The Crime of Doctor Crespi (1935)

A crazed scientist invents a serum that induces a catatonic state in whoever it is injected into. He uses the serum to paralyze his enemies, so that he can bury them alive.

Director:

John H. Auer

Writers:

Edgar Allan Poe (based on the story by), Lewis Graham (screenplay),

Stars:

Erich von Stroheim, Harriet Russell, Dwight Frye

Cast

Cast overview:
Erich von Stroheim	...	Dr. Andre Crespi
Harriet Russell	...	Estelle Gorham Ross
Dwight Frye	...	Dr. Thomas
Paul Guilfoyle	...	Dr. John Arnold
John Bohn	...	Dr. Stephen Ross
Geraldine Kay	...	Miss Rexford
Jean Brooks	...	Miss Gordon (as Jeanne Kelly)
Patsy Berlin	...	Jeanne Ross, the Child
Joe Verdi	...	Di Angelo
Dean Raymond	...	Minister

Storyline

Dr. Crespi has a festering hatred for Dr. Stephen Ross, the man who married his ex-sweetheart. Ross must undergo surgery and Crespi, sensing an opportunity, seizes it. Ross "appears" to die but Crespi has given him a drug that places the victim in a trance-like state, but leaves him in possession of his senses. Crespi attends the premature burial of his hated colleague. Dr. John Arnold has his suspicions and calls on Dr. Thomas to to help him. They exhume the body and find Ross alive, albeit now a terrified, ghostly figure given to stalking the hospital corridors.

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Plot Keywords:

revenge | new york city | mother daughter relationship | stalker | drug | 

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Taglines:

SCREEN'S SUPER-THRILLER...AN EPIC OF HORROR! (original poster-all caps)

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Genres:

Crime | Horror | Mystery

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 September 1935 (USA)

Also Known As:

O Crime do Dr. Crespi

Filming Locations:

Biograph Studios, Bronx, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Liberty Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

63 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dwight Frye received the highest billing of his career in this film.

User Reviews

It ain't no crime!

Even though Erich von Stroheim privately referred to this film as "The Crime of Republic," he delivers one of his most gracefully modulated early sound performances in this beguiling low-budget shocker. One of the better examples of the mad-doctor-gets-revenge-against-normal-man-who-stole-his-girl genre of the mid-thirties ("The Raven," "Murders in the Zoo," "Mad Love"), "Crespi" is made especially memorable by its low-key, dapper star, who wears designer lab coats, keeps a baby skeleton in his office as a sort of mascot/alter ego, and shows a refreshing lack of patience with the earnest, romantic idiots he's surrounded with.