For the most part, The Strange Case of Doctor Rx is an unremarkable detective B-movie in which brilliant sleuth Jerry Church (Patric Knowles) tries to solve the case of Dr. Rx, the killer who has been ensuring that any criminals who manage to escape justice in court still get what they deserve. Mantan Moreland irritates as Church's comic-relief manservant Horatio B. Fitz Washington, but the whole thing is made more bearable thanks to the presence of gorgeous Anne Gwynne as Jerry's feisty wife, mystery novelist Kit.
Fifty five minutes of sleuthing passes with very little of interest happening, but the final ten minutes of this film have to be seen to be believed...
Dr. Rx, his identity hidden by a hood, kidnaps Jerry and Horatio and takes them to his hideout. The detective is strapped to a gurney and is told that his brain will be transplanted into the body of the gorilla in a nearby cage! The film has officially entered schlock territory; however, it gets even sillier...
Later, Jerry and Horatio are found near the docks, the detective suffering from shock and loss of memory. He is taken to his apartment where Kit is horrified to find that her husband has lost his mind. Jerry's condition, however, turns out to be a ruse by the detective to flush out Dr. Rx., who hadn't really intended to transplant Jerry's brain into the ape, just frighten him enough to drive him crazy. A more convoluted and contrived plot development it is hard to imagine, but the sheer lunacy of it all is what makes the end of the film so much fun - it certainly left me feeling better about the film as a whole.
Lionel Atwill, who gets second billing, is only in the film for a few fleeting seconds, and is, as his character's name suggests, a red herring. Look out too for Shemp Howard of The Three Stooges as Det. Sgt. Sweeney.
Fifty five minutes of sleuthing passes with very little of interest happening, but the final ten minutes of this film have to be seen to be believed...
Dr. Rx, his identity hidden by a hood, kidnaps Jerry and Horatio and takes them to his hideout. The detective is strapped to a gurney and is told that his brain will be transplanted into the body of the gorilla in a nearby cage! The film has officially entered schlock territory; however, it gets even sillier...
Later, Jerry and Horatio are found near the docks, the detective suffering from shock and loss of memory. He is taken to his apartment where Kit is horrified to find that her husband has lost his mind. Jerry's condition, however, turns out to be a ruse by the detective to flush out Dr. Rx., who hadn't really intended to transplant Jerry's brain into the ape, just frighten him enough to drive him crazy. A more convoluted and contrived plot development it is hard to imagine, but the sheer lunacy of it all is what makes the end of the film so much fun - it certainly left me feeling better about the film as a whole.
Lionel Atwill, who gets second billing, is only in the film for a few fleeting seconds, and is, as his character's name suggests, a red herring. Look out too for Shemp Howard of The Three Stooges as Det. Sgt. Sweeney.