committed of men found innocent of a crime by a killer who leaves notes nearby signed, you guessed it, Doctor Rx.

Patric Knowles plays a dapper detective who lives in a beautiful penthouse apartment with a servant. Don't they all? He spends much of his time looking suave and bantering, with the servant (Manton Moreland), his girlfriend (Anne Gwynne) or a hard nosed police captain (Edmund MacDonald) who wants him to work on the Dr. Rx case because, well, he's hopeless to solve it on his own.

Lionel Atwill, prominently displayed in posters advertising the film and wearing coke bottle bottom glasses, also pops up on the rare occasion, as a suspect. But he's barely in this 65 minute feature. There is, for those who enjoy it, a lot more in the way of clowning from Mantan Moreland and Shemp Howard, the latter playing a police detective who, at one moment, plays craps with Moreland then arrests him for illegal gambling.

As the film is winding down suddenly, out of no where and seemingly from another film, there is a ten minute sequence involving a caged ape straight out of a mad scientist horror film. It's a fun over-the-top piece of stereotypical melodrama, certainly enjoyable while it lasts, but the viewer has to wonder, "Why didn't we get this kind of stuff in the first 50 minutes of this film?"

For those who enjoy Universal "B"s this is a minor effort, but they will still probably get a kick out of some of it, certainly the horror portion, brief as it is, towards the end.

1941's "The Strange Case of Doctor Rx" was part of Universal's popular SHOCK! package of classic horror films issued to television in the late 50s, turning up twice on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater, on May 8 1976 (following Cameron Mitchell's "Nightmare in Wax") and Jan 29 1983 (solo). Yes, Lionel Atwill is criminally wasted, but what's worse is how the ads promoted it as a horror film prominently featuring his countenance (billed second, as he also was in "The Mad Doctor of Market Street"). Patric Knowles is the actual star, before "The Wolf Man" and "Mystery of Marie Roget," and has no trouble carrying the picture, but the on again-off again sparring between his detective Jerry Church and new bride Kit (Anne Gwynne) wears thin very quickly. Church has just returned from South America, only to be bludgeoned by the recent series of murders committed by a mysterious Doctor Rx (not to be confused with Atwill's 1932 "Doctor X"), who executes criminals that escape the justice system. The couple are likable performers, but the 'Battling Churches' were mercifully not granted a sequel (it really is less a horror film than a domestic mystery/whodunit, certainly no THIN MAN). Still entertaining for those who encountered it long ago, particularly for the excellent cast, with Samuel S. Hinds, Paul Cavanagh, Mary Gordon, pretty Jan Wiley, and Ray 'Crash' Corrigan as the gorilla Nbongo, in the lone nightmarish sequence that climaxes the picture. The underrated Mantan Moreland, who always rose above his material, easily steals every scene he's in, which the better known Shemp Howard fails to do (some 5 years before he rejoined The Three Stooges).

Lesser Universal horror starring Patric Knowles as a detective out to solve a string of murders by the titular evil doctor. This is not a particularly memorable movie, even for a Universal horror fan like myself. It's one of the few that I've only seen a handful of times. Patric Knowles does ok but he's not really the quippy type this part calls for. Lloyd Nolan would've been great in the role. Lionel Atwill is always worth a look but here he has a very small part. Shemp Howard and Mantan Moreland provide comic relief. I'll let you guess which one is more likely to generate discussion today. Anne Gwynne is the frustrated love interest. A few more recognizable character actors round out the cast. Oh and there's a guy in an ape suit. That's always great.

In the 1930s and 40s, Hollywood made a ton of amateur detective films...ones in which supposedly ordinary folk solve crimes because they are brilliant and the cops total idiots. Because of this, "The Strange Case of Doctor Rx" is very familiar. Despite a few unusual twists here and there, the story is all too familiar...especially with the inclusion of Mantan Moreland was his usual scared black man routine.

There is a psychopath murdering people they think are worthy of death! And, these deaths are obviously related because with each victim is a letter from someone calling themselves 'Dr. Rx'. Jerry (Patric Knowles) is about to get married and keep his promise to his new bride--to give up crime-solving. But some of the baddies have a different idea.

Overall this is just a fair film to watch. This is because it ended poorly with a 'scene missing here' portion that disappoints. Additionally, the usual cliches abound.

The handsome Patric Knowles is cast as Jerry Church, a private detective who reluctantly agrees to look into an odd series of murders. The victims are criminals who had been acquitted of their misdeeds, and the killer would seem to be an avenging medico who leaves their literal calling cards on the body of each victim.

Despite how this may be advertised, "The Strange Case of Doctor Rx" is NOT sci-fi or horror but a mystery thriller with heavy doses of comedy. However, once this viewer got over his disappointment, he had some fun with it. Characters CONSTANTLY bicker and banter with each other; it would be true to say that there's way more talk here than action. And the dialogue is more silly than genuinely funny, although it garners some modest chuckles now and then. The convoluted plot (concocted by Clarence Upson Young) ultimately leads to a climactic scene where the villain comes out of the dark (so to speak) to terrorize our hero.

Knowles is good in the lead, and the cast is full of familiar and reliable actors: Anne Gwynne as Knowles' leading lady, Samuel S. Hinds as successful defence attorney Dudley Crispin, Mona Barrie as his wife, Paul Cavanagh as his brother, Edmund MacDonald as flustered police captain Hurd, and John Gallaudet as menacing mobster Ernie Paul. The most blatant comedy relief, unsurprisingly, is delivered by Shemp Howard as a REALLY dumb cop, and Mantan Moreland as Churchs' agitated manservant. Both men are hilarious. However, the film makes an egregious waste of Lionel Atwill, as a mystery man appearing throughout.

"The Strange Case of Doctor Rx" can get tiresome at times, but at least it has the typically short running time of many programmers from this era, so even if viewers dislike it, they don't have to stick it out for too, too long. It isn't until near the end that it introduces more of a sci-fi / horror element....complete with a dude in a gorilla suit.

Silly, put passable.

Five out of 10.