This week’s mystery movie was the 1937 Twentieth Century-Fox film Crack-Up, with Peter Lorre, Brian Donlevy, Helen Wood, Ralph Morgan and Thomas Beck.
Screenplay by Charles Kenyon and Sam Mintz.
Original story by John Goodrich.
Photography by Barney McGill.
Art direction by Duncan Cramer and Lewis Creber.
Assistant director Aaron Rosenberg.
Edited by Fred Allen.
Costumes by Herschel.
Sound by G.P. Costello and Harry M. Leonard.
Song Top Gallants by Sidney Clare and Harry Akst.
Musical direction by Samuel Kaylin.
Associate producer Samuel G. Engel.
Directed by Malcolm. St. Clair.
Further information on Crack-Up is available from the AFI Catalog.
Crack-Up is available on DVD from Critics’ Choice Video.
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I picked Crack-Up by going through the trades, returning to Harrison’s Reports. The review had me at “The death by drowning of three of the characters may sicken sensitive people, particularly women.” It’s an odd movie in several ways: The story doesn’t make much sense, especially the resolution, and Peter Lorre’s impersonation of a local eccentric is way over the top. As a plus, we get to see a Lockheed Electra standing in for the Wild Goose mystery plane.
I suspect Mordaunt Hall is not going to smile on this little picture.
Way off the beam! Frank S. Nugent dispatches Crack-Up in one paragraph (The New York Times, Jan. 10, 1937):
A wild-eyed melodrama which even that elf of espionage, Peter Lorre, cannot prevent from moving from the ridiculous to the supine. the other players of moment are Brian Donlevy, Helen Wood, Thomas Beck and Ralph Morgan.
For Monday, we have a mysterious guest. Certain identifying marks on our mysterious airplane have been cropped out to heighten the mysteriousness. I also cropped out a mystery guest with insufficient mysteriousness who will appear later in the week.
Update: Adding a “Hm Wednesday” mystery guest. For a better image, keep reading.
Update: This is Sam Hayes, photobombed by Ralph Morgan, right.
Note: This is my third pick for this week’s mystery movie. The first (a solid prospect) was eliminated because people have uploaded dozens of images to IMDB, where they are available through a reverse image search. The second (also a solid prospect) was eliminated because a good print was unattainable. So here we are.
For “Tricky Tuesday,” we have a mysterious gent.
Update: This is Brian Donlevy.
Brain Trust roll call: Mike Hawks (Monday’s mysterious gent).
For “Hm Wednesday,” we have this mysterious couple.
Update: This is Kay Linaker and Lester Matthews.
We also have this mysterious fellow.
Update: This is Ralph Morgan.
Brain Trust roll call: Howard Mandelbaum (mystery movie and Tuesday’s tricky guest), Mike Hawks (mystery movie and Tuesday’s tricky guest), B.J. Merholz (Tuesday’s tricky guest), Sheila (Tuesday’s tricky guest), Sylvia E. (mystery movie, mystery plane and both mysterious guests) and Mary Mallory (Tuesday’s tricky guest).
For “Aha Thursday,” we have a mysterious couple.
Update: This is Helen Wood and Thomas Beck.
We also have this mysterious fellow.
Update: This is J. Carrol Naish.
Brain Trust roll call: Blackwing Jenny (Wednesday’s mystery man No. 2), Mary Mallory (mystery movie and Monday’s and Wednesday’s mysterious guests), Greg (mystery movie, Tuesday’s mystery fellow and Wednesday’s mystery men), Howard Mandelbaum (Wednesday’s mystery men), Mike Hawks (Wednesday’s mystery men), B.J.Merholz (mystery movie and Wednesday’s mysterious man No. 2), Megan and Thom (mystery movie and Wednesday’s mystery men), Roget-L.A. (Wednesday’s mystery man No. 2), L.C. (mystery movie and mysterious cast), Incredible Inman (mystery movie, mysterious plane and Tuesday’s mystery man) and Sylvia E. (Wednesday’s mystery guests).
For Friday, we have two mysterious fellows.
Update: This is Brian Donlevy, left, and Peter Lorre.
Brain Trust roll call: Mary Mallory (Thursday’s mystery guests), Anne Papineau (Thursday’s mystery man No. 2), Sylvia E. (Thursday’s mystery guests) and Mike Hawks (Thursday’s mystery guests).
ladailymirror.com 
Frank Lovejoy today?
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Looks like a young E.G. Marshall.
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Sam Hayes in TAILSPIN.
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Tricky Tuesday: Rod Cameron?
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An interesting guess, but alas…
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Monday: Paul McVey in CRACK-UP (1936)
Tuesday: Brian Donlevy
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Brian Donlevy in CRACK-UP.
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Brian Donlevy.
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Tuesday’s man-Randolph Scott?
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An interesting guess, but alas….
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Brian Donlevy for Tuesday?
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I think Tuesday’s blindfolded guy is a young, Brian Donlevy sans moustache. At least I’ll start there.
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Goin’ for it.
“Crack Up” 1936
Monday – Sam Hayes maybe
Tuesday – Brian Donlevy
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And guessing that in the Monday BG is the Wild Goose, an experimental plane that everybody wants.
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And maybe Monday’s “cropped for lack of mysteriousness” guest is Peter Lorre.
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I WANTED WINGS. John Hiestand Monday and Brian Donlevy today.
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Wednesday-try, try again-Tuesday: Warner Baxter in a blindfold. Wed: Ralph Morgan-in “Hell in the Heavens”.
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CRACK-UP. Almeda Fowler, Sam Hayes, and Ralph Morgan Monday, and Kay Linaker, Lester Matthews, and Morgan today. Mal St. Clair went from early Buster Keaton to Mack Sennett to Louise Brooks to this. He directed WOMAN OF THE WORLD, which I think we might have had as a Mystery Movie several years ago.
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Tricky Tuesday has Brian Donlevy sans mustache.
Hm Wednesday’s lady is Helen Wood, I think. The gent is Lester Matthews.
Wednesday’s mysterious fellow is Ralph Morgan. The movie is Crack-Up from 1936.
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Helen Wood, Lester Mathews; Ralph Morgan.
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Helen Wood, Lester Matthews and Ralph Morgan.
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The pressure looks to be too much For Ralph Morgan; he may be headed for a crack up!
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The mystery movie is Crack-Up with Ralph Morgan and Lester Matthews for today.
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Hm Wednesday’s mysterious fellow: Frank Morgan?
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Crack-Up (1936) w/Brian Donlevy, Peter Lorre, Ralph Morgan, J. Carroll Naish, Helen Wood, Sam Hayes, Thomas Beck…
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The “Wild Goose” brings it all together! Tuesday is a clean-shaven Brian Donlevy, today is Ralph Morgan, and the movie is “Crack-Up.”
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Wednesday – image 1- I think Kay Linaker and Lester Matthews are a secret couple (though not very good at it given this pose)
image 2 – Ralph Morgan (brother of Frank “Wizard of Oz” Morgan) the movie husband of Kay’s character.
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Helen Wood, Thomas Beck, snd J. Carroll Naish.
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J. Carrol Naish on Thursday?
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It’s been interesting to read about the plane that portrayed the Wild Goose. EB will probably know a lot about it. The various iterations of the Lockheed Model 10 Electra were really beautiful to look at, including the customized version Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan used on their ill-fated trip the year after this movie came out.
Image 1 – Helen Wood and Thomas Beck
Image 2 – J. Carrol Nash, Operative #77 (wonder if the writers on Get Smart were fans of this movie?)
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Helen Wood, Thomas Beck and J. Carroll Naish.
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I’m very curious to see the images you’ve picked for tomorrow with Brian Donlevy and Baron Rudolph Maximilian Tagger (Peter Lorre). I saw an image of Brian Donlevy on the wing of the plane and thought “holy cow!!!”
Looking forward to Friday and then Saturday’s breakdown.
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Brian Donlevy and Peter Lorre.
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Peter Lorre on the right
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Brian Donlevy and Peter Lorre.
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