O Ardil do Médico

While visiting an old friend in Paris, the Prefect of Police, the Crime Doctor gets involved with the complex stabbing murder of an old man supposedly by his son. The suspect is described as a worthless idler who suffers from some war-induced psychological problems. But is he capable of murder? The beautiful Micheline Cheirel (in her last film role) plays the love interest – married and loyal to the suspect but also the daughter of a knife-thrower who is an old friend of the murdered man.

The Crime Doctor always seems to know who is lying and telling the truth in the absence of any evidence to support his theories. The defendant's lawyer does not practice criminal law and the defendant does not appear to care whether he lives or dies. Is the only defense insanity? If he gets off the murder charge due to insanity, who inherits? What about a fourteen year-old contract between the murdered man and the knife-thrower? How many more murders? Intrigue in the art world leads the Crime Doctor to the solution.

Interesting dance apache sequences. Directed by future horror-meister William Castle. Fair.

When an old man is stabbed in Paris, the visiting "Dr. Ordway" (Warner Baxter) is called upon by his policeman friend to investigate. It soon turns out that the man's son looks like he is the prime suspect. Thing is, he has a limited grasp on reality and isn't at all sure what could have happened. He just knows that he was furious with his father who disapproved of his new bride - the daughter of a cabaret performer. As "Ordway" uses his unique methods of detection, he begins to think that the killing is just the tip of an iceberg that will lead to a cunning plan to counterfeit famous and valuable works of art. This is a rather run-of-the-mill and predictable thriller that's let down by way too much dialogue and some seriously ropey French accents - all delivered by an ensemble (including Baxter) who didn't look particularly interested in the proceedings. This one also takes us into the realms of schoolboy psychology a little more clumsily than in some of the other "Crime Doctor" outings and some of the conclusions being drawn do stretch the imagination somewhat. It does try to up the ante for the genre, but there's not enough action and mystery to compensate for the drawbacks.

Dr. Ordway, the Crime Doctor, is visiting a friend--a detective in Paris, France. While they say repeatedly that Ordway's visit is purely a vacation, the audience KNOWS that sooner or later a crime will occur and Ordway will be called in to solve it.

This movie is a real shame, as early on the Crime Doctor series was one of the best detective series of the 1940s--maybe even the best. The film really lets down on several levels. First, the acting of everyone is poor. Warner Baxter (Dr. Ordway) looks rather tired but the real problem were the French-accented extras. Many of them simply weren't good actors and I think they were chosen for their accents and other talents seemed incidental. Plus, it was very odd that not a single French person spoke French during the film. Also, the film was very talky and the plot just wasn't all that involving.

An added benefit of my watching the film (since I have significant training and experience with diagnosing mental illness) was that I knew that the psychological talk was mostly mumbo-jumbo. For example, at one point a man was accused of murder and Ordway said "(these are) actions of a typical Manic-Depressive"! Even by 1940s standards for psychiatry, this was a load of bull--Manic-Depression (Bipolar Disorder) is NOT related to murder nor did the man show symptoms of the disorder. I think they just pulled the diagnosis out of a hat! It's a shame, as in earlier Crime Doctor films, they seemed to try to get the psychiatric aspects of the film right.

All in all, a rather limp and pedestrian effort. Not bad, but far from the brilliance of the first few films of the series.

Warner Baxter goes to Paris in Crime Doctor's Gamble ostensibly to give a lecture, but mostly for a little rest and relaxation. But Inspector Marcel Journet kind of sandbags him into a mystery where a young artist is accused of killing his father. Journet is not convinced Roger Dann did do it or it is a case of temporary in sanity as he and the accused were in a concentration camp together during the late war. Dr. Robert Ordway is intrigued right into a little free consultation.

Dann was a rich kid who left his good surroundings to be a painter and he fell for a girl who was from the wrong side of the tracks. He married a nightclub performer and dad was going to cut him off.

What makes this one work is the nice cast of continental actors falling into good typecasting and the fact the motive is miles from what the police originally thought. A couple of bodies later and Dr. Ordway finds the killer. In fact Baxter has a nice fight scene with the murderer, something the cerebral Dr. Ordway usually doesn't do.

They never leave the Columbia back lot, but Crime Doctor's Gamble is something you can take a chance on.

This entry in the "Crime Doctor" series (based on the radio program of the same name) finds our protagonist in Paris giving a lecture on crime prevention. After the lecture, Dr. Ordway meets a Parisian colleague who takes him out for a night on the town "with no interruptions" (i.e., cases to solve). After visiting about half a dozen famous night clubs (identified by a series of neon logos), they arrive (apparently cold sober) at one where a knife thrower is performing, and where they actually engage in some dialog which sets the stage for the future "interruption".

The next day, Dr. Ordway is introduced by his colleague to an apparent manic-depressive who allegedly killed his father with a letter opener during an argument. While investigating the murder (the "interruption" we of course knew was coming), Dr. Ordway discovers that the case also involves the mysterious theft of art copies.

Like many another movie mystery, explanations that tie up loose ends are offered after the crime is solved, just in case the audience couldn't (or in this case, wasn't given the opportunity) to figure them out as it went along.

Connoisseurs of American film will recognize among a cast of generally unfamiliar French actors, Emory Parnell in a small but pivotal part as art dealer O'Reilly, and Steven Geray as the family attorney of the deceased.