Hooptober 10.0 – The Return of Doctor X (1939)

Being Film #18 for Hooptober 2023

The marathon called for a movie that had “X” in the title, and it was the perfect time to bring out a DVD I had for yers but never watched: my beloved Humphrey Bogart taking on horror in The Return of Doctor X. My heart knew this wasn’t going to be a great movie, and I was right. Chasing in on the name from the better film back in 1932, this is a weird by the numbers pic that is only about an hour long, barely had Bogart, and ends in a wash. Still, I got to see Bogart cradle a bunny while profusely sweating, so I still won out in the end.

THE QUICK SUMMARY: Hotshot reporter Walter Garrett thinks he has a major scoop when he discovers the famous diva he was set to interview dead in her apartment, a deep surgical cut in her chest. When the police arrive after the newspapers hits, there’s no body. Garrett employs his doctor buddy Mike Rhodes to see how this can be possible, and they run into the mad experiments of Doctor Flegg, whose speciality in blood may have found a way to bring the dead back to life. But who is this mysterious white striped Dr. Quesne, so pale and sweaty? Could he have any relation to the deceased Doctor Xavier, and why does he look so longingly at Nurse Joan? Don’t worry – everything comes together in a neat bow within the film’s 62 minute runtime!

I have almost nothing to say about The Return of Doctor X. It does give off some warm nostalgia vibes for me, as it’s such a by-the-book Warner Brothers picture from the time, but there’s nothing in the script, direction, or acting that makes this noteworthy. Bogart had been in plenty of films at this point, but had yet to break into the spotlight, despite some strong roles in his two previous films Dark Victory and The Roaring Twenties. I hate the idea of pigeonholing actors to a certain type, but being the mad scientist in a horror film does Bogart no favors, leaving him to be a creepy plot device with little to show for by the film’s end.

No one else really stands out either, and the direction by Vincent Sherman is perfunctory at best. I wish I could recommend The Return of Doctor X more, but if anything this is for Bogart completists only.