Review: Dr. Crippen

The true account of Dr. Crippen (Donald Pleasence) a meek and henpecked husband to a vulgar, low-rent showbiz veteran (Coral Browne) whom he is accused of murdering in early 1900s Britain. Samantha Eggar plays Dr. Crippen’s secretary/mistress, James Robertson Justice is a suspicious ship captain, Sir Donald Wolfit a barrister, and Oliver Johnston a trial judge.

 

Despite the lurid cover art and the presence of Donald Pleasence in the title role, this 1963 film from director Robert Lynn (2^nd Unit director on “Superman” and “Superman II”) and screenwriter Leigh Vance (a veteran TV writer/producer who also co-wrote “The Frightened City” starring Herbert Lom and Sean Connery) is not a horror film. It’s a real-life tale of murder, and a rather solid one at that.

 

I won’t say Donald Pleasence gives a subtle performance, because we all know subtlety was never his thing. However, you’ll likely be surprised by how low-key and mild-mannered his Dr. Crippen actually is. Watching the film you almost feel like the two women in his life are far more capable of murder than this distressingly meek, nerdy little man. Pleasence’s Dr. Crippen doesn’t look like he’s got the energy for it, by comparison. It must’ve taken quite a bit of effort for Pleasence to give such a quiet, insular performance, and make no mistake it’s a commendable job he does. It’s actually quite interesting to watch Pleasence do something a little different from the norm, even if the character of Crippen himself seems distressingly bland and nondescript by design  I wouldn’t even compare it to his mild-mannered character from “The Great Escape”, he’s going for something far more ordinary and plain here. It’s an excellently modulated performance from the veteran ham. However, it’s co-star Coral Browne (later the wife of Vincent Price) who really lingers in one’s memory. As the horrible, but clearly love-starved wife, Browne really goes to town here in a wonderfully rotten, obnoxious – yet occasionally pitiable –  performance that steals the show. This woman’s got no regard for her husband’s feelings, flaunting other men in his face while he sits there like a meek little lump and takes it. However, it would appear that her needs as a wife aren’t being met, and that would understandably be horrible for her on an emotional and psychological level as well. Also, her husband is clearly lying to her about his impotence, so there’s that too.

 

What I find fascinating is that the film doesn’t particularly demonise Dr. Crippen, despite pretty much taking the view that he was lying about his impotence and was ultimately guilty of the crime (He claims it was an accident, and from what we do or don’t see, it’s possibly the truth). In fact, the film portrays the two women in his life far more harshly. Sure, there’s reasons for Browne’s character to be behaving as she does, but Samantha Eggar as the mistress seems like a real schemer at times (though her knowledge of the murder seems up for debate). In a film full of terrific performances, we get rock-solid character work by James Robertson Justice as a ship captain and Sir Donald Wolfit as a barrister. If the film has any flaw, it’s one rather similar to the little-seen “The Boys” with Robert Morley and Richard Todd as opposing barristers: It’s all a bit dry, though this film isn’t quite as static as that one. I could almost see this same basic premise with the same cast working as an excellent Gothic horror story, albeit one that isn’t particularly faithful to the real-life case. It’s just that as is, the film by design is a touch too ordinary (for lack of a better term).

 

Well-acted account of the real-life murder case, with Donald Pleasence excelling in a rare lead role, and Coral Browne towering over him as the shrill deceased. Worth seeking out, if not an entirely thrilling experience.

 

Rating: B-