Release Date: July 20, 1938
Running time: 87 minutes
Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Claire Trevor, Humphrey Bogart
Directed by: Anatole Litvak
Edward G. Robinson is known these days primarily for his roles as hoods and gangsters in such film classics as Little Caesar and Key Largo. Indeed he had been somewhat typecasted in these types of rolls to the point that of when not playing the part his performances generally fall into two categories; badly miscast (The Ten Commandments) or revolutionary in its unconventionality (Soylent Green). Even when he is good in a non-gangster roll, it is odd at times seeing him in them. Sure he did plenty of other types of rolls but modern revisionist history likes to paint him as the quintessential mobster. In The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse, we get the best of both worlds.
Edward G plays Dr. Clitterhouse, a physician who has some theories about the physical and mental properties of criminals that make them criminals. He wishes to delve into those theories first hand, lacking any volunteers, so he begins burglarizing the homes of wealthy friends whenever he in invited for a gathering, studying his bodily reactions during these thefts. On his latest outing however several gangsters led by “Rocks” Valentine (Humphrey Bogart), a thug in the employ of Jo Keller (Clair Trevor), also try to steal the valuables. The disturbance is noticed and “Rocks” flees the scene leaving his partner behind to be subdued and accused of the theft Dr. Clitterhouse was responsible for.
Through one of his patients, Police Inspector Lewis Lane (Donald Crisp), Dr. Clitterhouse learns that the biggest fence in the city is Joe Keller. When he tracks Keller down he is surprised to find out that Joe Keller is actually Jo Keller, a woman and head of a group of gangsters involved in more than just fencing stolen goods. They also dabble in breaking and entering, gambling and other illegal activities. Dr. Clitterhouse shows off the jewelry from the robbery “Rocks” had attempted, impressing Jo and her men. They are even more impressed when Lt. Johnson (Robert Homans) and his men show up and Dr. Clitterhouse stands up to the men citing laws and causing the boisterous man to back down.
Jo agrees to allow Dr. Clitterhouse to plan out and lead various robberies, monitoring the blood pressure, temperatures and pulse rates of her men before, during and after the crimes. “Rocks”, however is not so dazzled by Dr. Clitterhouse and sets out to sabotage the doctor, using the situation to also get one up on Jo.
The tone of this film is whimsical, never veering far from the farcical aspects of the tongue and cheek story. Edward G is very much in on the joke playing his character with a bit of mischievousness and good humor. He never takes things too seriously, straddling the line between serious and silly in a way only he could. It is a delight to watch him having so much fun in this role. It helps that we really get to know the doctor. This is not a cardboard one-note character.
Unfortunately, Humphrey Bogart’s character “Rocks” is not as well defined. “Rocks” is about as generic as you can get. His character is there for no other reason than to move the story. It is serviceable at best and when he is eventually dispensed with it is anti-climatic and disappointing. It is no wonder Bogart considers this one of his least favorite roles.
The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse was originally a play yet it never feels like one. Director Anatole Litvak stages things more cinematically than an average filmed play. The film is talky at times but never to the point of it being a burden to watch. The film poster advertises it as “A thunderbolt of thrills and intrigue,” but this is a misnomer; it is a comedy through and through. The comedy helps this a lot making the light runtime breeze by even quicker. When it eventually reaches its conclusion, the absurdity of how it all wraps up works thanks to everything that proceeded it. The film is absurd and thus it makes sense that the finale would be equally absurd.
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