Crack-Up (1946) - Turner Classic Movies

Brief Synopsis

An art critic risks his reputation and his life to track down a forgery racket.

Cast & Crew

Read More

Irving Reis

Pat O'brien

Claire Trevor

Terry [Cordell]

Herbert Marshall

Ray Collins

Wallace Ford

[Lieutenant] Cochrane

Photos & Videos

View All

Noir Alley: Eddie Muller on Crack-Up (1946)

Crack-Up (1946) -- (Movie Clip) Train Wreck That Didn't Happen

Ben Mankiewicz Intro -- Crack-Up (1946)

Crack-Up (1946) -- (Movie Clip) Got Hold Of A Bad Blend

Film Details

Genre

Suspense/Mystery

Film Noir

Release Date

Sep 6, 1946

Premiere Information

not available

Production Company

RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

Distribution Company

RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

Country

United States

Screenplay Information

Based on the short story "Madman's Holiday" by Fredric Brown in Detective Story (Jul 1943).

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 33m

Sound

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Synopsis

After a delirious George Steele breaks a window at the Manhattan Museum and struggles wildly with a policeman, the museum's board, led by Dr. Lowell, expresses concern over his mental state. While recuperating at Dr. Lowell's house, George, an art expert and lecturer recently released from military service, tells police lieutenant Cochrane that he was involved in a train wreck that night. When the suspicious Cochrane informs George that no train wrecks have been reported, Dr. Lowell asks George to recall everything he can about the incident, and George relates the following story: After one of his explosive public lectures, George is reprimanded by museum director Barton, who feels that George's lectures are too inflammatory. Barton also complains about George's promise to X-ray a famous painting to demonstrate how art forgeries are detected. While an annoyed George then has a drink with Terry Cordell, his girl friend, he receives a telephone call summoning him to an out-of-town hospital to which his mother has supposedly been taken. On the train to the hospital, George becomes engrossed in watching another train approaching on the opposite track, and as if by pre-design, his train collides with the other. Back at Dr. Lowell's, George concludes his story, saying that after the crash, he found himself at the museum. Traybin, an English art expert, confers secretly with Cochrane and asks him to have George tailed. George is then fired by Barton and discovers that his apartment has been torn apart. When George confesses to Terry that he is worried that he is suffering from post-war stress, she tries to persuade him to forget that night. George, however, is determined to discover the truth, and sets about reconstructing events leading up to the crash. When no one on the commuter train remembers him from the night before, George gets off at the first stop and questions the station clerk, who recalls that two men got off the train with a drunk. Having seen only one man helping a drunk board in New York, George concludes that he was the "drunk" at the station and rushes back to the museum to tell friend and employee Stevenson about his discovery. Stevenson tells George that Barton has received information that a Thomas Gainsborough painting that had been reported lost at sea, was, in fact, a fake. Sure that another forgery is at the museum, George decides to enlist Stevenson's help after hours to sneak into the building's vault. That night, George arrives at the museum, finds Stevenson dead and is pursued by the police. Although Terry and Traybin advise George to turn himself in to Cochrane, the now fugitive George refuses. Instead, George interrogates Barton, who was at the museum when Stevenson was killed, and Barton confesses that a museum painting by Gustave Doré, which is due to be shipped overseas, is most likely a forgery. George then overhears Traybin furtively discussing the imminent departure of the painting and races to the pier from which it is to be shipped. After sneaking on board the ship, George finds the Doré in the cargo hold just as a fire is set. The arsonist then locks George in the hold, but George is rescued by Traybin and Cochrane. Aided by Terry, George once again escapes from the police and asks Barton's young secretary, Mary, to help him locate an X-ray machine. George examines the Doré and confirms that it is indeed a fake, but is then knocked out by gun-wielding Mary, who takes him and Terry to her real boss, Dr. Lowell. After Lowell confesses to George that he stole the paintings and used a mind-altering drug on him to prevent him from X-raying the Doré, he drugs George again to discover whether he has told anyone beside Terry about his findings. Although George reveals that he was unable to contact Cochrane, he and Terry are saved by the lieutenant and Traybin, who burst in and shoot Lowell. Terry then identifies Traybin as a Scotland Yard detective, and Cochrane convinces a frightened Mary to reveal the paintings' whereabouts. Cleared of all guilt, George happily embraces Terry.

Director

Irving Reis

Cast

Pat O'brien

Claire Trevor

Terry [Cordell]

Herbert Marshall

Ray Collins

Wallace Ford

[Lieutenant] Cochrane

Dean Harens

Damian O'flynn

Erskine Sanford

Mary Ware

Harry Harvey

Robert Bray

Tom Noonan

Bob White

Eddie Parks

Chef Milani

Al Hill

Carl Hansen

Roger Creed

Gloria Jetter

Horace Murphy

Alvin Hammer

Tiny Jones

Dorthea Wolbert

Second old lady

Sam Lufkin

Carl Faulkner

Johnny Indrisano

Ed Gargan

Tex Swan

Harry Shannon

Capt. Somers

George Bruggerman

Philip Morris

Joe Kamaryt

Harry Monty

Bob Pepper

Frank Moran

Kernan Cripps

Rose Plumer

Impatient woman

Frank Shannon

Sam Mcdaniel

Shimen Ruskin

Bonnie Blair

Dick Rush

Delmar Costello

Jimmy O'gatty

Guy Beach

Richard Ryen

Ellen Corby

Jack Cheatham

Belle Green

Audience members

Alf Haugan

Audience members

Lee Elson

John Ince

Fred Hueston

Alex Akimoff

J. C. Fowler

John Ardell

Crew

James Anderson

Assistant Director

C. Bakaleinikoff

Ben Bengal

Charles Burke

John Cass

Russell A. Cully

Special Effects

Albert S. D'agostino

Lynn Dunn

Optical effects

Robert De Grasse

Director of Photography

Jack J. Gross

Executive Producer

Leigh Harline

Terry Kellum

Frederic Knudtson

Earl B. Mounce

Jack Okey

Michael Orenbach

John Paxton

Renie

Darrell Silvera

Al Simpson

Matte paintings

Ray Spencer

Leslie Urbach

Dialogue Director

Harold Wellman

Transparency projection shots and miniatures

Photo Collections

Videos

Crack-Up (1946) -- (Movie Clip) Got Hold Of A Bad Blend Opening sequence in which crazed Steele (Pat O'Brien) busts into the museum and tangles with a statue, a cop (Edward Gargan) and, indirectly, the chairman (Erskine Sanford), in Crack-Up, directed by Irving Reis.

Crack-Up (1946) -- (Movie Clip) Nothing Wrong With Your Mind Returning home after apparently losing his mind at the museum, military vet and art critic Steele (Pat O'Brien) with girl-friend Terry (Claire Trevor) and new Brit pal Traybin (Herbert Marshall), in Crack-Up, 1946.

Crack-Up (1946) -- (Movie Clip) Train Wreck That Didn't Happen Art critic and anti-snobbery crusader Steele (Pat O'Brien) coming-to thinking he's been in a train wreck, cop Cochrane (Wallace Ford) confirming otherwise, Terry (Claire Trevor) and Traybin (Herbert Marshall) introduced, in Crack-Up, 1946.

Crack-Up (1946) -- (Movie Clip) The Next Trip Having been inexplicably found in a restaurant, learning that his mother's sick upstate, Steele (Pat O'Brien) hops a train at Grand Central, inside the first flashback, in Crack-Up, 1946, directed by Irving Reis.

Crack-Up - (Original Trailer) An art critic (Pat O'Brien) risks his reputation and his life to track down a forgery racket.

Intro Aired: Jan 2019

Noir Alley: Eddie Muller on Crack-Up (1946) Noir Alley host Eddie Muller’s introduction and comments following Crack-Up, 1946.

Intro Aired: Aug 2017

Ben Mankiewicz Intro -- Crack-Up (1946) Ben Mankiewicz introduces Crack-Up, 1946.

Film Details

Genre

Suspense/Mystery

Film Noir

Release Date

Sep 6, 1946

Premiere Information

not available

Production Company

RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

Distribution Company

RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

Country

United States

Screenplay Information

Based on the short story "Madman's Holiday" by Fredric Brown in Detective Story (Jul 1943).

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 33m

Sound

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Articles

Crack-Up

December 17, 2004

Alienation, amnesia, and corruption are all common ingredients of film noir, and Crack-Up (1946) is a trim, neglected example of the style. Variety called it simply "an actioner that moves along at a fairly fast clip, and has been given good production values."

The plot finds an art expert (Pat O'Brien), who specializes in detecting forgeries, losing his job at an art museum after he mysteriously has a mental breakdown. He claims he was in a train wreck but the police can find no record of such an accident. So he teams up with his reporter girlfriend (Claire Trevor) to get at the bottom of the mystery and starts to unravel a deep trail of corruption and forgery in the art world.

Two of the most notable film noir titles, Laura (1944) and Scarlet Street (1945), also make central use of painting and art, and all three films use the subject to create mysterious and even sinister atmospheres. In the case of Crack-Up, the presence of Claire Trevor lends an additional noir feel, since she was just coming off Murder, My Sweet (1944) and Johnny Angel (1945) and was still to appear in Born to Kill (1947), Key Largo (1948) and Raw Deal (1948), all of which are key noir titles. Trevor was a true icon of film noir and played both heroines and femme fatales, an unusual distinction.

Leading man Pat O'Brien and director Irving Reis, on the other hand, are something of anomalies in the world of film noir, though O'Brien would later appear in The People Against O'Hara (1951). Crack-Up was the only noir that Irving Reis directed, but it's perhaps his best film, if not his best known. That distinction belongs to the picture he did next, The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947), a romantic comedy which starred Cary Grant, Myrna Loy and Shirley Temple and which was a complete turnaround from Crack-Up.

Producer: Jack J. Gross
Director: Irving Reis
Screenplay: John Paxton, Ben Bengal, Ray Spencer, based on the story "Madman's Holiday" by Fredric Brown
Cinematography: Robert De Grasse
Music: Leigh Harline
Art Direction: Albert S. D'Agostino, Jack Okey
Film Editing: Frederic Knudtson
Cast: Pat O'Brien (George Steele), Claire Trevor (Terry Cordell), Herbert Marshall (Traybin), Ray Collins (Dr. Lowell), Wallace Ford (Lt. Cochrane), Dean Harens (Reynolds), Damian O'Flynn (Stevenson).
BW-94m. Closed captioning.

by Jeremy Arnold

Crack-Up

Crack-Up

Alienation, amnesia, and corruption are all common ingredients of film noir, and Crack-Up (1946) is a trim, neglected example of the style. Variety called it simply "an actioner that moves along at a fairly fast clip, and has been given good production values." The plot finds an art expert (Pat O'Brien), who specializes in detecting forgeries, losing his job at an art museum after he mysteriously has a mental breakdown. He claims he was in a train wreck but the police can find no record of such an accident. So he teams up with his reporter girlfriend (Claire Trevor) to get at the bottom of the mystery and starts to unravel a deep trail of corruption and forgery in the art world. Two of the most notable film noir titles, Laura (1944) and Scarlet Street (1945), also make central use of painting and art, and all three films use the subject to create mysterious and even sinister atmospheres. In the case of Crack-Up, the presence of Claire Trevor lends an additional noir feel, since she was just coming off Murder, My Sweet (1944) and Johnny Angel (1945) and was still to appear in Born to Kill (1947), Key Largo (1948) and Raw Deal (1948), all of which are key noir titles. Trevor was a true icon of film noir and played both heroines and femme fatales, an unusual distinction. Leading man Pat O'Brien and director Irving Reis, on the other hand, are something of anomalies in the world of film noir, though O'Brien would later appear in The People Against O'Hara (1951). Crack-Up was the only noir that Irving Reis directed, but it's perhaps his best film, if not his best known. That distinction belongs to the picture he did next, The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947), a romantic comedy which starred Cary Grant, Myrna Loy and Shirley Temple and which was a complete turnaround from Crack-Up. Producer: Jack J. Gross Director: Irving Reis Screenplay: John Paxton, Ben Bengal, Ray Spencer, based on the story "Madman's Holiday" by Fredric Brown Cinematography: Robert De Grasse Music: Leigh Harline Art Direction: Albert S. D'Agostino, Jack Okey Film Editing: Frederic Knudtson Cast: Pat O'Brien (George Steele), Claire Trevor (Terry Cordell), Herbert Marshall (Traybin), Ray Collins (Dr. Lowell), Wallace Ford (Lt. Cochrane), Dean Harens (Reynolds), Damian O'Flynn (Stevenson). BW-94m. Closed captioning. by Jeremy Arnold

Quotes

Trivia

Notes

According to Hollywood Reporter news items, scenes for this film were shot at the Los Angeles harbor. Pat O'Brien reprised his role in a Lux Radio Theatre broadcast on December 30, 1946, co-starring Lynn Bari. In May 2002, RKO Pictures announced plans to make a new adaptation of Fredric Brown's short story, with a script to be written by Chris Kletzien; however, by June 2005, the film had not gone into production.

By using this site, you agree to our updated Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use