Crack-Up
Crack-Up
NR
5.6
·

1946

·

96m

Crack-Up

Summary

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

Director

Irving Reis

Screenplay

John Paxton

Screenplay

Ben Bengal

Screenplay

Ray Spencer

Story

Fredric Brown

Reviews

Geronimo1967

Geronimo1967

July 7, 2022

6

If only Irving Reis had cast his net a bit wider when casting his leading man, here - then we could have ended up with a quality, sophisticated crime drama. Sadly, he didn't and we are stuck with a really quite dreary performance from Pat O'Brien as "George", an art critic who finds himself caught up in a train crash (or was it!?) and a well planned, psychologically driven, plot involving art fraud after he had suggested that modern day X-ray techniques be used to verify the authenticity of old masters on loan to a museum - including a Gainsborough and a Dürer. Luckily for him, Claire Trevor "Terry" and Herbert Marshall ("Traybin") are on hand to get to the bottom of it. At times it's quite gripping, and the intricacies of the plot - and of the manipulation it suggests, are clever and quite original but it's far too long, and the sagging in the middle is almost hammock-like. Still, the use of sound is effective and the film is certainly worth catching up with with some tea and a bit of carrot cake.

Media

Status:

Released

Original Language:

English

Budget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Keywords

hypnosis
insurance fraud
film noir
art gallery
insurance investigator
train wreck
driven mad
forgery
x-ray
oil painting
art curator