| Crack-Up | |
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| Directed by | Irving Reis |
| Produced by | Jack J. Gross |
| Written by | Story: Fredric Brown SCreenplay: John Paxton Ben Bengal Ray Spencer |
| Starring | Pat O'Brien Claire Trevor Herbert Marshall Ray Collins |
| Music by | Leigh Harline |
| Cinematography | Robert De Grasse |
| Editing by | Frederic Knudtson |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
| Release date(s) | September 6, 1946 (U.S.A.) |
| Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Crack-Up (1946) is a film noir directed by Irving Reis, remembered for directing many "Falcon" movies of the early 1940s including The Falcon Takes Over. The drama is based on "Madman's Holiday", a story written by mystery writer Fredric Brown. The drama features Pat O'Brien, Claire Trevor, Herbert Marshall, and others.[1]
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An art critic and forgery expert George Steele (O'Brien) is arrested by the police as he tries to break into the Manhattan Museum. He tries to explain that he was in a train wreck and had to get back to the museum. The problem is that there have been no train wrecks in months. Then Steele, unsure himself what happened, tells his story, via flashback, of the bizarre events leading up to his arrest. Steele eventually realizes that he has been set up and that the crime also involves expensive art forgeries.
Bosley Crowther, film critic for The New York Times, panned the film, especially the screenplay and direction of the drama, and wrote, "Since Pat O'Brien's noggin suffers a blow which blacks out his memory as the story starts, there probably wouldn't be much sense taking the authors to task for the fantastic events which ensue...This explosive and promising action sets in motion a chain of circumstances which, no doubt, must have baffled the script writers, too, for they never do give it a logical explanation...All of the aforementioned principals turn in competent performances, and the mystery is how they managed to get through the picture without becoming hopelessly confused. They certainly were one up on us there. Played at breakneck pace, Crack-Up might have succeeded in covering up its confusion through sheer physical action, but Irving Reis elected to direct in waltz tempo. This gives one time to think about the curious motivation, and when you start thinking about a picture such as Crack-Up you are overwhelmed by its inadequacies."[2]
Time Out Film Guide called the film a "[m]arginally intriguing [film] for its view of art (pro-populist, anti-élitist stuff like surrealism), it's made as a thriller by the excellent supporting cast and fine, noir-ish camerawork from Robert de Grasse.[3]
Critic Dennis Schwartz wrote of the film, "The film takes a populist stand by promoting 'art for the masses' and takes a negative view of the art elitists (art critics and collectors) who favor such art styles as surrealism. That kind of art is considered subversive by George and is not as tame as is the classical style of Gainsborough. The art lesson didn't register, but as a thriller Crack-Up was right on track. The shadowy photography by Robert de Grasse was done in stylish chiaroscuro shadings, giving the film an uncanny feel. O'Brien was convincing as the pig-headed unconscious American who has modern technology work for him and against him, as the inventions from the war are now shared by both criminals and scientists."[4]