Crime Doctor (film)
Encyclopedia
Crime Doctor is a crime film
starring Warner Baxter
as a man with amnesia
determined to remember his past. The film, released by Columbia Pictures
, was based on the Crime Doctor
radio program and was followed by nine sequels:
, a man (Warner Baxter) is thrown out of a speeding car. When he comes to in a hospital, he finds he has amnesia
. However, he is visited by a man who doesn't believe he cannot remember who he is. He calls the patient Phil and demands to know what happened to a valise, but runs away when Phil buzzes for help. When he recovers, he takes the name Robert Ordway, after a hospital benefactor.
Ordway's doctor, John Carey (Ray Collins
, who portrayed Ordway on the radio show), wants to continue treating him after he is released and offers him a room in his house. All attempts to discover his identity fail, so Ordway decides to learn all he can about his condition. After ten years, he has become a successful psychiatrist
, in partnership with Carey. Ordway begins treating prison inmates. He is so successful, he is named head of the state parole board.
While on a date in a nightclub with social worker Grace Fielding (Margaret Lindsay
), he is recognized by two men from his past, Joe Dylan (Harold Huber) and Nick Ferris (Don Costello). They and a third man, Emilio Caspari (John Litel
), are unsure if he is their partner in crime, so they get a prisoner, his girlfriend Pearl Adams (an uncredited Dorothy Tree
), to apply for parole. At her hearing, she calls Ordway Dr. Morgan. He badgers her until she finally reveals that he is indeed Phil Morgan, the mastermind of a $200,000 payroll robbery, from which the money was never recovered.
In an attempt to remember, he contacts the three men and reenacts the events of the day he lost his memory. Tempers flare and the men fight; during the struggle, Ordway is struck on the head and remembers his past. He also ends up with the gun. He calls the police and has the gang arrested.
Then he insists on being tried for the robbery. The jury finds him guilty, but recommends clemency. The judge sentences him to the minimum term of ten years, but suspends the sentence.
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
starring Warner Baxter
Warner Baxter
Warner Leroy Baxter was an American actor, known for his role as The Cisco Kid in In Old Arizona , for which he won the second Academy Award for Best Actor in the 1928–1929 Academy Awards. Warner Baxter started his movie career in silent movies...
as a man with amnesia
Amnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
determined to remember his past. The film, released by Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
, was based on the Crime Doctor
Crime Doctor (character)
The Crime Doctor is a fictional character created by Max Marcin. A crook named Phil Morgan suffers amnesia and becomes criminal psychologist Dr. Robert Ordway....
radio program and was followed by nine sequels:
- Crime Doctor's Strangest Case (1943)
- Shadows in the Night (1944)
- The Crime Doctor's Courage (1945)
- Crime Doctor's Warning (1945)
- Just Before Dawn (1946)
- Crime Doctor's Man Hunt (1946)
- The Millerson Case (1947)
- Crime Doctor's Gamble (1947)
- The Crime Doctor's Diary (1949)
Plot
During the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, a man (Warner Baxter) is thrown out of a speeding car. When he comes to in a hospital, he finds he has amnesia
Amnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
. However, he is visited by a man who doesn't believe he cannot remember who he is. He calls the patient Phil and demands to know what happened to a valise, but runs away when Phil buzzes for help. When he recovers, he takes the name Robert Ordway, after a hospital benefactor.
Ordway's doctor, John Carey (Ray Collins
Ray Collins (actor)
Ray Bidwell Collins was an American actor in film, stage, radio, and television. One of Collins' best remembered roles was that of Lt. Arthur Tragg in the long-running series Perry Mason.- Biography :...
, who portrayed Ordway on the radio show), wants to continue treating him after he is released and offers him a room in his house. All attempts to discover his identity fail, so Ordway decides to learn all he can about his condition. After ten years, he has become a successful psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
, in partnership with Carey. Ordway begins treating prison inmates. He is so successful, he is named head of the state parole board.
While on a date in a nightclub with social worker Grace Fielding (Margaret Lindsay
Margaret Lindsay
Margaret Lindsay was an American film actress. Her time as a Warner Bros. contract player during the 1930s was particularly productive...
), he is recognized by two men from his past, Joe Dylan (Harold Huber) and Nick Ferris (Don Costello). They and a third man, Emilio Caspari (John Litel
John Litel
John Litel was an American film actor. During World War I, Litel enlisted in the French Army and was twice decorated for bravery....
), are unsure if he is their partner in crime, so they get a prisoner, his girlfriend Pearl Adams (an uncredited Dorothy Tree
Dorothy Tree
Dorothy Tree was an American actress, voice teacher and writer. She appeared in a wide range of character roles in at least 49 motion pictures between 1927 and 1951....
), to apply for parole. At her hearing, she calls Ordway Dr. Morgan. He badgers her until she finally reveals that he is indeed Phil Morgan, the mastermind of a $200,000 payroll robbery, from which the money was never recovered.
In an attempt to remember, he contacts the three men and reenacts the events of the day he lost his memory. Tempers flare and the men fight; during the struggle, Ordway is struck on the head and remembers his past. He also ends up with the gun. He calls the police and has the gang arrested.
Then he insists on being tried for the robbery. The jury finds him guilty, but recommends clemency. The judge sentences him to the minimum term of ten years, but suspends the sentence.