Crack-Up (1946)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Irving Reis

Writers:

Fredric Brown (story)
John Paxton (writer) ...

Release Date:

6 September 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery

Tagline:

Could I KILL ... and not remember?

Plot:

Art curator George Steele experiences a train wreck...which never happened. Is he cracking up, or the victim of a plot?

Plot Keywords:

Art Theft | Murder

Cast

Pat O'Brien	...	George Steele
Claire Trevor	...	Terry Cordell
Herbert Marshall	...	Traybin
Ray Collins	...	Dr. Lowell
Wallace Ford	...	Lt. Cochrane
Dean Harens	...	Reynolds
Damian O'Flynn	...	Museum Curator Stevenson
Erskine Sanford	...	Museum Director Barton
Mary Ware	...	Mary Ware

Also Known As:

Galveston (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Sweden:15

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Quotes:

Terry Cordell: [Opening her car's passenger door] Come on. Get in.
George Steele: No thanks, I'll take a streetcar; I can trust streetcars.
[A policeman's whistle is heard and we see two cops running toward Steele. Steele jumps into the car, and they take off.]
George Steele: What's your racket girlie? Whattya do for a living?
Terry Cordell: I'm outta my head. I drive around in cars picking up psychopathic killers.
[softening]
Terry Cordell: Someone has to look after you. I was at a party at Reynolds'. Things began to come apart at the seams. I drove Traybin....
George Steele: [interrupting] I know that.
Terry Cordell: OK, you know that. You know everything. You're the great Steele. You walk through brick walls. You...
[She pulls over]
[...]

Big Disappointment

Critics all liked this and got me interested to see it but when I did, it turned out to be a big disappointment. Pat O'Brien was the lead actor in this crime movie involving an art critic. Being a big fan of art, that also drew me to this. Also being a fan of film noir, I expected more in that regard, too. This film just didn't deliver on any of those counts. Claire Trevor and Herbert Marshall also starred, but that didn't help, either.

The story is about O'Brien uncovering a forgery scam but he's made to look like a crazy man so that no one can take him seriously. Some parts of this, granted, are really good and suspenseful, but way too much of this film simply drags. It also is not an easy story to follow, at least on the first viewing, and that can turn off people. Film noir....melodrama....what is it? After awhile, one doesn't care.