CineSavant Column

Tuesday January 19, 2021

 

Hello! Just a happy and optimistic note on this Inauguration Day Eve, 2021 … with hopes for better days ahead. This photo was from Inauguration Day 2009 — I’ll look forward to proudly putting the flag out again on appropriate holidays.

 


 

And Gary Teetzel happily forwards a link to the Classic Horror Film Board, to a page with news about the upcoming restoration of the terrific pre-Code horror shocker Doctor X. They’ve been busy during the pandemic restoring the show to its original Two-color Technicolor hues, just as was done last year for the highly entertaining Mystery of the Wax Museum. The CHFB has posted some sample frames, and the page link also has a viewable restoration demo, posted by ‘Rakshasa.’

We’ll be waiting for a The Warner Archive Collection Blu-ray in the Spring, you know, when the birdies chirp and we all start getting our (Ow!) lifesaving shots. The CHFB Post #30 from Ray Faiola tells us that the B&W version of Doctor X will also be on the new disc. The parallel B&W version was filmed with a standard camera, and is made of entirely different takes. Doctor X also stars Fay Wray and Lionel Atwill, and features wisecracking Lee Tracy as an intrepid reporter. The horror fantasy is part cornball fun and part hardcore scary-time thrills — with some fairly incredible makeup effects.

Thanks for reading! — Glenn Erickson