Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 1963
Dr. Crippen (1962 film)
Buy Dr. Crippen (1962 film) now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
'Dr. Crippen' is a 1963 British biographical film directed by Robert Lynn and starring Donald Pleasence, Coral Browne and Samantha Eggar. The film's plot concerns the real-life Edwardian doctor Hawley Harvey Crippen, who was hanged in 1910 for the murder of his wife. The cinematography was by Nicolas Roeg.
Plot
Crippen is portrayed as a downtrodden cuckold continually humiliated by his coarse, overbearing wife. There is a strong suggestion in the story that he may have been innocent of murder, possibly killing his wife by accident, and that his younger mistress Ethel Le Neve is completely ignorant of the killing. The plot ostensibly covers Crippen's trial but the story is fleshed out with flashbacks to the doctor's relationship with his wife and his affair.
Cast
* Donald Pleasence as Dr. Crippen
* Coral Browne as Belle Elmore/Cora Crippen
* Samantha Eggar as Ethel Le Neve
* Donald Wolfit as R.D. Muir
* James Robertson Justice as Captain McKenzie
* John Arnatt as Chief Inspector Dew
* Oliver Johnston as Lord Chief Justice
* Geoffrey Toone as Mr. Tobin
* Edward Underdown as the Prison Governor
Critical reception
Bosley Crowther in 'The New York Times' wrote, "well, one must give good scores to Mr. Pleasence, Miss Browne, Miss Eggar and the rest of the cast for giving a sense of solemnity and suffocation to this stiff tale...the mystery, the action and the pathos are all too academic and thintoo milky and uneventful except for those who are real Crippen fans". 'Britmovie' noted a "sincere historical reconstruction about the infamous Edwardian murderer blending courtroom and melodrama. The direction from tv helmer Robert Lynn is satisfactory and is brightly captured in atmospheric black-and-white by cinematographer Nicolas Roeg."
References
Buy Dr. Crippen (1962 film) now from Amazon
<-- Return to movies from 1963