Excellent, smart action film.
... View MoreIt's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
... View MoreEasily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.
... View More.Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.
... View MoreI haven't checked my reviews for all the other Crime Doctor films, so I hope I haven't said any of the rest of them were worst in the series. But, I think after finally seeing this film (the final one for me to see), I can safely say it's the worst. Now this doesn't mean it's a terrible film--heck, this is a generally nice B-movie series--but its standards are noticeably lower than the other films in the series.Warner Baxter returns as 'Dr. Ordway'--a psychiatrist who specializes in criminals and forensics. He's very much the smart and likable guy, though oddly, in this film he seems to be "made of money"--throwing around money like a millionaire. He never did this in other Crime Doctor films and spends money haphazardly. Sure, it only amounts to $700--but that's a huge sum of money for 1945. In one case, he buys a painting by an unknown artist sight unseen for $200 and later in the film he pays a man $500 for information that he was willing to give Ordway for free!! I really think Ordway was the one who should have been consulting a psychiatrist!! However, this is only a minor gripe about the plot. The biggest problem I have is how confusing and convoluted it all was. Plus, in the end when you find out who the real murderer is, it really makes no sense at all--nor does his bizarre statue in the basement. In fact, the whole thing makes my brain hurt despite a good performance by Baxter despite being given a script written by pre-schoolers.
... View MoreThis was another nice entry in the Crime Doctor film series and sharper and darker than those preceding, maybe partly thanks to Columbia b unit director William Castle who teetered on the edge of murky seediness throughout.Engage your senses from the off: there's a puzzling opening with Dr. Ordway (Warner Baxter) and a police Inspector (John Litel) reviewing their case in the bedroom of a murdered woman who had been stabbed earlier in the day. The man suspected has "mental lapses" but Ordway doesn't believe he did it, meaning at this stage we haven't seen the crime or the victim and are rooting for the suspect we haven't seen yet either! Psychoanalysis is called for, along with the usual unhindered sleuthing from the good Doctor. There's a descent into the Bohemian world of artists, models and paintings - most regrettably of gorgeous young women instead of ugly old men, plenty of lovely creeping about in the dark usually with pointy shadowy hats on, and an outlandish plot great stuff! Favourite bits: the meeting between Baxter and art dealer Miles Mander the epitome of succinct and scholarly sinisterness; the busy traffic up on the roof at night and those fabulous apartment windows; the hurried snack Baxter and Litel have after the second murder what was that all about?Well worth while to a fan of the genre, the effort will probably be too much for non-fans. I was concentrating so hard I missed what the Warning of the title was (if there was one), but my own warning is if you watch it be careful not to blink near the end because they closed this one down fast.
... View MoreAnother consultation gets Warner Baxter as the famous Crime Doctor involved in another murder. Young Coulter Irwin is having some kind of flashback occurrences and keeps wandering over to a location that he has no apparent meaning for him. Before Baxter finishes he's involved in the murder of three female artist's models and of course it's Irwin who's suspected because of the unexplained blackouts and because he's an artist.The problem with the Crime Doctor series and with some of the B mystery series is that many times the small cast doesn't leave you too many suspects. In this case the murderer's behavior early on does kind of tip you off in terms of his identity.Still Warner Baxter is always good in whatever film he's in and he gets good support from a familiar cast of players.
... View MoreHardly likely to rank with an Agatha Christie type of mystery, these are fast paced, entertaining little items from Columbia starring WARNER BAXTER as the crime doctor/sleuth. He's always faced with a bunch of red herrings and a crime that baffles the police--as well as the viewer, at least until the last five minutes when everything is wrapped up with such rapidity that you barely have time to recover from trying to guess who done it.And there are plenty of suspects in the murder of models (male and female) and an artist--but at the center of the story is a young man (COULTER IRWIN) who blacks out on a regular basis and seems to be framed for the murder of one of his models.Supporting cast is dotted with well-known character actors from the '40s, including JOHN LITEL as a detective, ALMA KRUGER as Coulter's overbearing mother, JOHN ABBOTT as a shady sculptor, and MILES MANDER as an equally shady art dealer. There's also an outrageously hammy performance by EDUARDO CIANNELLI as a crazed artist who knows something about a painting beneath a painting.The viewer is kept in the dark as to the identity of a man creeping about and committing the crimes until the last few minutes in time for the usual abrupt ending.Summing up: Too many elements of the story are unbelievable, but it's still briskly produced and passes the time quickly.
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