The Strange Case of Dr. RX
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1942 |
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After five men previously acquitted of various criminal charges are murdered by a mysterious avenger known as Dr. Rx, police Inspector Hurd (Edmund MacDonald) and Sergeant Sweeney (Shemp Howard) ask private investigator Jerry Church (Patric Knowles) to help them on the case. He takes the case after talking to Dudley Crispin (Samuel S. Hinds), a brilliant attorney who had defended three of the murdered men. Crispin gains an acquittal for his latest client, Zarini (Matty Fain), but the latter falls dead in the courtroom. Jerry marries Kit Logan (Anne Gwynne), who becomes frightened and persuades Jerry to quit the case. He stays however after Ernie Paul (John Gallaudet), suspected of the Zarini murder, threatens to "get" him if he does not stay on and clear Paul. Dr. Rx 	captures Jerry and attempts to frighten him into insanity by strapping him on an operating table, and pretending to exchange the detective's brain for a gorilla (Ray Corrigan in his gorilla suit).
Cast:
Patric Knowles .... Private Detective Jerry Church
Lionel Atwill .... Dr. Fish
Anne Gwynne .... Kit Logan Church
Samuel S. Hinds .... Dudley Crispin
Mona Barrie .... Eileen Crispin
Shemp Howard .... Det. Sgt. Sweeney
Paul Cavanagh .... John Crispin
Edmund MacDonald .... Det. Capt. Bill Hurd
Mantan Moreland .... Horatio B.Fitz Washington
John Gallaudet .... Ernie Paul
William Gould .... Dist. Atty. Mason
Leyland Hodgson .... Thomas, the butler
Matty Fain .... Anthony 'Tony' Zarini
Mary Gordon .... Mrs. Scott
Jan Wiley .... Lily, Ernie Paul's Moll
Boyd Davis .... Police Commissioner
Victor Zimmerman .... Kirk, First Kidnapper
Paul Bryar .... Court Bailiff
Harry Harvey .... Night Club Manager
Gary Breckner .... Announcer
Eddy Chandler .... Cop Outside Church's Apartment
Ray Corrigan .... Nbongo, the Gorilla
Jack Kennedy .... Policeman
Joe Recht .... First Newsboy
Jack C. Smith .... Policeman
Leonard Sues .... Second Newsboy
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Jan Wiley Greene was born Harriet Brandon on 23 February 1916 in Marion, Indiana. Her first movie role was the part of a showgirl in the musical/revue NEW FACES OF 1937. She appeared in three of the better serials that Hollywood produced;DICK TRACY VS. CRIME INC (Republic, 1941) THE MASTER KEY and SECRET AGENT X-9 which cliffhanger scholar William C. Cline once called it "one of the best serials to survive the onrushing demise of the genre at Universal". Wiley appeared in several B-westerns over the next couple of years, mainly with the Range Busters (Ray Corrigan, John King, and Max Terhune) over at Monogram Pictures. Horror fans will recognized Jan for the three Universal entries that she did; The STRANGE CASE OF DR. RX(1942), She-Wolf of London in 1946 and her last movie was the Universal horror film THE BRUTE MAN, in which she played the female lead. Jan died on 27 May 1993 Rancho Palos Verdes, California of cancer.
Demure, soulful-eyed actress Mona Barrie was born in England and educated in Australia. She worked steadily on stage in both her native and adopted country before coming to America with a Fox Studios contract in 1933. Not quite charismatic enough to become a star, Mona prospered as a second lead, frequently cast as a woman of mystery or a wronged wife. She also displayed an unsuspected flair for deadpan comedy in her virtually wordless portrayal of a haughty movie queen in W.C. Fields' Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941). Mona Barrie's final film was the 1953 western Thunder in the Sun. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
