The Strange Case of Doctor Rx (1942) dir. William Nigh, Universal Pictures
More of a thriller, although with Lionel Atwill in the cast you know he's going to carry himself with dignity.
Jerry Church (Patric Knowles) is the best PI in town. He's set to settle down though, even marrying his best gal pal Kit (Anne Gwynne). But as these things go, just when he thought he was out they drag him back in; they in this case being lawyer Dudley Crispin (Samuel S. Hinds) and Church's former partner on the beat, police captain Hurd (Edmund McDonald).
Seems five of Crispin's previous clients were murdered not long after he got them cleared. The only suspect is a fellow the police had dubbed Doctor Rx. Church agrees but hits a dead end. Another victim of Doctor Rx is found, and a previous detective hired by Crispin and Hurd is found transformed into a lunatic. Kit begs Jerry to drop the case and shockingly enough he agrees. Pity that Ernie Paul (John Gallaudet) disagrees. Paul is a rather rough necked fellow and the cops seem to think he might be the good doctor in question, so Paul makes Church an offer he can't refuse and Jerry is back on the case.
But soon Church is kidnapped again, this time by the real Doctor Rx. The doctor explains that he's going to swap Jerry's brain with that of a gorilla ("Crash" Corrigan). Can Jerry escape in time? And what role is Dr. Fish (Atwill) playing in all of this?
Not bad, although the final twist doesn't make much sense if you seriously think about it. Shemp Howard is also wasted as the comic relief cop.
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