Le mystérieux docteur Clitterhouse

There's a physician who is seeking to deduce, why villains, rogues and miscreants are induced, into a life of crime, breaking laws most of the time, has a theory that he's willing to enthuse. Before he does, he gathers data on the flawed, encouraging a gang to break the law, as they do he takes their pulse, monitors things from their skulls, all the time he's making notes of what he saw.

It's not the best but it's not the worst, entertaining in places but quite ridiculous in part, Edward G. Robinson is always entertaining and Humphry Bogart bides his time once again, waiting for the big one, although he reaches his nadir the following year with The Return of Doctor X!

The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938)

Don't get your hopes up for a lost Warner Bros. classic. This is good stuff, fun and all, and it does star Edward G. Robinson in his prime, but the plot is too clever and cute for its own good, and the lighthearted feel makes it sometimes almost trivial. As if the movie makers themselves know this is a throwaway.

Not to knock it too hard. It does have Humphrey Bogart about to become a famous star, and it has Claire Trevor in the role as a moll (which is a bit odd for her, but you should see her in "Born to Kill" for her best at this).

Robinson plays a doctor who is so detached from reality he decides to research the physiology of criminals while they are committing a crime (pupil dilation, blood pressure, etc.). And since that's hard to do, he starts doing his own crimes. And since he's a celebrated doctor, he gets away with all of them. At first you think, how fun! And you expect it to really wind up into either a crazy comedy or a real crime thriller with the downfall of this great man.

It avoids either and ends up in a kind of compromise. It's sometimes funny, and it has elements of watching this man get himself cornered by his own activities. There is no pathos here, however, and the humor is breezy, not hilarious. Bogart and Trevor are the more serious side, but they are used to offset Robinson in his slightly silly role. In all, the plot churns along and you end up enjoying the details, the acting, the dark Warner Bros. filming.

The director is worth noting. Anatole Litvak, whose style using dramatic light and moving camera is evident here. He also had a tendency for melodrama, which is not apparent at all. He had just come to the US for a four year contract with the huge Warner Bros. and this was his second film with them. I assume that required adjustment. You can, oddly, still (perhaps) feel his style in the way scenes are laid out and shot.

A well-made but trivial film? There were lots of them, and this is completely enjoyable. And Robinson, as always, is wonderful.

The prominent Dr. Clitterhouse (Edward G. Robinson) becomes a burglar to study the criminal mind. After four heist, he meets the fence Jo Keller (Claire Trevor) that has a hotel to cover-up her activities. He decides to team-up with her gang to observe the thieves in action using the alias The Professor and becomes close to Jo. However the gangster "Rocks" Valentine (Humphrey Bogart) decides to get rid of The Professor and double-crosses him up during the heist of a store. When Rocks discover the true identity of The Professor, he blackmails Dr. Clitterhouse that sees only the ultimate crime to resolve the situation: murder. What will happen to Rocks and Dr. Clitterhouse?

"The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse" is a cynical black-humor comedy with Edward G. Robinson and Humphrey Bogart and screenplay by John Huston. The plot is funny, with hilarious situations of Dr. Clitterhouse, a prominent doctor that uses his relationship with the high-society and the chief of police to rob and understand the criminal mind. In the end, is Dr. Clitterhouse sane or insane? My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): Not Available on Blu-Ray or DVD.

The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse that Warner Brothers presented in 1938 is an adaption of a British play which had been done in London a few years back with Sir Cedric Hardwicke in the title role that Edward G. Robinson does here. Of course the difference in personal styles and country cultures made it a different Clitterhouse than originally presented.

But both are medical doctors doing research into the pathology of the criminal mind. How better to do it than to become a criminal oneself in the interest of science. He does some burglaries on his own and then with the unsuspecting help of police inspector Donald Crisp finds a fence in the person of Claire Trevor and the gang she does business with.

He works his way into the mob earning everyone's trust even though they find the "professor" a little eccentric. All that is except Humphrey Bogart who resents his presence.

It's an interesting idea for a story and the film does have some good plot twists that I'm sure the audience won't figure out if they haven't seen it. The key to remember as Robinson remembers that at all times he's a man of science.

What a fun movie!

Edward G. Robinson plays a respected doctor who decides that the only way to truly understand criminal behavior for an academic study he is writing is to become a criminal himself. He joins a thieving ring run by Jo Keller (Claire Trevor, looking hotsy-totsy) and proceeds to both help the thieves with their crimes while at the same time studying them for the biological and psychological effects of their actions. Trouble arises when Jo's right-hand man, played by Humphrey Bogart, begins to feel like a third wheel, and blackmails Robinson when he discovers his true identity.

This film is a real treat. It's funny, creepy and suspenseful, all at the same time. Robinson begins to enjoy being a criminal, and his detached approach to crime makes him capable of committing murder without a second thought. Is he sane or insane? That's the question a jury must answer at the film's climax, and one the viewer still won't be able to answer after the movie's over.

Robinson, Trevor and Bogart have enough chemistry together to start a fire, and the three of them would team up again 10 years later for another terrific film, John Huston's "Key Largo." Anatole Litvak provides the fluid direction.

Grade: A-