Crime Doctor

One of the wilder premises involving a movie series was in the Crime Doctor films that starred Warner Baxter. We are asked to believe that Baxter was once gentleman crook Phil Morgan who held out the loot from his gang and who slugged him and threw him from a moving car and left him for dead. He didn't die, but has a case of amnesia. In any event ten years go by and in those ten years we are asked to believe that Baxter has acquired the eduction and training to become criminal psychologist Robert Ordway a most respected gent.

The Crime Doctor character came from radio and I assume that radio provided a lot of background so that the Ordway character became more believable. Given the fact that the movie-going public had been used to the Crime Doctor radio program the whole premise was easier to swallow in 1943 than it is today.

Baxter who is now a successful criminal psychologist and engaged to Margaret Lindsay is visited by old gang member John Litel who wants to know where the stashed loot is. He's not buying the amnesia story. He assembles the rest of the gang and the film is a battle of wits between Baxter and the rest. Need I tell you who wins?

Future Crime Doctor films gradually left out the part that Baxter was a convict and as a result they have not become as dated and are more believable than the first film. Some are actually pretty good with the simple premise that Baxter with his psychological training is a pretty good criminologist, better in many cases than those who carry a badge. In fact Jeff Goldblum's character on Law and Order: Criminal Intent who does carry a badge can trace his origins back to Warner Baxter's Robert Ordway.

A good screen character with too much unbelievable baggage.

This film is much better than what one might expect, given the studio that made it and the other films of this type put out at the time. Warner Baxter was a good actor, the supporting cast is able, and the writing is taut, uncomplicated and well-done. Direction, lighting and photography are professional. In short, there are few, if any, faults, and the film is well worth a watch. Leon Ames makes an early appearance in a somewhat far fetched sequence involving the rehabilitation of a hardened, bitter convict, but this is a minor, minor flaw in an otherwise very well constructed film. As another reviewer wrote, there are, thankfully, no dumb cops or simple minded assistants, just a well thought out plot and good acting.

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.

Crime Doctor (1943)

** (out of 4)

First film in Columbia's Crime Doctor series has a man (Warner Baxter) thrown out of a car, which leaves him with amnesia. Not knowing who he is, the man decides to start a new life as a doctor but then learns that in his previous life he was a gangster. This was the first film from the series that I watched and I certainly hope they get better. I suspect this film just tells a backstory, which could have been told in the first five minutes of another movie. I found the film incredibly dull and the story itself really wasn't all that involving. Baxter was good in his role but I still wouldn't rank him very high among the countless mystery/detective films of the 30's and 40's.