This time amnesia is woven into the theme of CRIME DOCTOR'S MAN HUNT with WARNER BAXTER again essaying the title role. ELLEN DREW is the young woman who comes to see Dr. Ordway about her fiancé who has lapses of memory after suffering from shock. It's interesting to note how casually Ordway treats both her fears and the man's confession about lapses before getting involved in the case when his patient is murdered. WILLIAM FRAWLEY is the police inspector investigating the case (Fred Mertz to "Lucy" fans). The story only begins to pick up steam midway with Ordway creeping around a deserted house before being bonked on the head by the two "strong arm boys" who had something to do with his patient's murder. Ordway survives and the investigation leads to a luxurious house in the country where ELLEN DREW resides. It soon becomes clear that Drew is not well at all and has something to do with the strange affair. To divulge any more would be to give away too much of the plot which takes a twist at this point. Mystery fans can spot the psychological clues that explain the outcome, near the beginning of the story, largely due to a simplistic performance by Ellen Drew that is never wholly convincing. She's a very pretty woman but no actress of depth. One of the least complicated of the "Crime Doctor" stories, it makes for an entertaining little mystery.
13 Reviews
A dandy little B-detective film
planktonrules24 April 2007
While this isn't the best B-detective film ever made, it is different enough from the usual style that it's well worth watching. Warner Baxter's detective is a psychiatrist and instead of following the usual formula employed by Boston Blackie, The Falcon and MANY other film detectives, his films are a little more cerebral as well as more believable. There is also a real plus because the usual cop investigating the case isn't a total idiot, so I am very thankful for the role William Frawley played. The film itself is well-paced (being only 61 minutes long), interesting and offers a fun twist ending (though psychologically speaking, it was VERY far-fetched). Not a great film, but a welcome film since it is different enough that it doesn't just blend in with the crowd.
This one's a twister by a perpetrator, that's twisted
bkoganbing31 May 2012
With the title of Crime Doctor in the series and Warner Baxter playing a psychiatrist in the role, the mental health issues of the criminal are what Baxter delves into in order to solve a given case. He's pretty respected by law enforcement and the police as personified here by William Frawley have no problem in asking for his assistance. I've always been surprised that the Crime Doctor was never taken up as a television series. The closest we've seen is recently is Jeff Goldblum on Criminal Intent who has and used that background to solve his cases when the show was still running.
Dr. Ordway after meeting a young veteran with amnesia issues tries to keep an appointment and finds him shot to death with a pair of toughs trying to dispose of the body. Baxter does a beautiful drunk act to keep from ending up the same way. Later on Baxter meets Ellen Drew who was the fiancé of the deceased John Foster. She's a girl with a lot of issues herself and gives a dandy performance in this film.
This was a good series for Warner Baxter and the episodes were always competently made although some were better than others. This one's a good prototype.
Dr. Ordway after meeting a young veteran with amnesia issues tries to keep an appointment and finds him shot to death with a pair of toughs trying to dispose of the body. Baxter does a beautiful drunk act to keep from ending up the same way. Later on Baxter meets Ellen Drew who was the fiancé of the deceased John Foster. She's a girl with a lot of issues herself and gives a dandy performance in this film.
This was a good series for Warner Baxter and the episodes were always competently made although some were better than others. This one's a good prototype.
Castle Brings Style
Michael_Elliott26 February 2008
Crime Doctor's Man Hunt (1946)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
William Castle returns as director in this sixth entry. A man returns home from the war suffering from amnesia so he goes to the Crime Doctor (Warner Baxter) for help. Within days the man is found dead and all fingers point to his fiancé but there might be more behind his death. Once again director Castle is able to build some nice atmosphere in some moody scenes but overall this is on par with the rest of the series. This one here manages to become one of the better entries due in large part to the screenplay giving Baxter some nice supporting characters and actors to play them. Ellen Drew, Frank Sully and William Frawley are all good in their roles. The mystery is also laid out pretty well as this film features a different screenwriter than the previous five films.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
William Castle returns as director in this sixth entry. A man returns home from the war suffering from amnesia so he goes to the Crime Doctor (Warner Baxter) for help. Within days the man is found dead and all fingers point to his fiancé but there might be more behind his death. Once again director Castle is able to build some nice atmosphere in some moody scenes but overall this is on par with the rest of the series. This one here manages to become one of the better entries due in large part to the screenplay giving Baxter some nice supporting characters and actors to play them. Ellen Drew, Frank Sully and William Frawley are all good in their roles. The mystery is also laid out pretty well as this film features a different screenwriter than the previous five films.
Great Short Story
whpratt17 November 2007
Warning: Spoilers
This film was a very short low budget film running only sixty-one minutes and Dr. Robert Ordway once again gets involved with a case dealing with a dual personality. Irene Cotter, (Ellen Drew) plays the role as a very pretty but timid person who was devoted to her sister Natalie who left her family and went away three years ago. There are two men who visit the home of Irene and talk to their landscaper and ask about Natalie because they wanted to speak to her, these two guys were hoods and were looking for money from Natalie. After this incident, a murder is committed and Police Inspector, (William Frawley) gets involved and gives a great supporting role. This is a great film with an unusual story line of mystery.
Crime Doctor's Man Hunt
CinemaSerf6 January 2024
Building on the now well trammelled theme of these "Crime Doctor" films, this time "Dr. Ordway" (Warner Baxter) is engaged by a man who is finding himself in strange parts of town with no idea how he got there. It's whilst investigating that the doctor discovers that this fellow has been slain. Things get more complicated when he meets the despondent fiancée "Irene" (Ellen Drew) who is from a wealthy and dysfunctional family and who also proves to be somewhat enigmatic. Meantime, there are also two goons hanging around too. What can they want with her sister "Natalie"? Loads to challenge the little grey cells here and this largely spares us the psycho-babble and just presents us with a mystery that the audience knows about for most of the film, but it's still enjoyable enough watching Baxter pick up the clues and solve the conundrum. No, it's not great - it's procedural low-budget stuff, but Drew is rather better than most of the damsels in these films and it's amongst the best of the series,
Sixth entry into the "Crime Doctor" series
blanche-222 March 2009
Warner Baxter is again the "Crime Doctor" in "Crime Doctor's Man Hant," a 1946 entry into the series, this one directed by William Castle.
In this one, Dr. Ordway (Baxter) deals with a returning serviceman who seems to be blacking out at times and winding up in an unfamiliar place in town. Ordway actually goes to this area and discovers the man murdered. The man's fiancée (Ellen Drew) has a sister who completely disappeared three years ago but once dominated her life.
This is a pretty good Crime Doctor mystery, given style by Castle. What brings it down is the lousy acting by Ellen Drew and other characters introduced and not fleshed out. William Frawley plays a smart police inspector.
As usual, Baxter, who early in his career was so hyper, is very relaxed and natural in his performance. Sometimes he's a little too relaxed, but the actor had suffered a nervous breakdown. He actually creates quite a likable character.
Nice twist ending that I figured out. Recommended.
In this one, Dr. Ordway (Baxter) deals with a returning serviceman who seems to be blacking out at times and winding up in an unfamiliar place in town. Ordway actually goes to this area and discovers the man murdered. The man's fiancée (Ellen Drew) has a sister who completely disappeared three years ago but once dominated her life.
This is a pretty good Crime Doctor mystery, given style by Castle. What brings it down is the lousy acting by Ellen Drew and other characters introduced and not fleshed out. William Frawley plays a smart police inspector.
As usual, Baxter, who early in his career was so hyper, is very relaxed and natural in his performance. Sometimes he's a little too relaxed, but the actor had suffered a nervous breakdown. He actually creates quite a likable character.
Nice twist ending that I figured out. Recommended.
The Crime Doctor meets Fred Mertz.
mark.waltz4 January 2024
Warning: Spoilers
The crime doctor, Robert Ordway, obviously took acting lessons at some point between cases, acting blind in the previous film to this one, and here, acting drunk when encountering two hoodlums whom he was sure were holding up a dead man, the fiancee of Ellen Drew who has come to him for help. Having already gone through a handful of previous detectives in earlier films, now Warner Baxter gets William Frawley who isn't as dumb as earlier ones, but equally cantankerous.
The two men whom Baxter is after, are associated with a rather dour femme fatale, a blonde in a Barbara Stanwyck/"Double Indemnity" wig, and as family issues with father Francis Pierot are revealed, it's made clear that something is very odd about this family with Drew having issues with her mysterious sister. This is where the mystery gets really intriguing and the plotline gets ahead of its time in psychiatric issues. It's too bad that the first half of this rather short entry in the series takes a lot of time to get going, but once it does, it's off to the races. The third entry directed by William Castle could have been its best had the first part not been so slow and confusing. The spooky old home where everything unfolds is a great set, almost like another character with its quirky personality.
The two men whom Baxter is after, are associated with a rather dour femme fatale, a blonde in a Barbara Stanwyck/"Double Indemnity" wig, and as family issues with father Francis Pierot are revealed, it's made clear that something is very odd about this family with Drew having issues with her mysterious sister. This is where the mystery gets really intriguing and the plotline gets ahead of its time in psychiatric issues. It's too bad that the first half of this rather short entry in the series takes a lot of time to get going, but once it does, it's off to the races. The third entry directed by William Castle could have been its best had the first part not been so slow and confusing. The spooky old home where everything unfolds is a great set, almost like another character with its quirky personality.
Good ending with a twist
Jim Tritten14 April 2007
Fair entry in the Crime Doctor series with some interesting plot twists by screenwriter Leigh Brackett and direction by future horror master William Castle. Plot involves Dr. Robert Ordway (Warner Baxter) taking on a walk-in patient with amnesia-type symptoms and the dread of an occultist's prediction of a violent death. There is a creaky abandoned house, a dysfunctional family with a meek sister that was engaged to the victim, and William Frawley as a credible police inspector.
Although sometimes billed as the best of the series, I found the acting somewhat dull and the short 61-minute film did not capture my imagination. I thought the Crime Doctor's Courage better. Menacing characters are presented and not developed perhaps left on the cutting room floor. Interesting ending that is unlikely to be anticipated but explains all. Sixth in the series. Recommended.
Although sometimes billed as the best of the series, I found the acting somewhat dull and the short 61-minute film did not capture my imagination. I thought the Crime Doctor's Courage better. Menacing characters are presented and not developed perhaps left on the cutting room floor. Interesting ending that is unlikely to be anticipated but explains all. Sixth in the series. Recommended.
What's my Psychosis
sol-kay6 April 2011
Warning: Spoilers
***SPOILERS*** The "Crime Doctor" Dr. Robert Ordway gets caught up with an identity crisis in the movie "The Crime Doctor's Manhunt" in two people in the film having two different names, one real one fake, to hide their real identity! It's up to Dr.Ordway to find out who's who and why their trying to hide the fact from him and later the police just who they really are! All this confusion started when shell-shocked ex-GI John Foster came to Dr.Ordway's office to find out why he has lapses in his already shattered, from the war, memory and what's causing them! It's later that Foster's fiancée Irene Cotter shows up at the Doc's office telling him that her boyfriend is acting very strange and Dr. Ordway should follow up in his head shrinking treatments on him. As it turns out Foster never shows up to be treated which has Dr.Ordway go to Foster's usual hang out at the local carnival to see if he's responding to his treatment that he already gave him.
Before he can talk to Foster Dr. Ordway finds him shot in the head outside his apartment by two hoods who are trying to dispose of his body. Faking to be drunk Dr. Ordway is left alone after being escorted to his "pad" by the hoods who are so stupid in that they let him, the one person who can identify them and send them to both prison and the electric chair, get away! The movie gets even more confusing then it already is when Irene's control freak sister Natalie shows up on the scene after a three year absence. It soon discovered, by the dead man's US Army dog tags, that John Foster is really Phil Armstrong Irene's fiancée who never bother to tell the Crime Doctor, when she visited him in his office, what his real name was?
***SPOILERS*** Dull and at times hard to follow "Crime Doctor" film with the "Crime Doctor" Dr. Ordway as usual doing all the heavy lifting and taking all the hits as he and police inspector Harry B.Manning track down who offed John Foster/Robert Armstrong and why! Natalie later has a falling out with the two hoods who murdered Armstrong over money and end's up offing them, by turning up the gas at their hideout, as well. The "Crime Doctor" soon sees through Natalie's act and uses himself, like he does in most of the "Crime Doctor" film, as bait to get her to slip up! Nothing to really write home about here that's we haven't seen before in the 'Crime Doctor" movies but that the "Crime Doctor" or the actor who plays him Warren Baxter is starting to get a wee bit tired of playing him being a detective instead of practicing his craft: Psychitry. That's by Dr.Ordway being forced by the writers and directors of the series to be a hard boil take it on the chin private eye instead!
Before he can talk to Foster Dr. Ordway finds him shot in the head outside his apartment by two hoods who are trying to dispose of his body. Faking to be drunk Dr. Ordway is left alone after being escorted to his "pad" by the hoods who are so stupid in that they let him, the one person who can identify them and send them to both prison and the electric chair, get away! The movie gets even more confusing then it already is when Irene's control freak sister Natalie shows up on the scene after a three year absence. It soon discovered, by the dead man's US Army dog tags, that John Foster is really Phil Armstrong Irene's fiancée who never bother to tell the Crime Doctor, when she visited him in his office, what his real name was?
***SPOILERS*** Dull and at times hard to follow "Crime Doctor" film with the "Crime Doctor" Dr. Ordway as usual doing all the heavy lifting and taking all the hits as he and police inspector Harry B.Manning track down who offed John Foster/Robert Armstrong and why! Natalie later has a falling out with the two hoods who murdered Armstrong over money and end's up offing them, by turning up the gas at their hideout, as well. The "Crime Doctor" soon sees through Natalie's act and uses himself, like he does in most of the "Crime Doctor" film, as bait to get her to slip up! Nothing to really write home about here that's we haven't seen before in the 'Crime Doctor" movies but that the "Crime Doctor" or the actor who plays him Warren Baxter is starting to get a wee bit tired of playing him being a detective instead of practicing his craft: Psychitry. That's by Dr.Ordway being forced by the writers and directors of the series to be a hard boil take it on the chin private eye instead!
Split Personality!!!
kidboots17 July 2012
Warning: Spoilers
When Warner Baxter returned to the screen after a two year absence his first role was as Robert Ordway - Crime Doctor. He was initially happy, hoping it would lead to character roles but it didn't and he was virtually a prisoner of the role for the rest of his life. But the series was one of the better ones and often featured actresses up and coming or soon to be on their way down.
This entry has Ordway on a man hunt to find the killer of a returned soldier who seeks the Crime Doctor's help to cure him of complications arising from combat fatigue. Dr. Carey is now obviously by the wayside and Ordway is now working alongside gruff Inspector Harry Manning (William Frawley).
The search starts at a boarding house where one of the tenants is the manageress of the shooting gallery where the murder weapon was stolen from. Meanwhile the two thugs who were seen with the body take their orders from a sultry dame who is a dead ringer for Barbara Stanwyck in "Double Indemnity". The shooting gallery gal turns Ordway's attention to a boarded up house where things go bump in the night and which also happens to belong to the family of the dead man's fiancée, Irene. Suddenly the focus is turned to Irene's sister Natalie who had disappeared a few years before. Where Irene is weak and indecisive, Natalie is strong willed and dominating and had left the house after an argument with her father, who wanted to free Irene from Natalie's domination.
After a false start William Castle soon found himself one of the top directors in Columbia's B unit (he directed a few in the Whistler series as well as the superb "When Strangers Marry") and 15 years later he returned to the same startling story twist (sort of) in "Homicidal". Irene was played by Ellen Drew who found most of her splashier roles at the beginning of her career - after that she drifted into Bs but she definitely gave the character of Irene an aura of "other worldliness"!!
This entry has Ordway on a man hunt to find the killer of a returned soldier who seeks the Crime Doctor's help to cure him of complications arising from combat fatigue. Dr. Carey is now obviously by the wayside and Ordway is now working alongside gruff Inspector Harry Manning (William Frawley).
The search starts at a boarding house where one of the tenants is the manageress of the shooting gallery where the murder weapon was stolen from. Meanwhile the two thugs who were seen with the body take their orders from a sultry dame who is a dead ringer for Barbara Stanwyck in "Double Indemnity". The shooting gallery gal turns Ordway's attention to a boarded up house where things go bump in the night and which also happens to belong to the family of the dead man's fiancée, Irene. Suddenly the focus is turned to Irene's sister Natalie who had disappeared a few years before. Where Irene is weak and indecisive, Natalie is strong willed and dominating and had left the house after an argument with her father, who wanted to free Irene from Natalie's domination.
After a false start William Castle soon found himself one of the top directors in Columbia's B unit (he directed a few in the Whistler series as well as the superb "When Strangers Marry") and 15 years later he returned to the same startling story twist (sort of) in "Homicidal". Irene was played by Ellen Drew who found most of her splashier roles at the beginning of her career - after that she drifted into Bs but she definitely gave the character of Irene an aura of "other worldliness"!!
You have to ignore the names of most of these Crime Doctor films...
AlsExGal3 April 2011
... because they usually have nothing to do with the actual subject of the film. You also have to make sure you don't blink during these short fast-paced films or else you'll miss something important. Here the film opens on a young man stumbling around an amusement park in a fog of amnesia. He's had several of these spells lately and goes to Dr. Robert Ordway (Warner Baxter in the title role) for help. Ordway goes to the place where the young man says he found himself stumbling about. After walking around awhile what does he see but a couple of men coming out of a boarding house carrying the body of the young amnesiac man who came to see him that day, a bullet wound to his head. The bad guys spot Ordway so he has to feign drunkenness and pretend that he thinks the dead body they are carrying is actually another drunk or he's afraid that he'll share the young man's fate. The henchmen buy the act and let Ordway go. Ordway goes straight to the police and together they raid the boarding house. Nobody has ever seen the men Ordway saw, nobody every heard a shot, and no sign of violence is to be found anywhere in the boarding house. Police Inspector Harry B. Manning (William Frawley) obviously respects Ordway from his past help in solving crimes, but this time thinks maybe the good doctor is imagining things.
Ordway knows that he saw what he thought he saw, so he first has to prove there was a crime then find the criminals. In the process Ordway runs across the young man's fiancée, a mousy and wealthy girl who's so meek she's almost invisible, a boarded up old mansion that for some reason has a master bedroom that is still completely furnished, and the dead bodies of the two henchmen Ordway saw carrying the young man's body. They've been asphyxiated in their sleep by gas, only they're not in their own apartment at the time of their deaths. Who is going about causing all of this mayhem? Watch and find out.
William Castle directed several Crime Doctor films, and they always have that touch of the macabre. Thus this film has not only the well constructed mystery typical of the Crime Doctor films, it has lots of atmosphere as well. Highly recommended.
Ordway knows that he saw what he thought he saw, so he first has to prove there was a crime then find the criminals. In the process Ordway runs across the young man's fiancée, a mousy and wealthy girl who's so meek she's almost invisible, a boarded up old mansion that for some reason has a master bedroom that is still completely furnished, and the dead bodies of the two henchmen Ordway saw carrying the young man's body. They've been asphyxiated in their sleep by gas, only they're not in their own apartment at the time of their deaths. Who is going about causing all of this mayhem? Watch and find out.
William Castle directed several Crime Doctor films, and they always have that touch of the macabre. Thus this film has not only the well constructed mystery typical of the Crime Doctor films, it has lots of atmosphere as well. Highly recommended.
Crime Doctor's Manhunt
coltras351 October 2022
The Crime Doctor Robert Ordway is out one night when he sees two men carrying a former patient of his who appears to be dead. But when he informs the police nothing can be found of the dead man, the two men or where the killing could have taken place. So Ordwell being the Crime Doctor has to, of course, follow this up with his brand of snooping This leads to one of those Californian mansions with a mile long drive way and a dysfunctional family residing that is so typical noir films of the 1940's.
This is a rather unusual, yet finely crafted B-mystery with plenty of mysterious atmosphere, strange characters and a quite revealing denouement. Warner Baxter is excellent as always and so is Ellen Drew.
This is a rather unusual, yet finely crafted B-mystery with plenty of mysterious atmosphere, strange characters and a quite revealing denouement. Warner Baxter is excellent as always and so is Ellen Drew.
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