The Crime Doctor's Warning

The previous entry was a bit bizarre, although I liked it a great deal, with explanations that did not completely add up and a horror sideplot to boot. This time the Crime Doctor series goes back to the mental aspect of crime, the one for which Dr. Robert Ordway (Warner Baxter) is so well trained.

Two female artists' models are murdered in the bohemian district of the city, and Ordway is brought in on the case by Inspector Dawes (John Litel), because there seems to be no motive. There are a couple of woman haters among the male artists and models, but suspect number one is a young man, Clive Lake, who has lapses of memory, and who came to Ordway as a patient in the first place because he is scared he may be injuring others during this "lost time". Also, the second victim was Clive's fiancée and her body was found stuffed under his couch during one of those times when he was having a memory lapse. The origin of Clive's lapses comes from childhood when his mother locked him in a closet as punishment and then forgot about him for three hours. Did I mention Clive's wealthy mom really hates the idea of him marrying a model, thinking she is just after Clive's money? I'll let you watch and see how this all works out. There is also an odd bit of casting here. John Litel, who is a police inspector here, played a master criminal and enemy of Ordway in the original Crime Doctor film. It's funny when I see things like this in any of the Columbia B crime serials of the 40's, because, at the time, Columbia considered them just filler versus their prestige films. Plus, with WWII on at the time, and Columbia being a poverty row studio, it was hard to find any A-list male stars that were not in the service. Yet these B films from the 40's - Crime Doctor, Boston Blackie, Lone Wolf - are the Columbia films I really enjoy watching from that period.

A struggling artist seeks help from the Crime Doctor (Warner Baxter). He's been suffering from blackouts and short term memory loss. When two models (one of which is his fiancee) are murdered, he's an immediate suspect. The Doctor isn't so sure. There are others with motive, including the artist's overprotective mother and a very misogynistic male model.

An efficient and solid mystery that is suspenseful and absorbing from beginning to the end. Coulter Irwin as the suspect who suffers from blackouts is excellent as is Warner Baxter as the hero. There's a dreamy quality to this great entry, it's well-paced and has a good, though unusual finale.

This 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.

The Crime Doctor films are always interesting and intriguing, and he comes very close to the Sherlock Holmes standard. This is about an art riddle, art models are being murdered one after another, and a poor young artist suffering from moments of amnesia is worried about the possibility of he being the subconscious murderer. It's not as simple as that, which Doctor Ordway soon finds out. His murder intrigues usually start with a loose thread, which compels him to pull it in, which usually leads him into an inextricable mess of mysteries. It's the same thing here. It is impossible to guess at the clue of the mystery, while you are left like Doctor Ordway hanging entangled in a nest of loose threads, until a jolly Scotsman brings him to a proper lead. Like the other Crime Doctor films, the cinematography and the music add to the atmosphere, keeping you agog until the final strike. This crime mystery would be especially interesting to artists, there are some splendid eccentric artists on parade here, and the intrigue is well sustained until the last minute.

Another 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.