Crack-Up

Details

Release year: 1946

Storyline

Art curator George Steele experiences a train wreck...which may not have actually happened. Is he cracking up, or the victim of a wicked plot?

Top credits

Did you know

• The footage of the oncoming train was used in other RKO films including The Clay Pigeon (1949), Cry Danger (1951), and The Narrow Margin (1952).

• In the post-World War II era, the technique of narcosynthesis (as it was later called) was developed by psychiatrists as a means of treating patients who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. Narcosynthesis-also called sodium amytal interview, amobarbital interview, or amytal interview-uses a technique of free association as well as dream and transference material during the session as a basis for uncovering relevant topics for later therapeutic discussion. However, the accuracy of the therapy's results is debated.

• Two of the most notable films noir, 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 this film, 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 noirs. Trevor was a true icon of film noir and played both heroines and femme fatales, an unusual distinction.

User reviews

Technical specs

Sound mix

Mono

Aspect ratio

1.37 : 1

Color

Black and White

FAQ

• Who plays the supporter of modern art that kicks up such a fuss at the museum lecture? I thought it was John Qualen ( by golly!) but he's not in the cast list and no one else is credited for the role.