The Crime Doctor's Diary (1949) User Reviews

The last of the Crime Doctor whodunits

[hwollstein · 6/10 · 24 April 2005]

In his final case Dr. Ordway (Warner Baxter) attempts to solve a murder in a highly interesting place: a sort of call-in jukebox where bar customers may request a particular record to be played. (The same gimmick, incidentally, used in the 1945 Republic serial "Federal Operator 99.") Although Baxter looks near exhausted (the veteran actor died less than 2 years later), the whodunit zips along nicely and the solution to the puzzle is not telegraphed too far in advance. Acting honors this time go to Whit Bissell as a slightly demented song-writer and, especially, future Miss Moneypenny of 007 fame, Lois Maxwell, as the decidedly active ingénue. Based on a popular radio show by Max Marcin, the 1943-1949 "Crime Doctor" thrillers were typical of series-happy Columbia, produced with economy but generally well-written and peopled by the studio's great (and very busy) stock company.

Dr. Ordway's final case...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 12 May 2007]

WARNER BAXTER was approaching the end of his life by the time he did THE CRIME DOCTOR'S DIARY, the last film in the Crime Doctor series.

This above average programmer is slickly produced, written and acted in true "Crime Doctor" style with some nice performing by LOIS MAXWELL and a good role at the center for STEPHEN DUNNE as an innocent man released from prison and, as it turns out, wrongly framed for arson.

The plot has to do with a record music company delivering call-in juke-box service where patrons could request certain records to be played by request, a forerunner of disc jockeys. Haven't been aware of the existence of this sort of thing until I saw MY DREAM IS YOURS (same year) wherein Doris Day worked in such a record establishment where she could be heard by bar patrons.

WHIT BISSELL, who turns up in so many films from the '40s and '50s, does a neat job as a mentally deficient but good-humored man trying to get the music industry interested in his foolish folk song. ADELE JERGENS is the girlfriend of Dunne who has the courage to help him when he's on the lam after being hurt by a police bullet, and ROBERT ARMSTRONG is her jealous boss.

It's noticeable that there's no strenuous action staged for Baxter, as there usually is in a "Crime Doctor" movie, since the actor was obviously not well during filming. He gets to comment briefly on things and hasn't much of a role at all while others get to hold center stage.

But it makes a good crime doctor story and unfolds in a crisply efficient sort of way to make pleasing entertainment. STEPHEN DUNNE and LOIS MAXWELL are both seen to advantage here.

Summing up: Not bad at all. One of the more interesting in the series.

"Did they ask if it was open?"

[Jim Tritten · 7/10 · 12 May 2007]

Last of ten in the series with Warner Baxter playing the part of Dr. Robert Ordway, former criminal turned psychiatrist. The series ran from 1943-1949 and always involved the outsider specialist trusting and then helping hapless victims of the criminal justice system.

This entry opens with Dr. Ordway talking about the impending parole of inmate 9815, Stephen Carter (Stephen Dunne), after serving three years for a crime of arson that he did not commit. The plot thickens when the accused is implicated in the murder of the man who took his job when in prison. The solution should not be a surprise.

Lois Maxwell is not nearly as good looking or glib as she will become years later as Miss Moneypenny in seventeen James Bond movies. She plays the same role as a gate keeper for the head of the firm.

Prolific character actor Whit Bissell plays Pete Bellem who records and keeps playing a song that seems to be central to the strange comings and goings on at the Bellem Music Company…"In the house where I was born" …"When I was just a boy. A recording of Pete's song becomes a critical part of the plot.

Robert Armstrong looks a bit tired as gangster George 'Goldie' Harrigan. His new girlfriend Inez Gray, played by Adele Jergens, is best featured in a revealing negligee.

Interesting introduction to the new technology of piping recorded music over phone lines to paying customers rather than having them order selected records at a juke box.

The police are incredibly poor shots until the end. The writing is above average in this entry with such lines as, following an incomplete response to the police asking an alternate way out of an apartment building, "Did they ask if it was open?" Recommended.

Toot toot

[HallmarkMovieBuff · 12 May 2007]

One thing that makes this final entry in the Crime Doctor series better than average, aside from the interesting collection of players, is the writing, a mixture of 1940s crime dramas with a few throwbacks to 1930s comedies.

On one hand we have a spattering of old-timey cops-and-robbers lingo, with terms like "moll," "dip," "binnie", "pigeon," and "prowl car". Plus, there's the gratuitous use of firepower to pursue an obviously unarmed suspect which wouldn't be tolerated in today's televised police procedure.

On the other hand there are several laugh-out-loud zingers and one-liners that are clever in context but would make no sense if repeated here.

With a less convoluted plot than previous entries in the series, there is still a sufficient number of suspects to keep one guessing as to the perpetrator; but this tale depends less on our good doctor's crime-solving abilities than on a device introduced midway through the action at which one's immediate reaction is "evidence".

Last of the Crime Doctor Series

[whpratt1 · 6/10 · 12 May 2007]

Warner Baxter, (Dr. Robert Ordway) gave his final appearance in this role and I found this film had improved over all the other Crime Doctor Series. In this film, Dr. Ordway is called by the warden of a prison to visit him as he was going to parole a man called Steve Carter,(Stephen Dunne) who was a former patient of Dr. Ordway's. Steve Carter was sentenced to prison as an arsonist who burned a music recording studio. Dr. Ordway tells the Warden he really does not believe that Steve Carter committed this crime and is going to help him prove his innocence. Jane Darrin,(Lois Maxwell) meets Steve Carter as he gets out of prison and drives him home and talks about him going back to work with the music recording company. It is not very long before a murder is committed and Steve has become a likely suspect for another crime. Jane Darrin and Doctor Ordway come to Steve's assistance and a very strange recording is discovered that solves the crime. Lois Maxwell who played Jane Darrin was also "Miss Moneypenny" in most of the older James Bond Films. Great film Enjoy

Big dose of crime, small dose of doctor...

[AlsExGal · 6/10 · 30 March 2011]

... and that is understandable because by this time - 1949 - Warner Baxter was pretty much in constant pain due to his arthritis. It's painful for me to watch this film not because it isn't good but because you can clearly see the man is suffering.

Thus the usually supporting players take up the slack here, with Baxter really not participating that much in the action. Here we have a man, Steve Carter, getting paroled after serving three years for an arson he says he did not commit. The advice from the warden is for Steve to stay out of trouble, but with nothing but revenge on his mind for whoever it was who framed him, Steve isn't listening. The ever loyal Jane is waiting for him at the prison gates even though Steve threw her over for the more elegant Inez. Inez is now involved with tough guy George Goldie Harrison, played by Robert Armstrong, but that doesn't mean the two don't get locked in a passionate embrace the first time they meet after Steve's release. The news of this infidelity does not amuse Goldie.

It isn't long before one of the guys on Steve's short list of people who could have framed him turns up dead. Since Dr. Ordway (Baxter) recommended Steve for parole in the first place and Steve is acting quite guilty by running from the police, will the good doctor wind up with egg on his face? Watch and find out.

Making sure the mood doesn't get too heavy is Whit Bissell as a song writer who is obsessed with recording and performing just one awful tune. Is he harmless but annoying or is he the red herring villain that has ruined Steve's life for some reason real or imagined? Again I say, watch and find out.

Very good final episode of the series

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 15 May 2007]

I was a bit surprised with this film, as in the Leonard Maltin Guide this film got a pretty poor rating and sounded like the worst film of this series. However, it was a pretty decent film and definitely NOT the worst of the series (this was CRIME DOCTOR'S GAMBLE, 1947) and was a nice final film of the series.

Doctor Ordway's wonderful psychiatric prowess is called into question, as a man he recommended for parole is the prime suspect in a revenge murder. Part of this was because the guy did act like he'd done it, but the true reason came out in a very nifty ending---where you learn who and how they set him up for the fall.

There were only two small problems with the film. The song that was sung again and again was absolutely horrid and tough on the ears. Also, the writing, except for one bad bit of dialog, was just fine. The bad dialog was as follows:

(lady speaking to man) "Goldie, you're a gentleman"

(after which, the man responds) "I wish you were"

Huh?! Did he wish SHE were a gentleman or did he want her to get a sex change or what?! While this was a very MINOR problem with the film, it did make me laugh!

Well-made mystery

[Panamint · 7/10 · 15 May 2007]

This is a fine example of the mystery movie genre. It packs a lot into its short running time. It accomplishes this by having a lean and well-written script and by efficient direction that keeps things moving ahead briskly.

Although no murder happens for the first 25 minutes or so, this time is spent in presenting layers of good mystery plot featuring interesting characters, and by references to past crimes. After the murder, the plot builds with excellent twists and quick actions that lead to the surprising ending.

Warner Baxter doesn't move around very much, but his scenes are mostly on small sets. Also, one scene has him talking on the phone in bed, I wonder if it was re-written to have him in bed because Baxter couldn't walk? Despite his crippling arthritis, Baxter is dignified and effective in his role.

Recommended for mystery fans, and for all fans of good script writing.

Toodely Tooting On His Little French Horn

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 30 March 2011]

Warner Baxter ended his stint at Columbia Pictures Crime Doctor series with one of the best of the series in Crime Doctor's Diary. This concerns Baxter okaying the parole of Stephen Dunne who was released after serving three years of a ten year term for arson.

As all convicts he claims his innocence and even the Crime Doctor is not first willing to believe him. Allegedly Dunne set a fire at the business of Robert Armstrong who is a gangster who has a hold on the jukebox concession.

There's a new business however which seemed to anticipate IPODs by a few generations. You call a number from a place where a machine connected to the central location and request a song. A record will then play over a loudspeaker. The company stores an infinitely more amount of 78 RPMs than any jukebox will. Armstrong is not happy that this is cutting in on his business. He even more resents Dunne cutting in on his time with Adele Jergens.

Another murder happens and Dunne escapes the cops, but takes a cop's bullet. Will Dr. Ordway clear Dunne of this murder and maybe the original charge? You know the Crime Doctor will.

Stealing the film in every scene he's in is Whit Bissell who plays a slightly demented brother of Don Beddoe. Bissell has the idea he's a song writer and is forever plugging this incredibly bad song he wrote about his little French horn as a kid that he toodely tooted all day. But Bissell demented though he is actually has the key to the whole mystery. The future Ms. Moneypenny Lois Maxwell is also here carrying a big old torch for Stephen Dunne.

For a B film from a movie series The Crime Doctor's Diary is one of the best of the series and could stand up to more sophisticated detective stories. It moves without a second of wasted film frames and the editing of the story is much better than you get in most films of this type.

Warner Baxter did only three more films after The Crime Doctor's Diary. This one is a really good introduction to him as a player in his later years.

Get Carter

[sol1218 · 6/10 · 13 May 2007]

**SPOILERS** Released from prison after serving three years of a ten year sentence for the arson fire that burned down his boss' music studios Steve Carter, Stephen Dunne, is determined to find out who the real arsonist was who also ended up framing him for the crime. Carter's girlfriend at the music studio Jane Darrin, Louis Maxwell, whom he two-timed before he was sent up the river is still crazy about him. Jane wants Dr. Robert Ordway, Warner Baxter, who testified to Carters sanity at his trial to talk some sense into his hot head before he does something foolish. Like killing the person whom he thinks famed him co-worker Carl Anson, George Meeker, and end up in the Sign Sing electric chair.

Given his job back by a grateful Phillip Bellem, Dan Deddoe, who's business he was convicted in burning down but who always felt that he was innocent Carter make it a point to confront Anson and Bellems rival in the music business jukebox king George "Goldie" Harrigan, Robert Armstrong. Carter feels their the two persons most responsible for burning down the Bellem Stuidos.

Carter going to see Harrigan for a job, even though he already has one, so he can find out if he, an ex-gangster, was the one who had Bellem's place torched. Later when Carter plans to meet with Anson a his place of business at the Bellem Studios things go a bit screwy for him: Anson is found found shot death with Harrigan, who Carter asked for a job, mad as hell at him for sealing his lover and private secretary Inez Gray, Adele Jergens, from under his nose and out of his office.

On the run for almost half of the movie Carter now wanted for Anson's murder knows that he's been framed for a second time by whoever framed him in the Bellem Studio arson. Carter now more then ever needs Dr.Ordway, who always felt that he's innocent, to come to his aid. Shot by the cops in an escape attempt from Jane's apartment Carter is left in limbo and on the run with all the evidence pointing to him as being Anson's murderer. It turns out that Anson's killer overlooked a record being recorded by Bellems brother Pete, Whit Bissell,a engineer at his business establishment. Pete was thrown out of the studio by Anson, for playing his personal insipid and annoying record, just before he was murdered. The record not only exposed who murdered Anson but also exonerated Carter of the earlier Bellem Studio arson.

The last of the "Crime Doctor" series that had a very tired Warner Baxter looking as if he wanted to retire, which he was in the movie. Baxter died two years later in 1951 at the age of 62, in peace and quite and away from all the stress and demands as both a crime fighter and crime solver.

Toot That Again.

[rmax304823 · 5/10 · 5 April 2011]

An inexpensive and unpretentious murder mystery. Steven Dunn has just done three years on an arson charge for which he claims he was not responsible. He's sullen and resentful. But at least he appears to have the support of pert Lois Maxwell, who fawns over him. He may or may not have gotten over his pre-slam fling with sultry Adele Jurgens. He has another friend too, Warner Baxter as The Crime Doctor. As far as I could tell, the Crime Doctor keeps no diary in this movie. If he is, he's keeping it a secret. I thought over the conundrum in this title for a while and concluded that there was in fact a diary, only it wasn't a diary BY the Crime Doctor but rather ABOUT the Crime Doctor. It was being kept by one of the other characters, although it's impossible to tell which one because the word "diary" never appears in the movie.

A dead body turns up, one of the men responsible for Dunn's sentence. Dunn is naturally Suspect Number One but there are a number of other likely suspects. Among the juicier is Whit Bissel, whom you will recognize. He's a loopy employee who thinks he's a composer. Want to see some of his lyrics?

In the little town where I was born There's a little brass French horn I used to toot when I was just a boy, Toot toot. Toot toot. Toot toot.

Well, I told you he was a little unbalanced. Whit Bissel never played such a colorful character again. He was continually cast as a timid clerk or something.

But if Bissel's character is unusual, the Big Reveal is nothing less than astonishing. You'll never guess who the heavy is. Not even the Crime Doctor has a hint. He's confined to standing around and commenting on what he observes, with everyone's best interests at heart. You'd never know he was a doctor because he never practices any medicine, nor is his profession in any way underlined. They could as easily have called the movie "The Crime Reporter's Diary."

The movie stands as a mild divertimento with some amusing moments. Toot toot.

In the House Where I Was Bissell

[markjeff_1 · 9/10 · 6 January 2009]

As has earlier been commented, Whit Bissell's performance here as an aspiring and mentally challenged composer is a scene-stealer. He intuitively takes the film to another plane with a blissful unawareness that is inadvertent and yet elevating. Along with the tragic end of his character Tom Lister in "Brute Force" this is one of his most affecting performances of the forties. Probably the second most affecting. He seems to inhabit this role as opposed to the other actors in the film who seem to just be going through their paces robotically and quite superficially with little or no special touch of humanity other than to move the story along so they can pick up their check. The film stops when he comes on the screen and you do a double take because you sense this performance is a silk purse in a sow's ear of a film. His character Pete Bellem, touching, halting and muddling along, stays with you when everyone else in the film just fades away into cardboard kitsch heaven. And that song of his so conscientiously crumbles upon itself that it takes on a profound, sad and yet sweet resonance which belies its silliness. Whit was a talented pianist, by the way. He puts that to use here (and in some other roles through the years). He was also a fencing enthusiast in real life. His character Pete Bellem, harmless and hampered and even harassed here by those who have no time of day for him and, in their self-anointed intellectual superiority, belittle what they feel are his mental limits, may be in a world of his own but in this world of charlatans and floozies and hucksters, his seems a better, kinder world. His fingers are his intellect. He loves his ditty no end and to the exclusion of all critique. He is a man-child in this not so promised land and (toot-toot) one you root for. He is the heart and very much the only soul of this film and definitely the only one who stays with you as the credits roll. Great job. Rest in peace, Whit.

the last of the series

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 9 April 2011]

Think of the highly energetic Warner Baxter in "42nd Street" and then watch the lethargic Baxter here in "Crime Doctor," and you'll swear it's two different people. After the actor suffered a breakdown, he came back in these kinder, gentler roles such as Crime Doctor where he projects a naturalness before the camera and also warmth.

"Crime Doctor's Diary" is the last of the series, as Baxter approached the end of his life. It's actually quite an interesting film. The premise is around a sort of early Itunes, where people call into a place and a requested song is played. Really fascinating! Here, Dr. Ordway attempts to help a parolee (Stephen Carter) who is suspected of murder.

As others have mentioned, Whit Bissell gives an excellent performance as a disturbed songwriter. Broadway performer Adele Jergens is on hand as Inez, and she's quite beautiful as the femme fatale, and Lois Maxwell plays the ingénue. Both of them are interested in Stephen, but he's in love with Inez.

Imagine calling a business today, requesting a song, and a person puts a record on a turntable. Sort of a human jukebox. Times have changed.

The crime doctor, practically a saint, if not The Saint.

[mark.waltz · 3/10 · 4 January 2024]

The last Crime Doctor movie has Warner Baxter standing up for one of his patients, a man convicted of arson whom Baxter insisted that was sane. Now Stephen Dunne is paroled and soon he's up on a murder charge, for the possible guilty party. Dunne doesn't seem to have much chance of clearing himself with the exception that Baxter's sure he's innocent and looks at other suspects including the man (Whit Bissell) who has written and recorded the most annoying song ever.

But this is one song that the viewer can avoid ever hearing again by only watching this movie once. Outside of the little French horn in the room where Whit was born, this is watchable, even if just an average murder mystery, featuring Lois Maxwell (over a decade prior to originating the role of Miss Moneypenny) and Adele Jergens, as well as "King Kong's" Robert Arnstrong. The revelation of the killer is a surprise and the use of a business involving a call-in song request company is quite unique, if as dated as an answering service.

A good way to bow out

[gerdeen-1 · 31 May 2011]

A good whodunit should have a bit of originality in the plot, and the solution should not be too easy to guess. And it shouldn't be too long. Under those criteria, this last episode in the "Crime Doctor" series holds up very well.

The plot is about a convicted arsonist who gets an early release from prison. The agent of his good fortune is the Crime Doctor himself, who believes the man is guilty but considers him redeemable. Ignoring the advice of the doctor and others, the man rashly sets out to prove his innocence. Soon he's in bigger trouble than ever, and it all looks just a bit too convenient.

Warner Baxter, whose career was drawing toward an end, is considerably grayer than in his previous "Crime Doctor" films, and he doesn't get involved in much action. But he doesn't seem frail. He has a stylish presence that compensates for the movie's fairly spartan production values.

The two women in the ex-con's life, who turn out to be important to the mystery, are played by Lois Maxwell and Adele Jergens. Maxwell is better remembered today, because of her later role as "Moneypenny" in the James Bond films. But in 1949, Jergens, a former burlesque queen, was a much bigger name in movies. She certainly gets the more glamorous treatment here.

The Crime Doctor's Diary

[CinemaSerf · 6/10 · 8 January 2024]

Three years into a sentence for arson, "Carter" (Stephen Dunne) is out on parole thanks to the intervention of "Dr. Ordway" (Warner Baxter) whose testimony on his sanity was instrumental in incarcerating him in the first place. Now free, he wants to work again at the music play-out business he was accused of setting ablaze in the hope that he can find out just who was responsible. Girlfriend "Jane" (Lois Maxwell) puts some pressure on the psycho-sleuth and so with the help of a rather annoying ballad called the "Little Brass French Horn" and a well placed recording stylus we gradually piece together the mystery. It's all fairly procedural stuff with the usual style of red herrings and people shooting guns that couldn't hit a cow with a tin cup, but Baxter is on quite decent form and the story holds up well enough for an hour.

One of the best of the "B" movies!

[JohnHowardReid · 8/10 · 28 April 2017]

The title is a misnomer. Edward Anholt's ingenious plot has nothing to do with a diary, but it's an excellent screenplay anyway with a very fast-moving and difficult to spot the murderer plot. Terse dialogue and some very interesting characters provide plenty of great moments for a fine array of players. Whit Bissel has a particularly meaty role – and he takes full advantage of all his opportunities. There's also am amusing little cameo by Sid Tomack as an unregenerate pickpocket. My old favorite, Fred F. Sears (who later became a director), can be fleetingly glimpsed as a detective. Adele Jergens plays the femme fatale with all her usual dash. Lois Maxwell too does well as the drab heroine. Baxter fills out the title role with more ease here than he displayed in many of his "A" pictures. Director Seymour Friedman keeps the movie moving at a fast clip. There are also some appealing lighting effects by photography Vincent Farrar. There is no sign of stinting on the art director's part either. The sets look convincingly real and there are plenty of scene changes. Film editing is nice and smooth. Music score is attractive. Altogether a first-class "B" entry, And yes, the writer is none other than Academy Award winner (for Panic in the Streets) Edward Anhalt.

Just a Weird Turntable World!!

[kidboots · 8/10 · 25 August 2012]

This was just a super end to a series that never slipped (much) from the high standard from which it started.

Set in the crazy world of turntable booths, it starts out with Steve Carter (Stephen Dunne) being given an early release from prison on the recommendation of Dr. Ordway (Baxter). Even though it was through his testimony that Carter was imprisoned, Ordway has come to the conclusion that he was innocent of arson and thinks that with Carter being free the real fire bug will out themselves. Before his imprisonment he was employed at Bellem's Wired Music Co., a firm that has "request" juke boxes at diners and cafes. This was a real talking point at our house. Were they popular in the States during the 1940s? I seem to remember something like this in the Doris Day movie "My Dream is Yours" - patrons request a song through a telephone connected to the juke box, the message is then relayed to one of the girls in the turntable booth who then finds the song.

One of Bellem's workers is simple minded (or is he?) Pete (an impossibly young Whit Bissell) who just happens to be the boss's brother. He has recorded a very annoying song and he frequents the cafes, always ringing up a request for that particular song - no one is amused, least of all Anson (an unbilled George Meeker who has a pretty sizable role) who has had a few altercations with him. Another person of interest is good old Robert Armstrong as "Goldie" Harrigan, owner of Harrigan's, Bellem's music opposition. His secretary is slinky Inez (Adele Jurgens, who was dubbed "The Eyeful" by a Columbia publicist) who went out with Carter before his imprisonment but whose disloyalty to him at the trial now makes her look very shifty. Then there is sweet Jane (Lois Maxwell, who became famous later on as Miss Moneypenny of James Bond fame), who has never stopped loving and believing in Carter even though he now wants to resume his relationship with Inez.

When Anson is found dead, Carter's conversation with Ordway in which he details a dream, that has him shooting Anson with a smoking gun, comes back to haunt him - but as usual everyone is a suspect. Could it be poor Pete who had one last fight with him that fatal night, Carter who was seen going into the studio - even Bellem who had overheard Anson accusing him of lighting the original fire!!!

Just love the last lines - "Do you think Pete will sing?" to which Ordway replies with a sigh "I'm afraid nothing will stop him"!!!

Clever intrigue about pirating in an early record company

[clanciai · 9/10 · 28 September 2021]

It's incredible how much you can do out of a very small matter, like a backward salesman on a recording office insisting on recording silly songs of his own when he believes no one will notice it, and that silly song and his recording mania actually leads to the solution of a very intricate murder mystery. Steve is being released from prison on parole after some years locked up for an arson he didn't do, which no one believed except Doctor Ordway, who worked for his parole. Well, another murder is committed, and he is deeply implicated as many circumstances point his way, but he has two girl friends, and at least one is helping him - reluctantly, when he is wounded. The other - well.

It is Doctor Ordway's last mystery out of ten, and it might be the best of them for its very clever plot and mystery - again it is impossible to guess at who really shot Mr Anson and for what reason, while the last minute explains it all. You will be safe - there are many more shots fired, but no more deaths.

Last and Least

[Michael_Elliott · 27 February 2008]

Crime Doctor's Diary, The (1949)

** (out of 4)

Tenth and final film in Columbia's Crime Doctor series is the least interesting of the nine I've watched. In this outing, the Crime Doctor (Warner Baxter) gets a man out of prison on arson charges even though everyone thinks he's guilty. The man eventually kills someone but once again claims he's innocent. This last entry was released two years after the previous film so I'm curious as to why Columbia tried to get the series back going. It seems everyone, including Baxter, is incredibly bored and weren't too interested in doing anything special with the film. The cast, including Robert Armstrong, sleepwalk through the production and direction is so bland that it's hard to find anything too special.