The Crime Doctor's Courage (1945)

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

If they hadn't used the title in the Crime Doctor series of films two years earlier, this one probably could have gone down as his 'Strangest Case'. Because this one had me going with it's interesting plot and Gordon Carson's (Stephen Crane) alleged 'suicide' right up until the word 'vampire' was introduced into the story. With that 'huh?' moment, one can only hope to stay attentive long enough to scramble together a host of disparate elements in order to close out this baffling murder mystery.It didn't start out so confusing. You had a wealthy businessman who's first two wives died mysteriously within days of their respective weddings under unusual circumstances. Coincidental enough to cast doubt on Carson's innocence, sure, but having him wind up dead shortly after marrying the third time was turning the tables on the story. Eventually it becomes clear that wife number three (Hillary Brooke) did it for the money, so even if she were to be a suspect, the fact that her husband died of a gunshot wound in his locked study with no means of entry or exit to be found, seems to make this an open and shut case for suicide.But then you have the brother and sister dance team (Anthony Caruso, Lupita Tovar) who's publicity guru (Jerome Cowan) suggests they're never seen during the day, don't have mirrors in their dressing room, and sleep in coffins. Well then, the vampire angle gains some traction and the crime doctor has one more bizarre hurdle to overcome to solve the crime of Carson's murder. It all hinges on the idea that one or the other of the Bragga's can 'disappear' at will, thereby suggesting that one of them could have killed Carson while invisible.Well I won't give it all away here, but the resolution to the mystery is a whole lot more mundane than anything that went before. I think if you watch this film a second time after knowing how the story ends, it would make more sense and not seem so bizarre with the vampire angle thrown in. Still, questions remain, like why was it necessary for Miguel Bragga to give Ordway the knockout drink? And why, even if they went along with the vampire pretense, would the Braggas sleep in coffins? Who would ever know?

This Crime Doctor film starring Warner Baxter, (Dr. Robert Ordway) causes the doctor to investigate a murder of a man who lost his both wives on their honeymoon. The doctor is approached by Hillary Brooke,(Kathleen Carson) while the doctor was on vacation and there becomes evidence that there is vampires operating in an old house who are dancers and can only be seen at night time. Their act consists of a mysterious dance created in bright lights and then the female dancer disappears into thin air. This film has many twists and turns and you will have no idea just who the killer is or just what direction this film will take you and why all these murders. This is a rather hopeless film.

This is a watchable mystery but you can't really say why. It has a sort of meandering, rambling plot but strangely it works. Although the films are no way comparable, it is same type of unpredictable plot as Tarantino's "From Dusk Till Dawn". You just don't know where it will go next, and maybe they were making up the plot as they went along, but you want to watch it anyway. The performances here are delivered straight, even the vampire angle (which the characters know is suspect, if weird.) As usual Baxter is strong and trustworthy, Brooke is classy and untrustworthy. These two solid performers do a good job and will not disappoint you.The very last scene with a cop and the Crime Doctor talking real estate exemplifies the ambling but viewable style of this type of script, where sometimes the action is quick, yet characters have time to chat about whatever. Be it Tarantino or the writers here, you are always able to watch and be entertained all the way through.

I saw this on TCM recently and, through the IMDb I found that there were seven "Crime Doctor" movies with Warner Baxter as the psychiatrist-detective. Baxter is a bit long in the tooth compared to his stolid performance in 42nd Street a decade earlier. Not noir, and a bit campy today, the movie also has a touch of the possible supernatural. The plot, black and white cinematography and characters are far more complex than those of the Mr. Moto and Charlie Chan series. There are subplots, unexpected twists and appearances by a number of B movie stalwartly we all should recognize immediately (none ever made it to the A status). It is a wonderfully unpredictable 70 minutes.I would love to see a boxed DVD series of these films.