L'incubo del passato

This was the opening chapter in the Crime Doctor series from Columbia, and as usual the first cut is the deepest. The other nine films veered from lightly sparkling to slightly insipid but all lovely to see - this one was strikingly thought provoking with many memorable scenes scattered throughout. Additionally the production values, acting and plots were of a consistently high standard, and basically Columbia allowed Warner Baxter a six year holiday with the filming of them to help him recover his dodgy health.

A man is tossed out of a moving car as one dead in 1932, turns out an amnesiac who is nursed back to good health by a good doctor who encourages him to become a good friend, good citizen and ultimately a good psychiatrist. He achieves all this by 1943, by which time his shady past is starting to catch up with him, 3 dumb guys eager to reclaim USD 200,000 stolen in his previous life. How it all unfolds and is resolved is as ingenious as the b picture format and the Hays Office could allow. Favourite bits: The 4 of them sitting round the table in Frankie's, all wondering what was going off; Margaret Lindsay – almost too exquisite too watch here; Leon Ames, the violent patriot in prison for life then out in a twinkling; the trial of Phil Morgan and Robert Ordway.

It should be an incredibly rewarding 65 minutes to fans of this genre of film, if you find yourself unmoved by it my advice is don't bother with the rest and do yourself and the fans a favour.

I hope that TCM broadcasts more of the "Crime Doctor" series, based on the radio show. Starring Warner Baxter, 1943's "Crime Doctor" is one of the first films Michael Gordon (Pillow Talk) directed, and it's a good, solid B movie.

Baxter plays a criminal named Phil Morgan who gets amnesia after being left for dead on the side of a road. He rehabilitates himself and, still not knowing who he is, becomes a noted psychiatrist named Robert Ordway who works with prisoners as well as other patients.

However, Phil Morgan stole and hid $200,000 and his fellow gang members want the money. As word gets around that Dr. Ordway is Phil Morgan, the question is - does he really not remember, or does he know who he is and where he put the money?

Baxter was 54 years old when this film was made. Fifty-four in 1943 isn't what it is today, so when the character announces that "thirty years of his life" have been wiped out, one wonders which thirty years he's talking about.

The film covers a span of ten years, but it's just as hard to buy he's forty. It's a minor point - Baxter gives a sincere performance with an undertone of real gentleness.

The supporting cast includes the lovely Margaret Lindsay, John Litel (who play Nancy Drew's father in the series), Perry Mason's Ray Collins, and Leon Ames.

When a man is thrown from a speeding car, he awakens without a clue who he is. It takes ten years for him to rehabilitate into the renowned "Dr. Ordway" (Warner Baxter), a man who ends up esteemed enough to be put in charge of the parole board. It's as he is making a broadcast that an inmate elsewhere (Dorothy Tree) recognises his voice and identifies criminal mastermind "Philip Morgan" - a man whose gang stole $200,000 that is still unaccounted for. It's not just her who has identified him, and pretty swiftly his erstwhile gang are also on his trail wanting their loot. "Ordway" realises that he still has some cards to play in his dealings with their leader "Caspair" (John Litel) that might just help him fully re-establish his identity and hopefully find the money. This is quite an engaging little mystery that allows Baxter to establish his character's credentials as a competent detective whilst using some elementary psychology, the odd shrug and a wry smile to provide us with a decently paced cat-and-mouse drama that presents our protagonist with a sort of lose-lose scenario towards the end. The production is adequate, the dialogue quite entertaining and it amiably sets the scene for more to come.

In the 1930s and 40s, Hollywood made a huge number of "B" detective series films. They were called "B" because they had lower budgets, were shorter than the average film and were meant to be the second film in a double feature--the lesser of the two films. In general, these films were a lot of fun to watch BUT they also were very formulaic and repetitive. I enjoy Sherlock Holmes, Charlie Chan, Boston Blackie and the Saint, but will gladly admit that once you've seen a few they all seem to blend together--particularly the Blackie series. It is because of this sameness that I really, really appreciate the Crime Doctor films--they are not so predictable and offer some nice innovations.

This movie is the first, and from what I've seen, the best of the Crime Doctor films. It sets the stage for future films by explaining how Warner Baxter became a psychiatrist and crime solver and is well-written and interesting throughout--even though this movie's plot isn't original--having been a variation on a film from 1936. The acting is very good and the film is played more seriously than the average film of the genre--with no goofy sidekick or stupid police investigator. And, frankly, this is a good thing as the others are clichés that just seem to permeate almost every B detective film. Give it a watch--it's very enjoyable and doesn't disappoint, as the characters behave intelligently and believably.

It's odd that CRIME DOCTOR ('43), the film that started the B-film series at Columbia, is one of the least involving of the Dr. Ordway stories. The first half-hour is pretty dull before the film takes on any real interest in the amnesia background of Baxter's character.

His development from complete amnesia to gradual recall is well handled and some of the scenes with JOHN LITEL have a certain amount of interest, but the story lacks overall believability with RAY COLLINS turning to the phone book in a search for Baxter's name and then becoming his mentor and leading him into a doctor's career with a quick montage of events establishing Baxter as a psychiatrist.

MARGARET LINDSAY is attractive as the female interest, looking so much like a prettier version of Barbara Stanwyck, whom I always thought she resembled in manner and looks. For fans of the series, this one will do, but surprisingly it's not the sort of "first film in the series" that I expected and you have to wonder why Columbia decided to make a series after this one.

WARNER BAXTER looks quite ill in most of his close-ups, so you can see the man was in fragile health all during these "Crime Doctor" films. He gives his usual solid performance but the film was a disappointment for me.