A couple of bizarre incidents in the early part of this mystery thriller get the action off to a great start because as well as being attention-grabbing, they're also very effective in piquing the audience's curiosity about the real reasons for, what appear to be, two completely illogical occurrences. Why did a seemingly respectable art lecturer suddenly act like a thug and then claim that he'd been in a train crash that didn't happen? Finding the answers to these questions becomes extremely dangerous for the lecturer who has to cope with his own fear, paranoia and confusion as well as various other threats before discovering the connection between what happened to him and the existence of an international art forgery conspiracy.
George Steele (Pat O'Brien) is the art forgery expert who, after recently leaving the Army, works for an art museum in Manhattan where his populist lectures regularly ruffle a few feathers. One night, looking wild-eyed and agitated, he smashes through the glass entrance doors of the museum before punching a policeman in the face. The establishment's board members, who'd been in a meeting upstairs, quickly come down to the lobby to see what's going on and are shocked to see their colleague in a very confused state and to hear his claim that he'd been in a train wreck. After realising that he's not drunk, board member Dr Lowell (Ray Collins), who's also a psychiatrist, becomes concerned that he may be having a mental breakdown and asks George to recount what had happened to him before he'd arrived at the museum.
After being criticised by Barton (Erskine Sanford) the museum director, who hadn't appreciated the controversial nature of his lecture or his intention to use X-ray equipment to show how art forgeries can be recognised, George and his girlfriend, Terry Cordell (Claire Trevor) had gone for a drink. They'd been interrupted when George received a telephone call in which he was informed that his mother had been taken ill and had been transferred to hospital. After explaining the situation to Terry, he'd taken a train to visit the hospital but en route, there'd been a head-on crash with another train. George couldn't then remember anything else until his return to the museum. A sceptical-looking detective lieutenant Cochrane (Wallace Ford) knows that no train accidents have been reported and that George's mother had not been admitted to any hospital. Burton, Cochrane and fellow board member Stevenson (Damian O'Flynn), all wish to avoid George being arrested to preserve the good reputation of their establishment and after English art expert, Traybin (Herbert Marshall) has a few words with Cochrane, the detective agrees not to press charges but puts a tail on George.
George (who the board fire from his job) then begins his own investigation and gradually finds that someone is setting him up, before becoming the prime suspect for Stevenson's murder, uncovering a major art forgery racket and discovering the part that narcosynthesis had played in what had happened to him.
"Crack-Up", as well as having a great title, has a sufficient number of developments happening in quick succession to keep the interest-level high throughout but there's also some unusual things going on between the characters which raise some suspicions as the story progresses (e.g. why is Terry so friendly with Traybin?, why does Cochrane so readily take Traybin's advice ? etc). Overall, the movie's suspenseful and very atmospheric with Robert De Grasse's stunning cinematography playing a huge part in this connection and the acting is consistently good, with Pat O'Brien's sometimes eccentric performance contributing greatly to the entertainment.
George Steele (Pat O'Brien) is the art forgery expert who, after recently leaving the Army, works for an art museum in Manhattan where his populist lectures regularly ruffle a few feathers. One night, looking wild-eyed and agitated, he smashes through the glass entrance doors of the museum before punching a policeman in the face. The establishment's board members, who'd been in a meeting upstairs, quickly come down to the lobby to see what's going on and are shocked to see their colleague in a very confused state and to hear his claim that he'd been in a train wreck. After realising that he's not drunk, board member Dr Lowell (Ray Collins), who's also a psychiatrist, becomes concerned that he may be having a mental breakdown and asks George to recount what had happened to him before he'd arrived at the museum.
After being criticised by Barton (Erskine Sanford) the museum director, who hadn't appreciated the controversial nature of his lecture or his intention to use X-ray equipment to show how art forgeries can be recognised, George and his girlfriend, Terry Cordell (Claire Trevor) had gone for a drink. They'd been interrupted when George received a telephone call in which he was informed that his mother had been taken ill and had been transferred to hospital. After explaining the situation to Terry, he'd taken a train to visit the hospital but en route, there'd been a head-on crash with another train. George couldn't then remember anything else until his return to the museum. A sceptical-looking detective lieutenant Cochrane (Wallace Ford) knows that no train accidents have been reported and that George's mother had not been admitted to any hospital. Burton, Cochrane and fellow board member Stevenson (Damian O'Flynn), all wish to avoid George being arrested to preserve the good reputation of their establishment and after English art expert, Traybin (Herbert Marshall) has a few words with Cochrane, the detective agrees not to press charges but puts a tail on George.
George (who the board fire from his job) then begins his own investigation and gradually finds that someone is setting him up, before becoming the prime suspect for Stevenson's murder, uncovering a major art forgery racket and discovering the part that narcosynthesis had played in what had happened to him.
"Crack-Up", as well as having a great title, has a sufficient number of developments happening in quick succession to keep the interest-level high throughout but there's also some unusual things going on between the characters which raise some suspicions as the story progresses (e.g. why is Terry so friendly with Traybin?, why does Cochrane so readily take Traybin's advice ? etc). Overall, the movie's suspenseful and very atmospheric with Robert De Grasse's stunning cinematography playing a huge part in this connection and the acting is consistently good, with Pat O'Brien's sometimes eccentric performance contributing greatly to the entertainment.