For Bogie, however, it was just business as usual. He had signed with Warner's in 1935 to re-create his stage success as Duke Mantee, the psychotic gangster in The Petrified Forest. But though the film was a hit, Warner's already had James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson on board as gangster stars. So Bogie was thrust into a series of mostly thankless roles - 'as many films as the studio could wring out of him. The Return of Dr. X was one of seven pictures he made in 1939. The role of a bloodsucking zombie who spent most of the film stroking his pet rabbit had originally been offered to Bela Lugosi. When he turned it down, Bogie had to make the best of it. To make matters worse, the closest he got to a romantic interest in the film was drinking the leading lady's blood. He would later say, "If it had been Jack Warner's blood maybe I wouldn't have minded as much."
Even this early in his career, Bogart was notorious for turning down roles. He didn't turn this one down, though, because it marked the directorial debut of his good friend Vincent Sherman. Sherman had started at Warner's a year earlier as a writer, and had given Bogart two of his best scripts, Crime School and King of the Underworld.
Sherman almost ended his career his first day on the set. Even though he was working with B movie veterans like producer Bryan Foy and cameraman Sid Hickox, Sherman started out shooting the film like an A picture. When he took ten takes of one simple 45-second shot, Jack Warner sent Foy a memo threatening, "If he does this again he won't be on the picture any longer." The finished film turned a nice profit, however, ensuring Sherman a place in the studio's roster of directors. It continues to delight fans who want to see Bogie at his strangest.
Director: Vincent Sherman
Producer: Hal B. Wallis & Jack L. Warner (executive), Bryan Foy (associate, uncredited)
Screenplay: Lee Katz, based on the novel 'The Doctor's Secret' by William J. Makin
Cinematography: Sid Hickox
Editor: Thomas Pratt
Art Direction: Esdras Hartley
Music: Bernhard Kaun (uncredited)
Cast: Wayne Morris (Walter 'Wichita' Garrett), Rosemary Lane (Joan Vance), Humphrey Bogart (Marshall Quesne), Dennis Morgan (Dr. Mike Rhodes), John Litel (Dr. Francis Flegg).
BW-63m. Descriptive video.
by Frank Miller
