The Crime of Dr. Forbes (1936)

Director:

George Marshall

Writers:

Frances Hyland (original screenplay) and
Saul Elkins (original screenplay)

Release Date:

22 April 1937 (Denmark)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

Injured scientist Eric Godfrey asks his protege to give him a fatal dose of opiates to end his misery. When he dies the doctor is accused of murder.

Plot Keywords:

Character Name In Title

Cast

Gloria Stuart	...	Ellen Godfrey
Robert Kent	...	Dr. Michael Forbes
Henry Armetta	...	Luigi
J. Edward Bromberg	...	Dr. Eric Godfrey
Sara Haden	...	Dr. Anna Burkhart
Alan Dinehart	...	Prosecuting Attorney
Charles Lane	...	Defense Attorney
DeWitt Jennings	...	Judge Benson
Taylor Holmes	...	Dr. Robert Empey
Paul Stanton	...	Dr. John Creighton
Russell Simpson	...	Sheriff Neil
Paul McVey	...	John Dunlap
Charles Croker-King	...	Dean Lewis

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Tombstone, Arizona, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The film, known as "The Mercy Killer" during production, was renamed and released under the title "The Crime of Dr. Forbes". The film, based on recent news stories on "mercy killing", was passed by the Hays office for the screen on agreement that the killer in the film was convicted of the crime.

Soundtrack:

The Doctor Song

Face in the hole.

I was surprised when I saw that this excellent B-movie had no comments at all.I would go as far as to say that Billy Wilder borrowed some of his best ideas for his masterpiece "the big carnival " aka "ace in the hole" from "the crime of Dr Forbes" (he reportedly said he was inspired by a news item).But how can't you think of his movie when ,in this overlooked 1936 work,you see people have a wild time in front of a hole where a man is dying: the "mercy killed hot dogs" short scene alone is worth the price of admission.

The screenplay is very interesting and avoids the triteness of the usual love triangle.Gloria Stuart shines in her scene in the court when she explains what she feels about her husband and the young physician. And I guess mercy killing or euthanasia was not probably an easy safe subject at the time. It's still is an embarrassing matter in 2009.The ending is probably some kind of easy way out,but it is quite smart and ,with the ruthless Hayes code,what else could the writers have done?

A sense of humor tempers this story;the posh ladies visiting the laboratory and their false compassion is a foretaste of the crowds rushing towards the dying scientist.There's also an Italian restaurateur who is subject to egregious gaffes and who illustrates the proverb:"the road to hell is paved with good intentions" .

A very good movie.