Dr. Socrates

Paul Muni plays a small town doctor who becomes mixed up with a wounded criminal (Barton MacLane) and falls for a pretty hitchhiker (Ann Dvorak). A fine WB crime drama that moves with a crisp pace. Mustachioed Paul Muni reunites with his Scarface costar Ann Dvorak. Muni is excellent in one of his more subdued roles. Dvorak is lovely and gives an effortless performance. As different as Muni was from other Hollywood actors at the time, Dvorak was just as different from the other actresses. She rarely goes for the theatrical or hysterical. Her performances are usually much more grounded than, say, Bette Davis, who never saw a rafter she didn't reach for. The standout of the movie is Barton MacLane, shouting and swaggering his way through every scene. It's a real treat to watch. As usual, the stable of WB supporting players are superb. Remade as King of the Underworld with Kay Francis and Humphrey Bogart, whose first wife Mayo Methot appears here as MacLane's moll.

Paul Muni has never made a bad movie or given a poor performance. He didn't crank out movie after movie like so many stars in that era, he carefully picked his roles. This is a terrific picture, Muni plays a doctor who has become a gangster's physician, but not by choice. The gangster is played with gusto by Barton MacLane. A woman who is kidnapped by the gang (Ann Dvorak) is injured and brought to Muni. She and the doctor soon fall in love. But, the gangster wants her, because she could testify against him since she knows what he looks like. Great cinematography but it's Muni's picture all the way. Helen Lowell provides fine support as "Ma".

With Paul Muni in the lead, I was expecting something out of the ordinary. However, Dr. Socrates is ordinary. It is a run-of-the-mill 1930's crime drama with Muni's range wasted in a part better suited to Chester Morris or Ricardo Cortez. Barton MacLane and Mayo Methot, on the other hand, are perfect playing parts similar to what they played throughout their entire careers. It's watchable, but not special.

This is the kind of "crime" doctor movie Hollywood churned out by the truckload in the mid-30's. Muni is badly miscast in the lead, but rest of cast more than makes up for it. MacLane steals film as Red, the main gangster. Ann Dvorak and Mayo Methot are excellent as are the redoubtable Henry O'Neill and Owin Howlin. Some good pithy dialogue makes this well-meaning time capsule worth a look.

Dr. Socrates (1935)

*** (out of 4)

Fast moving and tense film from Warner features Paul Muni in the title role of Dr. Socrates, a doctor who becomes the outcast in a small town after he helps a woman (Ann Dvorak) who accidentally got caught up with a gangster (Barton MacLane). Soon the doc and the girl begin to have feelings for one another and he must figure a way to get her away from the gangster. In an interesting bit of trivia, Muni didn't want to have anything to do with this film but agreed to do it if Warner would allow him to make THE STORY OF LOUIS PASTEUR, which would eventually be released the same year and earn Muni the Oscar. There's also a funny joke here where Muni is talking about a book on the life of Pasteur. With that out of the way, the rest of the film is a pretty tense little gem that manages to feature some great performances and a pretty smart story. The movie might not be as respectable as some of Muni's bigger films but I thought there was enough here to easily recommend it. For starters we have Muni delivering an exceptional performance as he perfectly can play the kindness of the doctor but also show off his brains. The doctor being able to think fast on his feet plays an important part in the film and Muni makes us easily believe that he is smart enough to do what happens at the end. He also has a dry, sarcastic humor that comes off very well and he even delivers a few laughs. Dvorak isn't one of my favorites but she makes an interesting mix with Muni. MacLane isn't one you'd expect to see playing a gangster but he actually does a very good job and makes the character quite memorable with his humor and style of toughness. Fans of Humphrey Bogart will know that he and Kay Francis would remake this four years later in the bizarre KING OF THE UNDERWORLD. Bogart has another connection to this film as his first wife, Mayo Methot, plays the gangster's mole here. While this film is a lot smarter than many of the dramas from the studio, it also contain enough gunplay to please fans of their gangster pictures. The ending has one machine gun after another making for quite a big bang to go out on.