Horror History: More Doctor Who Sightings in Horror Movies

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Sighting “Doctor Who” actors appearing in horror movie roles has opened floodgates of discussion on social media! Yes, the films I mentioned in my last Dread Central article are not the only horror movie appearances of Doctor Who.

In my last article we saw Patrick Troughton as the priest in 1976’s The Omen, as Inspector Kanof in The Gorgon (1964), and in 1970’s Scars of Dracula. We reviewed Jon Pertwee in The House that Dripped Blood (1971). We recognized Tom Baker in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973).

As working actors, these three pop up in movies and TV shows throughout the decades, and there are many more Doctor Who sightings, like the uncredited Patrick Troughton police inspector role in Season One of “The Saint.” While we once again time travel in this article, I’m going to continue to concentrate on the first four actors who played the good Doctor.

Since I left the first Doctor out of my previous article, we’ll start with William Hartnell. His comedic performance in the thriller Midnight at the Wax Museum (1936), 30 years before setting the standard for Doctor Who, proves this actor was well known and well seasoned when picked for the then-new BBC kid’s program.

Midnight at the Wax Museum, also called Midnight at Madame Tussaud’s, is about an explorer spending the night in Madame Tussauds Chamber of Horrors. The film was actually shot in Madame Tussauds; I remember it to be spooky, but when I saw it, I was very young.

Good luck finding this film to watch now. Even harder to find is Hartnell’s I’m an Explosive (1933), in which he starred (I assume) as the son of an inventor who accidentally drinks an explosive liquid. Sounds like horror to me.

Vault of Horror (1973) is much easier to get hold of and features the fourth Doctor, Tom Baker. An anthology film based on EC comic book tales written by Al Feldstein and Bill Gaines, Vault of Horror delivers like any of the Amicus horror movies: similar to Hammer in that you know you will be entertained.

Vault of Horror is a follow-up to Amicus’ Tales From the Crypt (1972), also based on EC comic stories. Both are directed by Roy Ward Baker and contrive ways to string together separate tales.

In the fifth segment of Vault of Horror, Tom Baker portrays a poor artist who finds a way to exact revenge on those who wronged him. Baker plays this character with a low-key subtlety, giving depth and sympathy to a character that could have come across whiny, cruel, or witless.

We’d be here all day if we counted Peter Cushing as a Doctor, due to his horror work with Hammer Film Productions and more.

Cushing portrayed the Doctor in two mid-’60s movies, Dr. Who and the Daleks and Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D., films generally regarded as outside the mythos, although explaining their existence is a fun fanboy exercise. Feel free to post your explanation below!

Cushing’s Who was less crotchety than Hartnell’s portrayal of the character, and Hartnell’s was the only Doctor at the time. You could say Peter Cushing was the first actor to take Doctor Who in a different direction.

It has been fun time traveling with you! Your comments below are encouraged and appreciated.

Gary Scott Beatty’s graphic novel Wounds is available on Amazon and Comixology. Is madness a way to survive the zombie apocalypse? The strangest zombie story ever written, Wounds throws us into a world where nothing is beyond doubt, except a father’s concern for his wife and daughter. If you enjoy that “What th-?” factor in graphic novels, you’ll enjoy Wounds. For more from Gary Scott Beatty, visit him on Twitter and Facebook.

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