Crime Doctor

The Crime Doctor was originally a radio show that ran from 1940 to 1947. The main character was Benjamin Ordway, a former criminal who--while suffering from amnesia--studied for a medical degree. When he regained his memory, he dedicated his life to helping other criminals go straight.

The early episodes put Ordway in charge of a parole board, hearing individual cases then allowing the studio audience to vote on whether to grant parole.  Later, the show became a straight mystery, with Ordway getting called as a consultant to help with difficult cases.

I've only heard a few of the later episodes--I think only a few episodes survive. But today, we'll be taking a look at the first of 10 B-movies that were based on the  radio show. Starring Warner Baxter as Ordway (renamed Robert for the films), the first was made in 1943 and the last in 1949.

This particular series has never gotten an official DVD release and I've never happened to catch them on TV. TCM has apparently played them a few times, but I don't own one of those new-fangled television machines. My parents live nearby and can get TCM, but have nothing with which to record anything. It's like living in prehistoric times!

The first movie in the series, though, has showed up on YouTube. I've just watched it and I have to say I'm impressed.

Crime Doctor (1943) is an origin story. In his invaluable book Mystery Movie Series of 1940s Hollywood, Ron Backer points out that this was unusual. Most B-movie characters are already full-fledged cops, private eyes, adventurers, cowboys, etc. when their movie series begins.

But we get to watch Dr. Ordway become Dr. Ordway. Found with a head injury at the side of a road, he wakes up in the hospital with his memory completely gone. He's frustrated at first, but with the help of Dr. Carey (played by Ray Collins--who originated the role of Ordway on radio), he decides to study medicine in the hopes of finding a cure for himself. He never does, but finds a satisfying life as a psychiatrist. He eventually finds enormous success in helping convicted criminals straighten out their lives and is appointed to the head of the parole board.

But his past comes back to haunt him. Before he was Ordway, he was Phil Morgan--a crook who helped plan a robbery that netted $200,000. He was injured by double-crossing gang members who didn't realize at the time that Morgan had hidden the money. Now Morgan's old "friends" have tracked him down and really, really want to know where the 200 grand is hidden. Ordway has no idea, but he also sees a chance of recovering his past if he meets with the gang members. He does this knowing that he might be obligated to go to prison--if the gang members don't decide to just kill him...

Crime Doctor is quite a good movie and a strong start for a series. Warner Baxter is excellent as Ordway and infuses the role with a lot of strong emotion. The three gang members are given distinctive personalities, especially a particularly clever thug played by John Litel. Litel, by the way, was Nancy Drew's dad in that B-movie series. Every time he becomes menacing in Crime Doctor (and he can be pretty darn menacing), I kept expecting Nancy to show up and tearfully exclaim "Daddy! How could you?"

I hope I can someday see the others in the series, which are annoyingly NOT on YouTube or Amazon Prime. Backer's book is again helpful here. From it we learn that (as in the radio series), the parole board aspect of his character is dropped. Apparently, his mentor Dr. Carey and his love interest also vanish without explanation. Ordway becomes a consultant helping the police solve murders. He doesn't seem to mind that the woman he loved has vanished between films. But then, if you get to solve murders, why worry about little details like that?

So, though I like the first film a lot, I don't have a problem with the change in format. If you're called "The Crime Doctor" and you're not committing crimes, then you had better be solving them. Otherwise, the name is just embarrassing.

Here's Crime Doctor. It is well worth one hour and six minutes of your time: