''The Crime of Dr. Crespi'' is a

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

American

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

starring

Erich von Stroheim Erich Oswald Hans Carl Maria von Stroheim (born Erich Oswald Stroheim; September 22, 1885 – May 12, 1957) was an Austrian-American director, actor and producer, most noted as a film star and avant-garde, visionary director of the silent era. H ...

Paul Guilfoyle Paul Vincent Guilfoyle () (born April 28, 1949) is an American television and film actor. He was a regular cast member of the CBS crime drama ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', on which he played Captain Jim Brass from 2000 to 2014. He return ...

, Jeanne Kelly,

Dwight Frye Dwight Iliff Frye (born Fry; February 22, 1899 – November 7, 1943) was an American character actor of stage and screen. He is best known for his portrayals of neurotic, murderous villains in several classic Universal horror films, such as R ...

, Harriet Russell, and John Bohn. It was released by

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...

.''The Crime of Dr. Crespi''
imdb.com; accessed August 6, 2015. The movie was filmed at

Biograph Studios Biograph Studios was an early film studio and laboratory complex, built in 1912 by the Biograph Company at 807 East 175th Street, in The Bronx, New York City, New York. History Early years The first studio of the Biograph Company, formerly ...

The Bronx, New York The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New York ...

and is loosely based on the

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

short story, "

The Premature Burial "The Premature Burial" is a horror short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, published in 1844 in ''The Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper''. Its main character expresses concern about being buried alive. This fear was common in this period and ...

Plot

Dr. Andre Crespi (von Stroheim) hates Dr. Stephen Ross (Bohn), who married Crespi's girlfriend, Estelle (Harriet Russell). During surgery, Ross appears to die. Crespi has given Ross a drug that induces a state of apparent death, while Ross retains all of his senses. Dr. John Arnold (Guilfoyle) is then asked to exhume Ross by the suspicious Dr. Thomas (Frye). They exhume the body and return to the hospital to prove he was poisoned. Ross awakens from the drug while on the autopsy table.

Cast

— Dr. Andre Crespi * Harriet Russell — Estelle Gorham Ross *

— Dr. Thomas *

— Dr. John Arnold * John Bohn (stage name of Charles Frederick Herendeen) as Dr. Stephen Ross * Geraldine Kay as Miss Rexford *

Jean Brooks Jean Brooks (born Ruby Matilda Kelly; December 23, 1915November 25, 1963) was an American film actress and singer who appeared in over thirty films. Though she never achieved major stardom in Hollywood, she had several prominent roles in the ea ...

as Miss Gordon * Patsy Berlin as Jeanne Ross * Joe Verdi as Di Angelo * Dean Raymond as Minister

Reception

In their 1936 review of the film, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' gave the film a negative review, calling it "an almost humorously overstrained attempt at grimness". The reviewer criticized Stroheim as being "unconvincing", and uninspired cinematography; stating that Frye's performance was the film's only redeeming presence.

References

External links

* * * 1935 films 1935 horror films American black-and-white films American horror films 1930s English-language films American films about revenge Films based on works by Edgar Allan Poe Films directed by John H. Auer Republic Pictures films 1930s American films {{1930s-horror-film-stub

Plot

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links