Directed by Irving Reis, and based on a story by Fredric Brown that was adapted by John Paxton, Ben Bengal and Ray Spencer, this average film noir drama stars Pat O'Brien, Claire Trevor, and Herbert Marshall (among others).O'Brien plays George Steele, a man who is 'caught' breaking into a museum by a police officer, who subdues him. It is then learned that Steele is an art forgery expert who gives lectures at the museum, much to the chagrin of Mr. Barton (Erskine Sanford), the nervous head of the museum. A disoriented Steele then tells a story about having been in a train wreck while going to visit his sick and dying mother.The police detective, Lieutenant Cochrane (Wallace Ford) is skeptical about Steele's story. Others listening in include his longtime girlfriend Terry Cordell (Trevor); Dr. Lowell (a psychiatrist?), played by Ray Collins, who's helps Steele recall his story (shown in an extensive flashback sequence) and is also a member of the museum board; Barton, and a man named Traybin (Marshall), who'd earlier been introduced to Steele by Terry as a potential donor (her job at the museum consists of schmoozing and soliciting donations from rich philanthropists), but who also admits that he worked for the British in much the same capacity as Steele during the war (trying to detect forgeries among the paintings confiscated by the Nazi's).It is quickly learned that Lt. Cochrane takes 'orders' from Traybin as well. A couple of other characters are also introduced, Dean Harens as Reynolds, a wealthy philanthropist who scowls during Steele's lecture to the public about his trade and later throws a party; Damian O'Flynn as Stevenson, a friend of Steele's who's later murdered for what he learns; and Mary Ware, playing a character of the same name, who works for Mr. Barton.There's not a lot of mystery, intrigue or substance to the plot, which deals with whether the museum has recently exhibited forgeries that had been substituted for the originals. O'Brien didn't encourage a lot of interest in this style of film (at least for me) either; Trevor's character seems to have little place or purpose besides providing a confusion factor for O'Brien's in relation to Marshall's.In the end, it's just a simple story about a thief (and his accomplice); the false character meant to throw the viewer off the trail (e.g. Reynolds) hardly appears at all, though Sanford's character does for one scene. When the criminal is revealed, it's neither an 'oh my' surprise, nor is his motivation for murder entirely satisfactory; his accomplice's actions made no sense either (e.g. why would the accomplice help Steele to learn what was already known before taking him to the murderer?).

A predictable film noir for fans of the genre. Pat O'Brien (ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES) is the lead and begins the film with a bang as he's involved in a train crash. Bizarrely, people then begin to tell him that the crash never happened, and it's all in his mind. The plot thickens as it transpires that O'Brien is the curator at a museum holding some priceless paintings that a criminal gang want to get their hands on. Is he genuinely going out of his mind, or are people trying to convince him of that for their own nefarious purposes? Shades of Danny Boyle's TRANCE here, but like that film, CRACK-UP is strictly average entertainment. O'Brien doesn't make for a particularly likable lead and I think others like Herbert Marshall (FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT) would have done a better job. There's a whole lot of mystery going on, a somewhat sluggish pace, a few rather unbelievable action sequences, and one of the most predictable endings you can imagine.

Crack-Up is directed by Irving Reis and collectively written by John Paxton, Ben Bengal and Ray Spencer from Fredric Brown's story Madman's Holiday. It stars Pat O'Brien, Claire Trevor, Herbert Marshall, Ray Collins, Wallace Ford and Dean Harens. Music is by Leigh Harline and cinematography by Robert De Grasse.Art curator George Steele (O'Brien) believes he has been in a train crash, but he's told that no such crash has occurred. Is he cracking up, or the victim of something sinister?I'm not trusting anyone this week.Out of RKO, Crack-Up is an above average film noir that is apparently under seen. It thrusts George Steele on a crusade to prove he is not losing his mind and on his way to residency at Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital. As he trawls around the city with a foggy head, his thoughts still remembering his service in WWII, he tosses off sarcastic quips and evades tricky situations with guile and ingenuity. Who can he trust though? If anybody?I'm outta my head. I drive around in cars picking up psychopathic killers.His journey encompasses a number of locations that are expertly born out for noirish purpose. Smokey steam train, dimly lighted station, a ship of many murky corners, the harbour as well, a penny arcade and of course many damp streets at night that are ripe for conversations; both hushed and threatening. With Reis (The Gay Falcon) and De Grasse (The Body Snatcher) using chiaroscuro effects, the atmosphere is suitably eerie, dovetailing perfectly with George's psychologically paranoid funk.About as smart as cutting my throat to get some fresh air!Set to the backdrop of the art world, the narrative has an opinion on art styles and snobbery while wrapping the plot around the crooked line of forgeries. It's not wholly successful for dramatic worth or intrigue, and in fact the visual presentation and very good performances of O'Brien and Trevor deserve a more cohesive story and a motive revelation of the crimes considerably stronger in substance. However, with its technical attributes most positive, some very well constructed scenes (the train crash sequence is excellent) and noir staples in place (amnesia, shady characters, sleuthing for truth et al), Crack-Up is well worth checking out. 7/10

A noir that came from the B unit, a good story passably told. Pat O'Brien plays his part very calmly and with great restraint - or is it that he's not much of an actor? Hard to tell. The women are also hard to figure, either by directorial choice or because they're not up to snuff either.It really starts to drag towards the end, there's a bit with truth serum that adds nothing to the story except padding. There are also a couple of unintentionally funny bits where the luggish O'Brien suddenly springs to action and (his double) does stunts that are totally out of character.A mildly entertaining 90 minutes of noir-ish style, has some very nice lighting effects and the train crash is well executed.