Review: Dr. Crippen and Bord/Dr. Crippen on Board 1942 The most successful Krimi of the 3rd Reich

 The Third Reich was not interested in Krimi movies. When movies were not confiscated and destroyed like the vice-krimi-potboiler "Razzia auf St. Pauli," they were watered down or changed into Krimi-comedy, and here is where the comedic element comes into the German crime cinema as a staple feature.

According to film historian Carsten Würmann, about 100 of the 1300 official movies of the Third Reich had content that could be considered Krimi. Most of them, though, were about theft and lesser crimes; some were spy movies, and some just used the criminal plot to disrespect Jews, Russians, etc. Only a handful really do belong in a "harder" Krimi environment, most notably "Der Mann der Sherlock Holmes war," a feisty homage to Sherlock Holmes that is a comedy, and this one: Dr. Crippen an Bord/Dr. Crippen on Board, based on the true crime case of Dr. Hawley Crippen, who was sentenced to death in the UK for killing his German wife. Of course.

Rudolf Fernau, who would later play the butler in Engels' 1944 "Freitag der 13." had become the main actor for villains in the Erich Engels Autobahn-Krimi "Im Namen des Volkes" in 1937. In "Dr. Crippen" he would play much more restrained but more evil. The sensationalist/attractive criminal, like Fantomas or Arsène Lupin, certainly was not "Germanic.".

The true case of Crippen was a worldwide sensation in 1919, as it was the first time that telegraphy had been used to catch a murderer, who had been fleeing on a ship to South America on the ocean.

The movie sticks very close to the true case and falls into three parts: Part one is the crime that is, however, not shown; part two is the flight of Dr. Crippen and his lover (disguised as a boy) on a ship and the reveal & catch. Part three now is the trial in which the case has to be proven, which is difficult. Until today, the expertise presented in court has remained disputed, and the movie does not shy away from that. 

Cora Crippen, a variety artist in London, vanishes. Her husband, pharmacologist Dr. Crippen, informs friends and family that she left him with a South American admirer for Brazil and presents love letters written by said lover. Although heartbroken, he is soon to be seen with his secretary as a new partner, and a painter with a love interest in Cora becomes suspicious and investigates. A few months later, Crippen presents an obituary from Brazil of his former wife and is now free to marry his new lover. The painter checks all the passenger lists from the lines to Brazil but cannot find Cora or her "lover" on these and informs the police.

They investigate, and Crippen becomes nervous and vanishes too, going on a trip to Venezuela under a false name with his secretary, her disguised as his son. The crew of the ship soon finds out about the girl/boy and can identify the passenger as Crippen. It is then telegraphed to Scotland Yard, and they send an inspector on a fast cruiser to intercept them before they reach Venezuela. They too find pieces of a female body in the garden of Dr. Crippen's villa and prove that he had bought poison from a pharmacist.

In court, the defense points out that Cora might or might not have had a relationship with a man who pulls off incredible disguise acts and that could have bought the poison too (disguising himself as Dr. Crippen) and might have placed the body parts in the garden. So is he the killer or not?

Contemporary illustration of the capture of
Crippen on board with his lover in a sailor-suit.

Given that the case of Dr. Crippen is still being disputed today, the ambiguous case is presented well here until the final revelation.

The movie moves along at a brisk pace, and the acting is very good. The first part is suitably noirish, and the courtroom drama is engaging. The sequences on the ship and the criminal investigation though are not very well done and drag the movie down a bit. Furthermore, pretty Gertrud Meyen is impossible to disguise as a boy - even by today's transgender standards. Filming took place in Prague, even the scenes on the open sea - as Prague at that point was save from Allied bombing.

What was interesting to me was that the movie stays clearly neutral when it comes to stereotypes. The British court system is shown as interested in the truth (maybe that was even a small piece of "Widerstand" against the Nazi-corrupted juridical system in the Reich), and neither Crippen nor his wife are stereotyped. This is not a propaganda piece, although one might have to say that the case itself must have been right up Joseph Goebbel's alley.

Rudolf Fernau now was the most evil man in German cinema, he was even violently chased down as "Dr. Crippen" when appearing in the streets. Needless to say, Goebbels wanted him to play evil Jews, Russians asf. He even was pressured to play "Jud Süß", but he was able to avoid these roles astonishingly skilled and was able to seamlessly pursue his acting career after 1945, now being  typecast as villain, showing up in many, many German Krimis of the 1950s and 1960s. He then became a best-selling author of history books, many of them still in print today. His autobiography "Als Lied begann's"/As a Song it Began is basically a collection of his diary-entries (sadly omitting the "lesser" movies) but a very rewarding read.

"Dr. Crippen" is based on a novelization by Walter Ebert who would later write the very influential fashion-house-serial-killer novel "Daniela".... and we will surely cross his path sooner or later.

Engels went on to direct many 1950s krimis, laying the groundwork for the Rialto-series. He even produced a Mabuse-like sequel in 1958 (called Dr. Crippen lebt!/Dr. Crippen is still alive!) to this film in which the man executed was not Dr. Crippen, but his assistant (in best Fantomas fashion), and Crippen is still alive and well... well, well.

The Pidax-DVD is ok, with a good scan from a good print, but nothing to rave about. No extras.

Ultra-rare original Italian poster

The real Crippen

Officially wanted by the Police