Doctor X (1932) ***1/2

Doctor X (1932) is an odd little film (once thought to be lost), a strange blend of horror and humor, but immensely entertaining. DX was made right in the middle of Pre-Code Hollywood, so it can be quite deliciously gruesome and risqué at times for a film of its era.

Michael Curtiz directs, Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray and Lee Tracy star, Ray Rennahan and Anton Grot provide cinematography and art direction, respectively. All of their contributions blended wonderfully to make this interesting serial killer mystery. DX used the two-color Technicolor process—one of only three releases (of six planned) from Warner Bros. using the improved Process 3—to provide that signature phantasmagorically lime green look. Warner Archive's new Blu-ray of this historical film uses a transfer restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive and The Film Foundation to gorgeous results.

The following year, Curtiz reteamed with many of the same cast and crew, including Atwill, Wray, Grout and Rennahan for Mystery Of The Wax Museum (my review here), the last dramatic fiction film made using the two-color Technicolor process. The next time I revisit that film, I will most assuredly make it a double feature with this one.

You can find my Michael Curtiz Feature Films Ranked list here.