One of Universal's less known horror films (it's not even mentioned in AURUM) DOCTOR X possessed that unabashed perversity, which the studio's efforts in this direction inherited from the German expressionist cinema of the silent era, and which is sadly missing from the modern cinema. THE RETURN (in 1939) was less impressive, with Bogart out of his depth as the vampire doctor.
The title of REVENGE would lead you to suspect a further sequel. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth.
In fact, no doctor by that name even appears in the picture, nor is anyone avenged. Perhaps it's an alternative title for MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND as its credits suggest.
Nope isn't this exciting, children? Sure it is! Well, it gets better. Now, the original title (are you with me here?) seems to have been the more descriptive THE VENUS FLYTRAP, whereas it was released as THE DOUBLE GARDEN, which makes little sense, but is probably a misprint for THE DEVIL'S GARDEN.
This makes it possible to identify the scriptwriter as none other than ED WOOD (got your attention there)! From this fact alone one would naturally expect idiocy of an almost hallucinatory nature, and for once, we are not disappointed.
As far as relentless stupidity and aggressive amateurism is concerned, this movie has few competitors (and I bet you haven't even seen it!) As you may have gathered, Ed did not direct this inverse masterpiece himself.
Kenneth Crane did, who gave us the decent MANSTER fortunately even his directorial skills cannot save this disaster! No inventive camera-work or adequate performances here in fact, the Thespian playing the protagonist makes Conrad Brooks look like Olivier.
Alternatively flying off the handle and fainting, the star desperately tries to disguise his non-existing acting abilities (and I haven't even mentioned his spastic attempts at being charming). Anyway, he plays a rocket scientist crossing two species of carnivorous plants with needle and thread in order to prove his theory that man evolved from marine life (and that's the most sensible proposition of the entire movie!) All this takes place in Japan, where he is vacationing after a nervous breakdown (he has one approximately every five minutes) providing a not especially exotic female assistant. Of course, she's a virtual beauty queen compared to the hunchback playing Bach's Toccata in d minor on an organ (I kid you not).
On their way to the laboratory, they are delayed by a landslide and a volcanic eruption, causing her to muse: "An active volcano another reason for the decline of my father's property!" This is of course an astute observation active volcanoes do tend to have an adverse effect on real estate prices.
The mad doctor now begins his experiments in grafting, logically including lots of electrical equipment, thunderstorms and an operating table that can be hoisted up under the ceiling (with the plant) this of course is where the dwarf comes in. Soon, his creation is ready to terrorize the countryside and be chased by villagers with torches it is of course green and looks a bit like MISTER POTATOHEAD with a jester's headdress and boxing-gloves, and whenever it attacks, the screen goes RED, being a lot cheaper than gory makeup effects.
This sorry creature with its potted feet and its decidedly Japanese body language, we are told, will DEVOUR EVERYTHING. In short, mankind would have been doomed to extinction, if it hadn't been for that volcano stock footage! During one of the longer stretches we are treated to topless female divers (I guess it falls under the category of travelogue, so it's okay). Also, for once the score really deserves its own CD, being one of the most outrageous assortments of absurdly inappropriate background music ever assembled.
Do I have to say it? It's a wonderful, wonderful movie!
The title of REVENGE would lead you to suspect a further sequel. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth.
In fact, no doctor by that name even appears in the picture, nor is anyone avenged. Perhaps it's an alternative title for MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND as its credits suggest.
Nope isn't this exciting, children? Sure it is! Well, it gets better. Now, the original title (are you with me here?) seems to have been the more descriptive THE VENUS FLYTRAP, whereas it was released as THE DOUBLE GARDEN, which makes little sense, but is probably a misprint for THE DEVIL'S GARDEN.
This makes it possible to identify the scriptwriter as none other than ED WOOD (got your attention there)! From this fact alone one would naturally expect idiocy of an almost hallucinatory nature, and for once, we are not disappointed.
As far as relentless stupidity and aggressive amateurism is concerned, this movie has few competitors (and I bet you haven't even seen it!) As you may have gathered, Ed did not direct this inverse masterpiece himself.
Kenneth Crane did, who gave us the decent MANSTER fortunately even his directorial skills cannot save this disaster! No inventive camera-work or adequate performances here in fact, the Thespian playing the protagonist makes Conrad Brooks look like Olivier.
Alternatively flying off the handle and fainting, the star desperately tries to disguise his non-existing acting abilities (and I haven't even mentioned his spastic attempts at being charming). Anyway, he plays a rocket scientist crossing two species of carnivorous plants with needle and thread in order to prove his theory that man evolved from marine life (and that's the most sensible proposition of the entire movie!) All this takes place in Japan, where he is vacationing after a nervous breakdown (he has one approximately every five minutes) providing a not especially exotic female assistant. Of course, she's a virtual beauty queen compared to the hunchback playing Bach's Toccata in d minor on an organ (I kid you not).
On their way to the laboratory, they are delayed by a landslide and a volcanic eruption, causing her to muse: "An active volcano another reason for the decline of my father's property!" This is of course an astute observation active volcanoes do tend to have an adverse effect on real estate prices.
The mad doctor now begins his experiments in grafting, logically including lots of electrical equipment, thunderstorms and an operating table that can be hoisted up under the ceiling (with the plant) this of course is where the dwarf comes in. Soon, his creation is ready to terrorize the countryside and be chased by villagers with torches it is of course green and looks a bit like MISTER POTATOHEAD with a jester's headdress and boxing-gloves, and whenever it attacks, the screen goes RED, being a lot cheaper than gory makeup effects.
This sorry creature with its potted feet and its decidedly Japanese body language, we are told, will DEVOUR EVERYTHING. In short, mankind would have been doomed to extinction, if it hadn't been for that volcano stock footage! During one of the longer stretches we are treated to topless female divers (I guess it falls under the category of travelogue, so it's okay). Also, for once the score really deserves its own CD, being one of the most outrageous assortments of absurdly inappropriate background music ever assembled.
Do I have to say it? It's a wonderful, wonderful movie!