Hitchcoc This is certainly one of a kind. Edward G. Robinson is the only character to do what this guy does. For purposes of research into the criminal mind, he becomes a jewel thief. First he studies himself (of course that has limited value as research), so he needs to get into a gang to study them. Of course, he is a criminal himself because others are being victimized by him. Humphrey Bogart is a sociopath and Robinson makes him his guinea pig. It leads to a study of the most serious of crimes and a trip to court and the risk of execution. Robinson's cool Dr. Clitterhouse is a remarkably original, underplayed character. HIs motivations are pure; his methods are severe.

utgard14 Highly enjoyable WB gangster movie with Edward G. Robinson as the title character, a doctor who becomes so obsessed with understanding the criminal mind he becomes a criminal himself. It's somewhat difficult to categorize this movie. It definitely has a lot of comedy with Max Rosenbloom and Allen Jenkins especially. Not to mention all of Robinson's deadpan lines. But the overall tone is that of a straightforward gangster drama. It's a fun movie either way.Robinson is terrific, as always. He disliked doing gangster pictures but that's all WB wanted him in. So he compromised by doing gangster movies that were different from the norm. A solid cast backs him up. In addition to Jenkins and Rosenbloom mentioned before, there's Claire Trevor, Donald Crisp, and Humphrey Bogart as Rocks Valentine (what a name!). Bogart reportedly hated this role and considered it his worst. I'm not sure why that would be. It's not that different from a dozen similar gangster roles he played in the '30s. I can think of at least a couple of movies where his part was worse than this.

Neil Doyle John Huston co-authored the script for THE AMAZING DR. CLITTERHOUSE and whatever fun he was having with the concept of a respected doctor who turns to crime in order to become a method criminologist by joining a hoodlum gang of thieves, it doesn't quite jell.At no time does director Anatole Litvak let us know that this is supposed to be a comedy or spoof of Warner gangster films. However, audiences must have found the idea more than a little offbeat to be taken seriously.Making things further unbelievable is the way CLAIRE TREVOR plays the gun moll with such intensity, but immediately takes a liking to the amazing doctor after opposing his very presence among them. Her shift to tender romantic feelings is blatantly unrealistic.HUMPHREY BOGART's role at least makes sense. He's the only gang member to take an instant dislike to the good doctor when he sees how assured he is in taking charge of things the moment he lands in the den of thieves. But the story takes a grim twist toward the end, dealing with Bogart's fate.Another absurd angle is the gang's willingness to have the doctor performing his blood tests on them as a part of his research project every time they go on a heist. Add to this the courtroom ending with some unbelievable happenings and you have a crime drama (or is it a crime comedy?), that rarely makes any sense and strains credibility at every turn.EDWARD G. ROBINSON is fine as the doctor and has one especially good scene where he plays cat-and-mouse with THURSTON HALL to find out whether the man will be willing to represent him at trial.Robinson, Bogart, Trevor and director Huston would all reunite ten years later for a much finer film--KEY LARGO--which utilized Trevor's talent in a much more rewarding way.At best, this is a curiosity that holds the interest but can make you impatient with the absurdity of it all.

Michael_Elliott Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse, The (1938) *** (out of 4) Extremely weird and bizarre gangster film from Warner that spoofs their other gangster films. A doctor (Edward G. Robinson) decides to start robbing so that he can study criminal's in the heat of the job. In order to get better tests done he joins a gang being run by Claire Trevor and the dangerous Humphrey Bogart. This film's suppose to be a comedy but it's a tad bit too strange to work as that but it remains an entertaining movie due to the three stars. Warner made a lot of gangster pictures through this decade and this one here is certainly their strangest. Co-written by John Huston.