Summaries

A brilliant Park Avenue doctor becomes a criminal in order to do research into the criminal mind.

Dr. Clitterhouse is fascinated with the working of the criminal mind. His interest is so deep that he finds the best way to observe criminals in action is to become one himself. Whilst robbing a safe at an exclusive party he stumbles across an organized gang trying to do the same thing. He teams up with the gang to observe them in action but one of the members, Rocks Valentine would like nothing better than to see Clitterhouse out of the way.—Col Needham <[email protected]>

Dr. Clitterhouse is a brilliant, well-respected Park Avenue physician who becomes obsessed with understanding the psychology of the criminal mind. He burgles the homes of four high society acquaintances, stealing high-end jewelry in order to gauge his own physiological reactions to the experience, which he finds exhilarating. On his fourth robbery he crosses paths with professional thieves and seeks out their leaders, Jo Keller, a woman fence, and Rocks Madison, a vicious sociopath. They form an unholy alliance: Clitterhouse masterminds the high-end robberies, which greatly increases the gang's take, while the Runtonesque thieves allow themselves to have their blood and vital signs monitored. Keller's growing attraction to Clitterhouse and the loyalty the gang shows him feeds Rock's growing resentment at being displaced, and his growing paranoia pushes him to try to commit the greatest crime of all, homicide.[email protected]

The prominent Dr. Clitterhouse becomes a burglar to study the criminal mind. After four heists, he meets the fence Jo Keller who has a hotel to cover-up her activities. He decides to team-up with her gang to observe the thieves in action using the alias "The Professor" and becomes close to Jo. However the gangster 'Rocks' Valentine decides to get rid of The Professor and double-crosses him during a store heist. When Rocks discovers the true identity of The Professor, he blackmails Dr. Clitterhouse then sees the only ultimate crime to resolve the situation: murder. What will happen to Rocks and Dr. Clitterhouse?—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Details

Keywords
  • character name as title
  • jewel thief
  • surname in title
  • four word title
  • dr. clitterhouse character
Genres
  • Crime
  • Drama
Release date Jul 29, 1938
Motion Picture Rating (MPA) Approved
Countries of origin United States
Language English
Filming locations Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA
Production companies Warner Bros.

Box office

Tech specs

Runtime 1h 27m
Color Black and White
Sound mix Mono
Aspect ratio 1.37 : 1

Synopsis

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