Crime Doctor's Man Hunt

Fair entry in the Crime Doctor series with some interesting plot twists by screenwriter Leigh Brackett and direction by future horror master William Castle. Plot involves Dr. Robert Ordway (Warner Baxter) taking on a walk-in patient with amnesia-type symptoms and the dread of an occultist's prediction of a violent death. There is a creaky abandoned house, a dysfunctional family with a meek sister that was engaged to the victim, and William Frawley as a credible police inspector.

Although sometimes billed as the best of the series, I found the acting somewhat dull and the short 61-minute film did not capture my imagination. I thought the Crime Doctor's Courage better. Menacing characters are presented and not developed – perhaps left on the cutting room floor. Interesting ending that is unlikely to be anticipated but explains all. Sixth in the series. Recommended.

While this isn't the best B-detective film ever made, it is different enough from the usual style that it's well worth watching. Warner Baxter's detective is a psychiatrist and instead of following the usual formula employed by Boston Blackie, The Falcon and MANY other film detectives, his films are a little more cerebral as well as more believable. There is also a real plus because the usual cop investigating the case isn't a total idiot, so I am very thankful for the role William Frawley played. The film itself is well-paced (being only 61 minutes long), interesting and offers a fun twist ending (though psychologically speaking, it was VERY far-fetched). Not a great film, but a welcome film since it is different enough that it doesn't just blend in with the crowd.

The Crime Doctor Robert Ordway is out one night when he sees two men carrying a former patient of his who appears to be dead. But when he informs the police nothing can be found of the dead man, the two men or where the killing could have taken place. So Ordwell being the Crime Doctor has to, of course, follow this up with his brand of snooping This leads to one of those Californian mansions with a mile long drive way and a dysfunctional family residing that is so typical noir films of the 1940's.

This is a rather unusual, yet finely crafted B-mystery with plenty of mysterious atmosphere, strange characters and a quite revealing denouement. Warner Baxter is excellent as always and so is Ellen Drew.

Building on the now well trammelled theme of these "Crime Doctor" films, this time "Dr. Ordway" (Warner Baxter) is engaged by a man who is finding himself in strange parts of town with no idea how he got there. It's whilst investigating that the doctor discovers that this fellow has been slain. Things get more complicated when he meets the despondent fiancée "Irene" (Ellen Drew) who is from a wealthy and dysfunctional family and who also proves to be somewhat enigmatic. Meantime, there are also two goons hanging around too. What can they want with her sister "Natalie"? Loads to challenge the little grey cells here and this largely spares us the psycho-babble and just presents us with a mystery that the audience knows about for most of the film, but it's still enjoyable enough watching Baxter pick up the clues and solve the conundrum. No, it's not great - it's procedural low-budget stuff, but Drew is rather better than most of the damsels in these films and it's amongst the best of the series,

Warner Baxter is again the "Crime Doctor" in "Crime Doctor's Man Hant," a 1946 entry into the series, this one directed by William Castle.

In this one, Dr. Ordway (Baxter) deals with a returning serviceman who seems to be blacking out at times and winding up in an unfamiliar place in town. Ordway actually goes to this area and discovers the man murdered. The man's fiancée (Ellen Drew) has a sister who completely disappeared three years ago but once dominated her life.

This is a pretty good Crime Doctor mystery, given style by Castle. What brings it down is the lousy acting by Ellen Drew and other characters introduced and not fleshed out. William Frawley plays a smart police inspector.

As usual, Baxter, who early in his career was so hyper, is very relaxed and natural in his performance. Sometimes he's a little too relaxed, but the actor had suffered a nervous breakdown. He actually creates quite a likable character.

Nice twist ending that I figured out. Recommended.