Crack-Up (1946) Movie Review, Cast & Crew, Film Summary

Atmospheric mystery yarn (from a novel by signal pulp author Frederic Brown) featuring Pat O’Brien as – get this – a radical-minded art historian who crashes through the front doors of the museum he’s lecturing at, late one night, convinced he’s narrowly survived a catastrophic train crash. Only there hasn’t been a train crash. Most assume he’s drunk or going crazy, and only his Girl Friday Claire Trevor and mysterious English colleague Herbert Marshall are sympathetic. O’Brien soon realises he’s become involved in a shady art forgery scam. Irving Reis’ direction isn’t great, but the script is taut and photography excellent, leading to the traditional moment in old-school noir when the perverse villain reveals his perverse motives.