Alias the Doctor

Alias the Doctor is a 1932 pre-Code American drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, and starring Richard Barthelmess and Marian Marsh.

Alias the Doctor
Lobby card
Directed by	Michael Curtiz
Written by	Houston Branch (screenplay) Charles Kenyon (dialogue)
Based on	A Kuruzslo 1927 play by Imre Földes
Starring	Richard Barthelmess Marian Marsh Norman Foster Adrienne Dore Lucille La Verne Oscar Apfel John St. Polis George Rosener
Cinematography	Barney McGill
Edited by	Frank Magee (as Frank McGee) William Holmes
Music by	Bernhard Kaun Sam Perry
Production company	First National Pictures
Distributed by	First National Pictures
Release date	1932 (1932)
Running time	61 mins/69 mins (UK)
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$371,000[1]
Box office	$641,000[1]

Plot

The story concerns a man who assumes his dead brother's identity, and becomes a renowned surgeon, despite not having completed medical school.

Cast

• Richard Barthelmess as Karl Brenner
• Marian Marsh as Lotti Brenner
• Norman Foster as Stephan Brenner
• Adrienne Dore as Anna
• Lucille La Verne as Martha Brenner, Karl's foster mother (as Lucille LaVerne)
• Oscar Apfel as Keller
• John St. Polis as Dr. Niergardt
• George Rosener as Dr. Franz von Bergman
• Boris Karloff as a surgeon (scene edited from film by the censors)^[2]

Background

The film's original script involved a playboy medical student who performs an unspecified operation on his girlfriend, before earning his medical degree. The girl dies from the botched operation, and his foster brother takes the blame. The Hays Office objected because it believed that audiences would assume that the operation was an abortion. In response, Warner Bros. changed the script to provide a specific cause for the operation. In the revised script, the two lovers argue, and the girl is injured when she tumbles down the stairs. Originally, Boris Karloff played a small role in the film as a surgeon, which was cut from the film by censors, and the Karloff footage no longer exists.^[3]

Reception

According to Warner Bros. records, the film earned $460,000 domestically, and $181,000 foreign.^[1]