ALIAS THE DOCTOR (1932) Title Lobby Card Richard Barthelmess Kisses Marian Marsh

Description

Vintage original 11x14 in. US title lobby card
from the classic 1930’s medical-themed drama,
ALIAS THE DOCTOR
, released in 1932 by First National Pictures and
directed by Michael Curtiz
. Karl (Richard Barthelmess) is the workaholic adopted son while Stephan (Norman Foster) is the lazy one. They both go to Munich to study medicine and Karl is at the top of the class, while Stephan is barely passing. When Stephan's actions causes the death of Anna (Adrienne Dore), Karl is the one who takes the wrap and three years in prison. When he gets out, he finds Stephan is dead and a sick child needs an operation and he performs brilliant surgery. This gets him noticed and his mother (Lucille La Verne) tells them that he is Stephan Brenner, not Karl Brenner. She tells Karl that he must cure sickness in the world. But, being that he is Stephan, he can no longer marry Lottie (Marian Marsh), as she is now his sister.
The image features a spectacular design depicting a very close shot of Dr. Karl Brenner (
Richard Barthelmess
) tenderly kissing the cheek of Lotti (
Marian Marsh
), the girl whom he loves. The beautiful pastel color tints are especially attractive and the star's name is featured in large letters rendered in beautiful shades of light and dark blue. This vintage original title lobby card is unrestored in fine+ condition with two pinholes in the top of the green background area and one above them in the top border; a very light 1 in. diagonal crease on the top right corner; and a tiny area of wear on the top left corner. There are no other pinholes, tears, stains, or other flaws and this title card is even more attractive when viewed in person.
In the original script, Stephan performs an unspecified operation on his girlfriend. Censors at the Hayes Office objected, feeling that audiences would presume the procedure was an abortion. Consequently, the script was changed to have Stephan drunkenly assault her in an argument over money and then try to save her from her injuries. Several actors are in studio records/casting call lists as cast members, but do not appear in the movie. These are (with their character names): Boris Karloff (autopsy surgeon), Claire Dodd (Mrs. Beverly), and Reginald Barlow (professor of the university). Karloff was replaced by Nigel De Brulier when he was not available for retakes and the British censors objected to the gruesomeness of his scenes.