mark.waltz That's what the Crime Doctor must determine when the son-in-law of a knife thrower is sentenced for killing his father who disapproved of his marriage. This film also involves a painter of copies of classic paintings and culminates with an auction where Warner Baxter (in one of his last of this series) hopes to trap the guilty party who has already added several other corpses to the pile. As with other films in the series, this has many convoluted clues to prevent the audience from figuring out who the killer is. There are however, some interesting tidbits concerning the Parisan art world, including some ironic ways of figuring out if a painting is an original or a copy. Late in the series, it is definitely showing its age, especially when compared to the other detective stories of the time (now more film noir) rather than "series" films which were slowly disappearing from the bottom half of double bills.

Jim Tritten While visiting an old friend in Paris, the Prefect of Police, the Crime Doctor gets involved with the complex stabbing murder of an old man supposedly by his son. The suspect is described as a worthless idler who suffers from some war-induced psychological problems. But is he capable of murder? The beautiful Micheline Cheirel (in her last film role) plays the love interest – married and loyal to the suspect but also the daughter of a knife-thrower who is an old friend of the murdered man.The Crime Doctor always seems to know who is lying and telling the truth in the absence of any evidence to support his theories. The defendant's lawyer does not practice criminal law and the defendant does not appear to care whether he lives or dies. Is the only defense insanity? If he gets off the murder charge due to insanity, who inherits? What about a fourteen year-old contract between the murdered man and the knife-thrower? How many more murders? Intrigue in the art world leads the Crime Doctor to the solution.Interesting dance apache sequences. Directed by future horror-meister William Castle. Fair.

whpratt1 This low budget series of films starring Warner Baxter, (Robert Ordway) were great on the radio years ago and when the radio audiences could actually go to their local movies in town, it was great for them to see these Crime Doctor films. This type of film was usually shown along with another feature film a newsreel of current events in the world and then a few cartoons. In this film, Dr. Robert Ordway had a few lectures to give in Paris and managed to get himself involved with a murder and then an Art Dealer scheme to sell fake Classic Pictures of art for just imitation prints for large sums of money. Dr. Ordway is rewarded for his efforts to an antique foot warmer for his bed. End of Story.

sol1218 **SPOILERS** Talky and boring "Crime Doctor" movie that showed, being the next to last of the series, that the "Crime Doctor" Dr. Robert Ordway was running out of patients and stories. Dr. Ordway had to go so far as to have the almost incomprehensible story explained during a rest period in a fight, that he had with the villain. Then after the Paris Police came to his rescue come up with another explanation and even later, as the movie ended, explain what happened again in the police station. With him getting a foot warmer from what turned out to be the partner, an art dealer, of the killer!Giving a lecture on crime and mental illness Dr. Ordway is invited by his friend inspector Morrell to examine Henri who claimed that he killed his father but can't remember when or how. Henri had married against his fathers wishes Mignon Duval and he thinks that's why he murdered him. Still he can't remember how it happened and want's to now plead guilty and divorce Mignon in order to avoid her from having the stigma of being married to a convicted murdered.The movie gets even more confusing with Dr. Ordway and Henri's lawyer Jules Davdel feeling that he's either innocent or insane which will at least, if Henri did in fact murder his dad, spare him from being executed. Just when you think you got a handle to whats happening there's this artist Anton Geroux thrown into the mix who's a friend of both Henri and Mignon. Geroux is involved in copying masterpieces and selling them through his fence art dealer Louis Chebonet as originals.Everything starts to go haywire in the movie with Mignon's father Jules a professional knife thrower who's suspected in killing Henri's father, he was stabbed to death, who's himself later found dead in his apartment under the covers and under somewhat mysterious circumstances! Later artist Geroux, who's suspected in Henri's fathers murder by Dr. Ordway, is brutally murdered when this unknown assailant breaks into his studio and hacks him to death! This leaves Henri, whom Dr. Ordway is certain is innocent, off the hook since it would have been impossible, with him under 24 hour police observation, for him to have murdered them. This also proves that that since he had nothing to do with Jules & Geroux, who were suspected in his fathers murder, murders he couldn't have murdered his father either!The big expose in the film to who murdered not only Henri's father but Jules & Geroux as well comes in this long and pointless auction, secretly set up by Dr. Ordawy, of one of the paintings that Henri's father owned that we find out was either a phony or the real deal! The painting was switched by his killer who, feeling that it would be left to him in Henri's fathers will, now has to come out in the open to buy it and thus expose himself.Just too many subplots to keep up with what's going on and by the time you finally find out who killed Henri's father, together with Jules and Geroux, you couldn't even care less! By the time the movie is over you feel just like like the "Crime Doctor" who, after the mental and physical beating he took in the movie, just wanted to take the first plane home and forget that he had anything at all to do with this mess.