Dapper yet avuncular Warner Baxter, one of cinema's earliest Oscar winners (Best Actor in 1928's IN OLD ARIZONA), is put through his paces in this second entry in Columbia Pictures' CRIME DOCTOR series, based on the hit radio series. Baxter plays the title character, a.k.a. Dr. Ordway, an amnesiac who learned (in the first CRIME DOCTOR movie) he used to be a gang leader. Since then, Dr. Ordway's been using his knowledge of the criminal mind to become an in-demand psychiatrist. (My husband wondered if he was able to psych out his rival gangsters in his hoodlum life.) Baxter's testimony had helped acquit Jimmy Trotter (a young Lloyd Bridges), who'd been accused of poisoning his previous employer. Jimmy finds that even when you're proved innocent, it's tough to find a job when you've got "Accused Poisoner" on your resume. But does Jimmy follow Dr. Ordway's advice and get a fresh start with his new wife in a new town? No-o-o-o! Jimmy grabs the first job he can get, as assistant to a Realtor, only to find himself jobless and the prime suspect when the Realtor dies of poisoning. Dr. Ordway gets involved, and before you can say "It's old Mr. Withers! He wanted to get the land cheap!", he's up to his fedora in wily blondes disguised as brunette cooks, family skullduggery, a would-be George Gershwin who's careless with matches (played for comic relief by Jerome Cowan, best known in our household as Miles Archer in the classic 1941 version of THE MALTESE FALCON. Fellow ... FALCON alumnus Barton MacLane plays the police detective on the case), and an anxious middle-aged lady whose freaky dreams may be the key to the mystery. That dream sequence is surprisingly intense, with imagery of silhouetted girls plummeting off cliffs and hanging from nooses; it's almost like a welcome bit of comic relief when a sinister male silhouette holding a suitcase labeled "POISON" shows up! THE CRIME DOCTOR'S STRANGEST CASE may not be THE MALTESE FALCON, but Baxter is an ingratiating lead and the flick is an entertaining way to spend 68 minutes. Give it a look next time it turns up on Turner Classic Movies!
20 Reviews
Not Bad at all for a B Movie
Sharclon820 August 2006
Warning: Spoilers
This movie is the 2nd in the Crime Doctor series. He is now a famous and successful Psychologist, The first Crime Doctor sets him up and explains who, why and how. The rest of the Crime Doctor stories like this one are Who Dunnits. And not bad ones at that. Depending if you are an aficionado of old movies and mystery stories, I am of both, the plot should be interesting and hold your interest. Usually the Crime Doctor gets involved in the mystery through a patient and this story is no exception. The patient this time is a ex-convict who is taking on a new job. Pretty soon it looks like he has been hired so that he can be framed for the murder. Crime Doctor interviews the other people who are related to or work for the murdered man. Somewhere among them he finds the real murderer.
To be taken once a year with a glass of something
Spondonman27 May 2007
There's some films that I saw over 20 years ago that if I ever get back to them after such a gap I wonder why I stayed away for so long. I think the Crime Doctor series is like that - I've had copies getting dusty for ages, and yet it's really too good to be treated like that. They were on a production par with the other Columbia stalwarts of Boston Blackie, the Lone Wolf and the Whistler - all well worth watching.
Avuncular type Warner Baxter playing Robert Ordway aka the Crime Doctor gets involved in the case of the murder by poison of a wealthy industrialist insofar as he tries to clear the name of his suspicious friend played by skinny and intense Lloyd Bridges. He leisurely sorts through a houseful of suspects much to cop Barton MacLane's irritation and who has a job keeping up with him throughout the picture. It can get a bit complicated with red herrings, a surreal dream sequence and a long flashback to precisely 31 years previous but all of it was necessary stuff. Favourite bits: Mrs Keppler's quick change vamoose; Jeremy Cowan's disposal of the fiery wastepaper basket through his window; Baxter's general imperturbable confidence; Lynn Merrick's towering hairstyle.
For those of us who mine this seam it's another fine example of the 1940's b&w detective comedy-mystery genre.
Avuncular type Warner Baxter playing Robert Ordway aka the Crime Doctor gets involved in the case of the murder by poison of a wealthy industrialist insofar as he tries to clear the name of his suspicious friend played by skinny and intense Lloyd Bridges. He leisurely sorts through a houseful of suspects much to cop Barton MacLane's irritation and who has a job keeping up with him throughout the picture. It can get a bit complicated with red herrings, a surreal dream sequence and a long flashback to precisely 31 years previous but all of it was necessary stuff. Favourite bits: Mrs Keppler's quick change vamoose; Jeremy Cowan's disposal of the fiery wastepaper basket through his window; Baxter's general imperturbable confidence; Lynn Merrick's towering hairstyle.
For those of us who mine this seam it's another fine example of the 1940's b&w detective comedy-mystery genre.
Interesting B-film with Lloyd Bridges as the "fall guy"...
Doylenf24 March 2007
A young LLOYD BRIDGES plays a man whose wealthy employer is found dead of poisoning. Bridges needs the help of crime doctor WARNER BAXTER to prove that he's not the murderer. When Bridges makes a quick getaway, we have Baxter left with a household of prime suspects, including REGINALD DENNY, LYNN MERRICK, ROSE HOBART and, later on, JEROME COWAN as a man who lights too many careless matches.
VIRGINIA BRISSAC is good as a loyal but suspicious housekeeper who takes Baxter into her confidence, but it's young up and coming actor LLOYD BRIDGES who manages to make the strongest impression among the supporting cast. He was a more than capable actor even then.
Based on characters created in a radio play, the nice thing about CRIME DOCTOR'S STRANGEST CASE is that all the loose ends are neatly tied up by Baxter's sleuthing abilities.
Summing up: Mystery buffs should find this fast moving B-film a very enjoyable crime drama from Columbia.
VIRGINIA BRISSAC is good as a loyal but suspicious housekeeper who takes Baxter into her confidence, but it's young up and coming actor LLOYD BRIDGES who manages to make the strongest impression among the supporting cast. He was a more than capable actor even then.
Based on characters created in a radio play, the nice thing about CRIME DOCTOR'S STRANGEST CASE is that all the loose ends are neatly tied up by Baxter's sleuthing abilities.
Summing up: Mystery buffs should find this fast moving B-film a very enjoyable crime drama from Columbia.
Good mystery, with Lloyd Bridges
HallmarkMovieBuff24 March 2007
This second entry in the "Crime Doctor" series is a steadfast crime drama with enough red herrings to keep it interesting. It even has a bit of comedic relief involving a musician and his matches.
One caution, however -- a fair amount of the critical action occurs at night, and there aren't enough shades of gray in the print (as shown on TCM) to distinguish all the details, especially in the scenes which take place in an abandoned night club.
One delightful revelation, and what may make this worth watching for aficionados of Hollywood history, is the appearance here of Lloyd Bridges, who plays a prime suspect. Those of us who grew up on the TV series, Sea Hunt, and unfamiliar with his earlier work (this was made about seven years into his career, and about fifteen before the TV series) may wonder why this tall and lean, blond and handsome, deep-voiced, quick-talking actor didn't become one of Hollywood's premiere leading men.
One caution, however -- a fair amount of the critical action occurs at night, and there aren't enough shades of gray in the print (as shown on TCM) to distinguish all the details, especially in the scenes which take place in an abandoned night club.
One delightful revelation, and what may make this worth watching for aficionados of Hollywood history, is the appearance here of Lloyd Bridges, who plays a prime suspect. Those of us who grew up on the TV series, Sea Hunt, and unfamiliar with his earlier work (this was made about seven years into his career, and about fifteen before the TV series) may wonder why this tall and lean, blond and handsome, deep-voiced, quick-talking actor didn't become one of Hollywood's premiere leading men.
Nice B movie, part of the Crime Doctor series
blanche-28 December 2008
Warner Baxter is the "Crime Doctor," and here he is in the second film of the series, "Crime Doctor's Strangest Case," filmed in 1943. This one has a perk for baby boomers as it stars a very young Lloyd "Sea Hunt" Bridges as a man acquitted of killing his boss who consults Dr. Ordway (Baxter), the man who helped him in his case. Though he was found not guilty, he has had terrible trouble finding a new position. Now he's been offered a job working for a person instead of a company - a similar situation to his first job, and he wants to get married. Ordway recommends that he look instead for a corporate position, even if he has to leave town, and wait to get married.
The Bridges character doesn't take Dr. O's advice, and when his boss is killed, it does look as though he was given the job so he could be framed. Ordway steps in to investigate, dueling wits with the detective in charge of the case (Barton MacLaine).
This "Crime Doctor" has some comedy in it, with Jerome Cowan as a musician who is careless with matches. There's also a hilarious, very fast change of identity.
This is a good series, and I hope to see more of it on TCM.
The Bridges character doesn't take Dr. O's advice, and when his boss is killed, it does look as though he was given the job so he could be framed. Ordway steps in to investigate, dueling wits with the detective in charge of the case (Barton MacLaine).
This "Crime Doctor" has some comedy in it, with Jerome Cowan as a musician who is careless with matches. There's also a hilarious, very fast change of identity.
This is a good series, and I hope to see more of it on TCM.
Not just strange, but baffling
bkoganbing31 May 2012
Crime Doctor's Strangest Case finds Warner Baxter checking on Lloyd Bridges whom he considers a success story as a reclamation project while he was on the parole board. Bridges just got a job with George Lynn, a multimillionaire real estate tycoon whom we learn as Baxter arrives to visit Bridges on the job we learn that Lynn was poisoned by a cup of coffee Bridges brought to him.
This case is not only strange, but quite baffling as the roots go back thirty years to the disappearance of Lynn's partner in an old musical theater and vaudeville house. The theater has been boarded up and shut down ever since.
Other than Dr. Ordway and the police everybody is a suspect in this one, not excluding Bridges who has a couple of scenes that make you wonder whether Dr. Ordway missed a bet with him. This Crime Doctor is a worthwhile bit of time spent viewing.
This case is not only strange, but quite baffling as the roots go back thirty years to the disappearance of Lynn's partner in an old musical theater and vaudeville house. The theater has been boarded up and shut down ever since.
Other than Dr. Ordway and the police everybody is a suspect in this one, not excluding Bridges who has a couple of scenes that make you wonder whether Dr. Ordway missed a bet with him. This Crime Doctor is a worthwhile bit of time spent viewing.
Pretty Good Mystery for 1943
whpratt126 March 2007
Enjoyed this black and white picture from 1943 and Warren Baxter,(Dr. Robert Ordway) who is a psychologist and at the same time gets himself involved solving crimes and out smarts all the professional police enforcers. In this picture Dr. Robert Ordway comes to the aid of Loyld Bridges, (Jimmy Totter) who is an ex-con and seeks the doctors advice about starting a new position and the fact that he had intentions of marrying Lynn Merrick, (Ellen Totter). Dr. Ordway suggests that he not get married for awhile until he gets settled in his new job. There is plenty of trouble that starts and the mystery gets quite complicated and many scenes are filmed in an old night club that is closed and everything is mostly done in the complete dark with very poor flashlights and even kerosene lamps are used and a telephone rings right after a fire in the night club.
Miss Patricia Holds the Key!!
kidboots31 December 2012
Warning: Spoilers
The early Crime Doctor films were a great training ground for Columbia's up and coming young actors and actresses. Like Lloyd Bridges and Lynn Merrick who in this entry play a young couple who call on Dr. Ordway to see if he can advise them on their future. Jimmy Trotter was once on trial for murder and is forever in Ordway's debt for getting him a new trial (for which he was found not guilty). Ordway is concerned that he has put himself in the same working situation that he was in before his trial but before he can see Burns to ask him why he took a chance on Jimmie who has been shunned by society, Burns is murdered.
Jimmie has really nothing to do with this intricately plotted entry, he is just a red herring, there to throw the scent off the real murderer. It is a story of revenge, inheritances and pent up grievances. There is icy Mrs. Byrnes (Rose Hobart) who has only been married a year and a pixilated housekeeper, Miss Patricia (Virginia Brissac) whose dreams hold the key to the mystery. She knows that the cook isn't really a cook but Burn's old partner's daughter who, disguised as domestic help, has come to the house for answers about her missing father. Jimmy, of course, brings suspicion on himself by fleeing from the house when the police van rolls up. Ellen (Jimmie's fiancée) also throws suspicion on herself when Ordway gives her a piece of vital evidence yet within seconds she drops it and her apologies don't sound sincere. After that she always seemed to look guilty but maybe that was just a case of bad acting on Merrick's part.
Miss Patricia's hypnosis sessions with the good doctor has all paths leading to a disused night club - the Golden Nights. Over 30 years before it was a thriving theatre and Patricia was the dancing star who overhears a quarrel between Burns and his partner, Fenton, who was eager to get home because his wife was about to have a baby.
In the early Crime Doctor entries Ordway was very hands on (in the later entries he seemed to be around only as a help to the police) and in this one he is at the front of the action when everyone converges on the old theatre where a skeleton is found as well as a hidden safe that interests the murderer very much. Thomas E. Jackson had played slow talking Sergeant Flaherty in "Little Caesar" and received a life sentence where he was destined to play officers of the law for the next three decades - he was terrific though, as was Barton Maclane. This was Gloria Dickson's next to last role. She had given a sensitive performance in "They Won't Forget" (all the publicity went to Lana Turner though) but was destined for a career of tough dames. She was playing a woman of 31 in this movie and really looked it, however in reality she was only 26. Constance Worth (Ordway's receptionist) had a noteworthy career in Australia as Jocelyn Howarth where she had starring parts in her first films - "The Squatter's Daughter" and "The Silence of Dean Maitland".
Jimmie has really nothing to do with this intricately plotted entry, he is just a red herring, there to throw the scent off the real murderer. It is a story of revenge, inheritances and pent up grievances. There is icy Mrs. Byrnes (Rose Hobart) who has only been married a year and a pixilated housekeeper, Miss Patricia (Virginia Brissac) whose dreams hold the key to the mystery. She knows that the cook isn't really a cook but Burn's old partner's daughter who, disguised as domestic help, has come to the house for answers about her missing father. Jimmy, of course, brings suspicion on himself by fleeing from the house when the police van rolls up. Ellen (Jimmie's fiancée) also throws suspicion on herself when Ordway gives her a piece of vital evidence yet within seconds she drops it and her apologies don't sound sincere. After that she always seemed to look guilty but maybe that was just a case of bad acting on Merrick's part.
Miss Patricia's hypnosis sessions with the good doctor has all paths leading to a disused night club - the Golden Nights. Over 30 years before it was a thriving theatre and Patricia was the dancing star who overhears a quarrel between Burns and his partner, Fenton, who was eager to get home because his wife was about to have a baby.
In the early Crime Doctor entries Ordway was very hands on (in the later entries he seemed to be around only as a help to the police) and in this one he is at the front of the action when everyone converges on the old theatre where a skeleton is found as well as a hidden safe that interests the murderer very much. Thomas E. Jackson had played slow talking Sergeant Flaherty in "Little Caesar" and received a life sentence where he was destined to play officers of the law for the next three decades - he was terrific though, as was Barton Maclane. This was Gloria Dickson's next to last role. She had given a sensitive performance in "They Won't Forget" (all the publicity went to Lana Turner though) but was destined for a career of tough dames. She was playing a woman of 31 in this movie and really looked it, however in reality she was only 26. Constance Worth (Ordway's receptionist) had a noteworthy career in Australia as Jocelyn Howarth where she had starring parts in her first films - "The Squatter's Daughter" and "The Silence of Dean Maitland".
One of the crime doctor's most complex cases...
AlsExGal16 May 2015
... and by complex I mean that everybody is a possible suspect EXCEPT Dr. Ordway, his nurse, and the police. And up to the end I'm not that sure about Ordway's nurse! The film opens on a young couple seeking Ordway's (Warner Baxter's) advice on whether or not to marry. Jimmy Trotter (Lloyd Bridges) is a young man who was convicted of murdering his employer with poison. Ordway helped him get a new trial, and he was acquitted. Ordway's advice is to wait until Jimmy can get a job with a large company. Ordway does not like the fact that Jimmy is currently working for a wealthy individual as a personal secretary, which is exactly the same job he had when he was accused of murdering his employer before.
Soon thereafter Ordway decides to visit Jimmy at his place of employment. However, the maid thinks Ordway is either the coroner or with the police. You see, Jimmy's employer has just suddenly died and it looks like poison again. Ordway goes along with the ruse to get access to the crime scene and yes, it appears that Walter Burns drank poisoned coffee.
Next, the real police arrive, and this is where things get strange. The police go all "Boston Blackie" on Dr. Ordway. In spite of the fact that he has been a welcome help in other cases, they get tough with him, like he is in the way and completely unwelcome. They even imply he is helping Jimmy - who they try to arrest but escapes - evade arrest.
Well Jimmy did at least one thing he probably should not have done, he went ahead and married his fiancée Ellen against Dr. Ordway's advice. It doesn't help Ordway that the Burns mansion is filled with suspects - the young widow, the victim's brother and nephew who both circle like sharks, a maid who has been carrying a torch for the dead Mr. Burns for 30 years to the point that her mind has become effected, and a cook who turns out to be an imposter and flees the Burns household when Ordway calls her on her impersonation. The point is, by the end of the film you are suspecting all of these people including Jimmy and his wife.
The one odd thing in this film - Jimmy and Ellen have just gotten married a day or two earlier, yet their house looks like the set of "I Love Lucy" - it is completely decorated with frilly curtains, comfy couch, and well stocked kitchen as Ellen parades around in stylish house-dress and frilly apron like she has been a housewife for five years, not five days! Highly recommended as a good entry in the Crime Doctor series.
Soon thereafter Ordway decides to visit Jimmy at his place of employment. However, the maid thinks Ordway is either the coroner or with the police. You see, Jimmy's employer has just suddenly died and it looks like poison again. Ordway goes along with the ruse to get access to the crime scene and yes, it appears that Walter Burns drank poisoned coffee.
Next, the real police arrive, and this is where things get strange. The police go all "Boston Blackie" on Dr. Ordway. In spite of the fact that he has been a welcome help in other cases, they get tough with him, like he is in the way and completely unwelcome. They even imply he is helping Jimmy - who they try to arrest but escapes - evade arrest.
Well Jimmy did at least one thing he probably should not have done, he went ahead and married his fiancée Ellen against Dr. Ordway's advice. It doesn't help Ordway that the Burns mansion is filled with suspects - the young widow, the victim's brother and nephew who both circle like sharks, a maid who has been carrying a torch for the dead Mr. Burns for 30 years to the point that her mind has become effected, and a cook who turns out to be an imposter and flees the Burns household when Ordway calls her on her impersonation. The point is, by the end of the film you are suspecting all of these people including Jimmy and his wife.
The one odd thing in this film - Jimmy and Ellen have just gotten married a day or two earlier, yet their house looks like the set of "I Love Lucy" - it is completely decorated with frilly curtains, comfy couch, and well stocked kitchen as Ellen parades around in stylish house-dress and frilly apron like she has been a housewife for five years, not five days! Highly recommended as a good entry in the Crime Doctor series.
The crime doctor investigating a murder and stumbling on others
clanciai15 February 2022
The Crime Doctor's series of films (there are 10) keep up an admirably high level of intelligence and sustained intrigue, and this is no exception. There are murders enough and even a thirty year old corpse, and the film even boasts a very early Lloyd Bridges in the second lead, hardly well known at the time but the more famous later. The complicated intrigue resembles in some ways of "The Big Sleep" much later, it's the same kind of mystic atmosphere, and the audience will be certain to sit tight in excitement and expectation of what will happen next, and there are constantly more things to happen next. The series is comparable with the contemporary Sherlock Holmes series with Basil Rathbone, it's the same kind of very professional script writers, and the script is actually the main credit of the film.
NOT the strangest Crime Doctor film, but it's still pretty good
planktonrules8 November 2007
Warning: Spoilers
This is one of the earliest Crime Doctor films and perhaps when they wrote the script they thought it would be the good doctor's strangest case--though compared to some of the later films, this one is pretty ordinary though a tad confusing--certainly NOT particularly strange.
The film begins with a very young and handsome Lloyd Bridges taking his fiancée to see Dr. Ordway. A short time later, Bridges is accused of committing murder and the doctor decides to investigate. Some of the plot twists were pretty weird and confusing. In fact, though you expect the plot to continue to be Ordway convincing everyone that Bridges is not the killer, this is only the film up to a point--as soon it becomes apparent that many people had a reason to want to kill the victim. Plus, soon more murder victims begin popping up in the oddest places! Overally, I really liked the plot (even though it was confusing) and the twists and turns worked out very well except for the actual way in which the first person was murdered. The manner chosen was so ridiculous and impossibly complicated that I really think this helped knock the film's rating down a point or so. Otherwise, if you can ignore this silly twist, it's an engaging and entertaining film.
The film begins with a very young and handsome Lloyd Bridges taking his fiancée to see Dr. Ordway. A short time later, Bridges is accused of committing murder and the doctor decides to investigate. Some of the plot twists were pretty weird and confusing. In fact, though you expect the plot to continue to be Ordway convincing everyone that Bridges is not the killer, this is only the film up to a point--as soon it becomes apparent that many people had a reason to want to kill the victim. Plus, soon more murder victims begin popping up in the oddest places! Overally, I really liked the plot (even though it was confusing) and the twists and turns worked out very well except for the actual way in which the first person was murdered. The manner chosen was so ridiculous and impossibly complicated that I really think this helped knock the film's rating down a point or so. Otherwise, if you can ignore this silly twist, it's an engaging and entertaining film.
Interesting parallel with "Jagged Edge"
wvmcl6 May 2011
This B mystery has one particularly striking scene. After the first murder, Jimmy, played by the young Lloyd Bridges, flees to his new wife's apartment. In order to convince her that he will not be believed by the police, he briefly takes on the character of a psychopathic killer, horrifying his wife. The scene made me immediately think of "Jagged Edge" (1985), in which Jeff Bridges, a virtual clone of his father, also played a young man with an edgy personality suspected of being a psychopathic killer.
Despite its cheesy sets, the Crime Doctor series is one of the best written and most entertaining of the 1940s mystery series.
Despite its cheesy sets, the Crime Doctor series is one of the best written and most entertaining of the 1940s mystery series.
Take him away before we have another accident!
sol121830 March 2011
Warning: Spoilers
***SPOILERS*** Going against his good friend Dr. Robert Ordway, Warren Baxter, advice the just found innocent accused murderer Jimmy Trotter,Llyod Briges, gets a job as the private secretary to Walter Burns, George Lynn! That's the same kind of job he had where he was accused of murdering his former employer Mr. Goulding that he stood on trial for . Wanting to marry his girlfriend Ellen Monroe, Lynn Merrick, Jimmy needed the income working from Burns to make the marriage a go.
Dr. Ordway dropping into the Burns estate to check out how Timmy is doing he shocked to find out from the places housekeeper Patricia Cornwell, Virginia Brissac, that the man of the house, Mr. Burns, has just been found dead in his bed after having a sip of his evening coffee! Jimmy who's in the basement working on the Burns finances is totally in the dark to what happened to his boss but is soon to become the #1 suspect in his murder! That in the eyes of everyone,including the local police, in that Jimmy murdered before even though he was found innocent of the crime it's no stretch of the imagination that he murdered again! In fact it was Jimmy who was she last person to see Mr.Burns alive when he brought him the coffee that ended up killing him!
On the run from the law Jimmy gets in touch with his just married wife Ellen begging her to keep him hidden until the storm blows over and the real killer of Mr. Burns is found! Dr. Ordway knowing in his gut that Jimmy is innocent goes out on his own to track down Mr.Burns' killer. This leads Dr. Ordway to the now shuttered down "Golden Nights Cafe" that Burns still owns after he relinquished all his real estate proprieties. It's at the "Golden Nights Cafe" that the truth is to be found to what lead up to Burns murder that involved the murder of the late Walter Burns' partner in the establishment George Fenton, Ray Walker, 30 years ago in 1912!
It's doesn't take that long for Dr. Ordway to figure that there's a fly in the ointment in Burns murder and that being the Burns in house cook Mrs. Keppler, Gloria Dickson. Mrs. Keppler got her Job at the Burns estate with the help of housekeeper Mrs. Cornwall who in fact used to work at the "Golden Nights Cafe" and knew ****SPOILERS*** Mrs. Keppler's father George Fenton! It was Fenton who disappeared the very night together with $50,000.00 is cash belonging to Walter burns that Mrs. Keppler, who's really Evelyn Fenton Cartwright, his daughter was born!
****SPOILERS*** As things soon turned out Dr.Ordway almost ended up getting murdered himself but with the help of his bloodhound like intuition soon tracked down who not only murdered Walter Burns but his brother Addison, Sam Flint, whom the killer strangled and made to look like a suicide. That's by Dr. Ordway tricking him into thinking that he's on to where the $50,000.00 is hidden and thus having him expos himself! That by trying to gun down Dr.Ordway with the doctor's gun that he purposely left for him to do it with that wasn't loaded!
Dr. Ordway dropping into the Burns estate to check out how Timmy is doing he shocked to find out from the places housekeeper Patricia Cornwell, Virginia Brissac, that the man of the house, Mr. Burns, has just been found dead in his bed after having a sip of his evening coffee! Jimmy who's in the basement working on the Burns finances is totally in the dark to what happened to his boss but is soon to become the #1 suspect in his murder! That in the eyes of everyone,including the local police, in that Jimmy murdered before even though he was found innocent of the crime it's no stretch of the imagination that he murdered again! In fact it was Jimmy who was she last person to see Mr.Burns alive when he brought him the coffee that ended up killing him!
On the run from the law Jimmy gets in touch with his just married wife Ellen begging her to keep him hidden until the storm blows over and the real killer of Mr. Burns is found! Dr. Ordway knowing in his gut that Jimmy is innocent goes out on his own to track down Mr.Burns' killer. This leads Dr. Ordway to the now shuttered down "Golden Nights Cafe" that Burns still owns after he relinquished all his real estate proprieties. It's at the "Golden Nights Cafe" that the truth is to be found to what lead up to Burns murder that involved the murder of the late Walter Burns' partner in the establishment George Fenton, Ray Walker, 30 years ago in 1912!
It's doesn't take that long for Dr. Ordway to figure that there's a fly in the ointment in Burns murder and that being the Burns in house cook Mrs. Keppler, Gloria Dickson. Mrs. Keppler got her Job at the Burns estate with the help of housekeeper Mrs. Cornwall who in fact used to work at the "Golden Nights Cafe" and knew ****SPOILERS*** Mrs. Keppler's father George Fenton! It was Fenton who disappeared the very night together with $50,000.00 is cash belonging to Walter burns that Mrs. Keppler, who's really Evelyn Fenton Cartwright, his daughter was born!
****SPOILERS*** As things soon turned out Dr.Ordway almost ended up getting murdered himself but with the help of his bloodhound like intuition soon tracked down who not only murdered Walter Burns but his brother Addison, Sam Flint, whom the killer strangled and made to look like a suicide. That's by Dr. Ordway tricking him into thinking that he's on to where the $50,000.00 is hidden and thus having him expos himself! That by trying to gun down Dr.Ordway with the doctor's gun that he purposely left for him to do it with that wasn't loaded!
"So many things don't seem to fit right in my head."
classicsoncall15 June 2014
Warning: Spoilers
There are a lot of positive reviews for this old mystery crime flick here on the IMDb, which is why I think one of Miss Patricia's (Virginia Brissac) lines quoted above seems so appropriate for me. What exactly am I missing?
Granted, I was somewhat entertained by this movie in the same way I'm entertained by Charlie Chan, Mr. Wong and Boston Blackie films of the same era. But how do you make sense out of some of the elements offered here, like a working phone in an abandoned night club building that's been shuttered for thirty years, a skeleton in the basement of the same building that was never discovered, and the very same club virtually engulfed in flames only to be visited the very next day by our intrepid crime doctor Robert Ordway (Warner Baxter), searching for a killer that will exonerate a young bookkeeper (Lloyd Bridges) from a murder charge.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot - doesn't anyone else think it's unusual that Ordway would be climbing a ladder set up against the Burns home at two in the morning searching for clues, and two of the residents just as handily greet him once he's inside. All of this almost makes the murder of Walter Burns seem inconsequential by comparison, because I'm too busy wondering who came up with this stuff to pass off as a crime thriller.
Well, for whodunit fans this one has a few red herrings and you'll have to outguess a number of principals in the picture who each have their own idea about who murdered old Burns. The reveal at the end of the story doesn't come off as a complete surprise; if you followed along attentively you'd have pegged him as a prime suspect. But I'm not telling, I'm still trying to fit all the other stuff that happened into my head.
Granted, I was somewhat entertained by this movie in the same way I'm entertained by Charlie Chan, Mr. Wong and Boston Blackie films of the same era. But how do you make sense out of some of the elements offered here, like a working phone in an abandoned night club building that's been shuttered for thirty years, a skeleton in the basement of the same building that was never discovered, and the very same club virtually engulfed in flames only to be visited the very next day by our intrepid crime doctor Robert Ordway (Warner Baxter), searching for a killer that will exonerate a young bookkeeper (Lloyd Bridges) from a murder charge.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot - doesn't anyone else think it's unusual that Ordway would be climbing a ladder set up against the Burns home at two in the morning searching for clues, and two of the residents just as handily greet him once he's inside. All of this almost makes the murder of Walter Burns seem inconsequential by comparison, because I'm too busy wondering who came up with this stuff to pass off as a crime thriller.
Well, for whodunit fans this one has a few red herrings and you'll have to outguess a number of principals in the picture who each have their own idea about who murdered old Burns. The reveal at the end of the story doesn't come off as a complete surprise; if you followed along attentively you'd have pegged him as a prime suspect. But I'm not telling, I'm still trying to fit all the other stuff that happened into my head.
Warner Baxter Keeps Working
boblipton12 March 2024
Psychiatrist Warner Baxter got Lloyd Bridges a new trial, and he was found not guilty of killing his employer. He wants to get married to Lynn Merrick. Baxter recommends that he get a different job, one not for a single employer. When that employer turns up dead, Bridges is in trouble, and Baxter starts an investigation that links back to an embezzlement and disappearance forty years earlier.
After thirty years in the movies, an Academy Award, and a long string of movie appearances, Baxter was pretty much marking time in the 1940s, appearing in the Crime Doctor series for Columbia. It was based on the CBS radio show created by Max Marcin that ran from 1940 through 1947. Doctor Ordway (the role taken in the movie series by Baxter) is a psychiatrist who uses his talents to help patients and solve crime.
Baxter was in poor health in the 1940s, and would die in 1951 at the age of 62. He still gives a graceful performance in a movie with Gloria Dickson, Barton Maclane, Jerome Cowan, Reginald Denny, and Rose Hobart.
After thirty years in the movies, an Academy Award, and a long string of movie appearances, Baxter was pretty much marking time in the 1940s, appearing in the Crime Doctor series for Columbia. It was based on the CBS radio show created by Max Marcin that ran from 1940 through 1947. Doctor Ordway (the role taken in the movie series by Baxter) is a psychiatrist who uses his talents to help patients and solve crime.
Baxter was in poor health in the 1940s, and would die in 1951 at the age of 62. He still gives a graceful performance in a movie with Gloria Dickson, Barton Maclane, Jerome Cowan, Reginald Denny, and Rose Hobart.
Crime Doctor's Strangest Case
CinemaSerf7 January 2024
When a wealthy industrialist is found dead at his home, suspicions point to his assistant "Jimmy" (Lloyd Bridges) who is only at liberty after being involved in a similar incident with a previous employer, thanks to the intervention of sleuthing psychiatrist "Dr. Ordway" (Warner Baxter). Luckily, the doctor is on hand here to try and get to the bottom of a mystery that might go back over thirty years, to the disappearance of the dead man's partner "Fenton". As "Ordway" starts to look into the circumstances of the death, he discovers that there are a few suspects and that you can do quite a bit of damage with a soda-straw! It's got quite a few twists, some disguises, darkroom fisticuffs and a small conflagration on the way to a deduction that isn't the hardest for us to make, but that we can enjoy watching him arrive at with a conclusion that uses a clever sting operation and a locked safe. It's got a decent supporting cast and holds the attention fine for an hour.
Enjoyable mystery
coltras3526 September 2022
Psychiatrist Dr. Robert Ordway is visited for marital advice by a young friend of his whom he had formerly helped to obtain a new trial on a murder charge, which resulted in his young friend's acquittal. Ordway advises against an immediate marriage because he finds out that his friend has obtained employment in a capacity almost identical to his previous position, wherein he became the patsy for the murder by poisoning of a rich businessman. Soon after his friend's visit, Ordway decides to investigate his friend's new employer by paying the man an unexpected visit, only to find out that less than an hour prior to his visit the new employer also was murdered by poisoning just as his friend's prior employer had been murdered. Not believing for a moment that his young friend is guilty of the second murder either, Ordway sets out to investigate every possible angle of the crime in hopes of uncovering the truth about the murder; and, thereby, he hopes, simultaneously removing suspicion from off of his friend.
A fast-paced mystery featuring a young Lloyd Bridges is enjoyable from start to finish. The characters lend itself to its charm and the twists and turns come abundantly. Warner Baxter is excellent as the smart Dr Ordway, the amateur detective who does better than the actual detectives, who, as per usual in such mysteries, are bumbling in the dark.
A fast-paced mystery featuring a young Lloyd Bridges is enjoyable from start to finish. The characters lend itself to its charm and the twists and turns come abundantly. Warner Baxter is excellent as the smart Dr Ordway, the amateur detective who does better than the actual detectives, who, as per usual in such mysteries, are bumbling in the dark.
Truly creepy people do indeed make for a very strange case.
mark.waltz3 January 2024
Warning: Spoilers
A scheduled meeting with a wealthy old man leads to the doctor's second case when he finds out from the housekeeper that the man he's meeting has just been murdered. There's the whole lineup of a group of suspicious family members and servants, and Warner Baxter proves that he's a lot smarter than detective Barton MacLane, standing in for frazzled dumb cops Fred Kelsey, Donald MacBride and Edgar Kennedy who usually play that role. The housekeeper, cook, younger wife and Baxter's client (a young Lloyd Bridges) are all suspects, and one of them is leading Baxter on a feather brained wild goose chase.
A very intelligent but frequently complex mystery, giving a great cast lots of fun bits to play as everybody gets their moment. Virginia Brissac, Rose Hobart, Reginald Denny and Jerome Cowan each get the opportunity to chew the scenery, one of them getting a great disguise and different demeanor to play two different kinds of people, one of them much older. Don't try to outguess the crime doctor. He keeps the viewer guessing right up to the end, giving plenty of clues, yet never the one that makes it too easy, indicating a good writer aided by above average sets and photography for a Columbia programmer. If this was any more clever, they would have had Columbia's lady with the torch a suspect as well!
A very intelligent but frequently complex mystery, giving a great cast lots of fun bits to play as everybody gets their moment. Virginia Brissac, Rose Hobart, Reginald Denny and Jerome Cowan each get the opportunity to chew the scenery, one of them getting a great disguise and different demeanor to play two different kinds of people, one of them much older. Don't try to outguess the crime doctor. He keeps the viewer guessing right up to the end, giving plenty of clues, yet never the one that makes it too easy, indicating a good writer aided by above average sets and photography for a Columbia programmer. If this was any more clever, they would have had Columbia's lady with the torch a suspect as well!
Better than the first
Michael_Elliott26 February 2008
Crime Doctor's Strangest Case, The (1943)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Second film in Columbia's Crime Doctor series has the psychiatrist (Warner Baxter) trying to solve the murder of a real estate agent. All fingers point to a man (Lloyd Bridges) who the crime doctor got off of murder charges the year before. This second film is certainly better than the first film but it's still not top-notch mystery. Baxter seems a little bit more at ease here but again, his performance isn't anything that really jumps off the screen. Bridges steals the film as the man who knows his past will make him look guilty here. The rest of the supporting cast is pretty forgettable as is most of the mystery but at 68-minutes it never gets too slow.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Second film in Columbia's Crime Doctor series has the psychiatrist (Warner Baxter) trying to solve the murder of a real estate agent. All fingers point to a man (Lloyd Bridges) who the crime doctor got off of murder charges the year before. This second film is certainly better than the first film but it's still not top-notch mystery. Baxter seems a little bit more at ease here but again, his performance isn't anything that really jumps off the screen. Bridges steals the film as the man who knows his past will make him look guilty here. The rest of the supporting cast is pretty forgettable as is most of the mystery but at 68-minutes it never gets too slow.
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