No animal experiments here, unless you count the 30’s vogue of exotic women with leashed capuchin monkeys as pets. Warner Bros. played home to many of the great gangster films of the 1930’s, but monster movies were Universal Studios’ stock-in-trade. Humphrey Bogart was WB’s last choice to star as the bloodthirsty, child-killing, Doctor X, as well he should have been. Bogart was capable of playing many things, but a bloodthirsty zombie wasn’t one of them. As if a pie-wedge streak of Frankenstein's Bride white to highlight his hair weren’t enough, the script also called for him to cart around a rabbit for most of the picture. (The more prestigious Universal revived humans; Warners could barely afford to reanimate Bugs Bunny.) Bogart hated the role, later commenting, “If it had been Jack Warner’s blood, maybe I wouldn’t have minded as much.” Bogie took top billing, but the real stars were B movie staples Dennis Morgan and the eternally chipper Wayne Morris. This marked contract director Vincent Sherman’s first of many pictures for the studio. (1939) — Scott Marks
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