Crack-Up (1946): Cast & Plot
Crack-Up is a 1946 mystery thriller directed by Irving Reis, starring Pat O'Brien as George Steele, Erskine Sanford and Jack Cheatham. It runs 1 hour 36 minutes.
- Released
- Runtime
- 1h 36m (96 min)
- Director
- Irving Reis
- Original language
-
English - Studio
- RKO Radio Pictures
- After the credits
- No No extra scene
What Is Crack-Up About?
The premise of Crack-Up without spoilers. The whole story is in the plot summary further down.
Could I KILL … and not remember? Art curator George Steele experiences a train wreck…which never happened. Is he cracking up, or the victim of a plot?
Crack-Up Themes & Keywords
· 50 tags- shot in the back
- based on magazine story
- in medias res
- psychological mystery
- trapped in a room
- gaslighting
- ptsd post traumatic stress disorder
- ransacked apartment
- fugitive
- theft
- secretary
- x ray
+38 more Show fewer
- mind altering drug
- false accusation of murder
- arson
- escape
- lecture
- museum
- pier
- new york city
- magazine writer
- art critic
- flashback
- grand central station manhattan new york city
- heckler
- cocktail party
- eavesdropping
- surrealism
- little person
- peep show machine
- penny arcade
- trains passing each other
- truth serum
- phone booth
- exiting through a window
- train
- train station
- breaking a window
- climbing down a rope
- ship fire
- climbing over a wall
- forgery
- police surveillance
- doctor
- steamship
- manhattan new york city
- amnesia
- syringe
- drugged
- dating
Crack-Up Cast & Characters
Pat O'Brien leads the cast as George Steele, with Erskine Sanford as Museum Director Barton and Jack Cheatham as Museum Attendant (Uncredited). Directed by Irving Reis; 70 actors are credited in all.
- Director Irving Reis
-
Pat O'Brien as George Steele -
Erskine Sanford as Museum Director Barton - Jack Cheatham as Museum Attendant (Uncredited)
- Damian O'Flynn as Museum Curator Stevenson
Also Starring in Crack-Up
· 66 more- Robert Bray Man with Drunk (Uncredited)
- Herbert Marshall Traybin
- Claire Trevor Terry Cordell
- Mary Ware Mary
- Ray Collins Dr. Lowell
- Ellen Corby Reynold's Maid (Uncredited)
- Tommy Noonan Bonbon Vendor (Uncredited)
- Franklyn Farnum Man on Train (Uncredited)
- Jeffrey Sayre Diner in Restaurant (Uncredited)
- Chuck Hamilton Man in Ticket Line (Uncredited)
- Edward Gargan Cop in Arcade (Uncredited)
- Al Hill Card Player on Train (Uncredited)
- Harry Harvey 'Dad' Moran, Museum Custodian (Uncredited)
- Colin Kenny Lecture Guest (Uncredited)
- Sam McDaniel Porter (Uncredited)
- Harry Shannon Cop (Uncredited)
Show all 70 cast members Show fewer cast members
- Eric Wilton Lecture Guest (Uncredited)
- Dick Rush Captain of Arcadia (Uncredited)
- Gertrude Astor Nagging Wife on Train (Uncredited)
- Wallace Ford Lt. Cochrane
- Jack Gargan Second Railroad Ticket Agent (Uncredited)
- James Carlisle Lecture Guest (Uncredited)
- Kernan Cripps First RR Ticket Clerk (Uncredited)
- Sam Lufkin Detective (Uncredited)
- Frank Moran Bartender (Uncredited)
- Edward Biby Lecture Guest (Uncredited)
- Cap Somers Cop (Uncredited)
- George Bruggeman Cop (Uncredited)
- John Ince Man (Uncredited)
- Rudy Germane Lecture Guest (Uncredited)
- Al Bain Arcade Patron (Uncredited)
- Philip Morris Cop (Uncredited)
- John Roy Attendant (Uncredited)
- John Indrisano Detective (Uncredited)
- Dorothea Wolbert Old Lady (Uncredited)
- Tiny Jones Old Lady (Uncredited)
- Frank Shannon Train Station Gateman (Uncredited)
- Alvin Hammer Milquetoast (Uncredited)
- Rose Plumer Impatient Woman in Ticket Line (Uncredited)
- Charles Meakin Lecture Guest (Uncredited)
- Horace Murphy Train Conductor (Uncredited)
- Dick Ryan Reynold's Butler (Uncredited)
- Jimmy O'Gatty Mate (Uncredited)
- Eddie Parks Drunk in Arcade (Uncredited)
- King Lockwood Lecture Guest (Uncredited)
- Shimen Ruskin Dissenter at Art Lecture (Uncredited)
- Carl Faulkner Detective (Uncredited)
- Roger Creed Card Player on Train (Uncredited)
- Guy Beach Station Agent (Uncredited)
- J.C. Fowler Man (Uncredited)
- Harry Monty Midget in Arcade (Uncredited)
- Chef Milani Restaurant Proprietor (Uncredited)
- Bonnie Blair Dorothy (Uncredited)
- Alex Akimoff Man (Uncredited)
- Fred Hueston Man (Uncredited)
- Joseph Kamaryt Waiter (Uncredited)
- Tex Swan Cop (Uncredited)
- Bob Pepper Intern (Uncredited)
- Dean Harens Reynolds
- Delmar Costello Deck Hand (Uncredited)
- John Ardell Man (Uncredited)
- Alf Haugan Man in Audience (Uncredited)
- Lee Elson Man (Uncredited)
- Carl Hansen Card Player on Train (Uncredited)
- Belle Green Woman in Audience (Uncredited)
- Gloria Jetter Gambler (Uncredited)
More from Irving Reis
More films directed by Irving Reis, best-rated first: The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, The Four Poster, New Mexico and Three Husbands.
Crack-Up Plot Summary
What happens in Crack-Up from start to finish, spoilers included, with a timeline of 12 key events. The opening is below; the full summary is a 5-minute read.
Spoilers ahead
George Steele is an impassioned art critic and lecturer whose fervor for authentic masterpieces spills into chaos at the Manhattan Museum of Art. In a moment of manic urgency, he bursts onto the scene during a public talk, forcing his way inside before being restrained by a patrolman. He insists that he has lived through a train wreck, a claim that immediately puts him in a precarious light with the police. Lieutenant Cochrane is skeptical, noting there’s no record of any recent rail accidents, and the credibility of Steele’s story hangs in the balance as investigators probe the bizarre sequence of events that followed his sensational entrance.
Full summary
The whole story of Crack-Up, scene by scene
How Well Do You Know Crack-Up?
10 questions about the story, each with a hint if you get stuck. Pick an answer to see whether you were right.
Question 1 of 10
- Question 1: not answered
- Question 2: not answered
- Question 3: not answered
- Question 4: not answered
- Question 5: not answered
- Question 6: not answered
- Question 7: not answered
- Question 8: not answered
- Question 9: not answered
- Question 10: not answered
Who is the impassioned art critic and lecturer at the center of the film?
Cars in Crack-Up
2 cars on screen: the 1937 Buick and the 1941 Packard One-Twenty.
-
1937 Buick Minor role -
1941 Packard One-Twenty Minor role
Crack-Up Also Known As
4 alternative titles, including “La banda dei falsificatori” and “崩溃”.
- Also known as
-
- La banda dei falsificatori
- 崩溃
- Museu de Horrores
- Gärningsmannen okänd
Seen Crack-Up?
Movies Like Crack-Up
Films with a similar story, tone or audience, including Crack-Up, The Crack: Inception and Crack in the Mirror.
Crack-Up FAQ: Cast, Runtime & Release Date
Runtime, release date, director, cast and post-credit scenes of Crack-Up, each answered in a sentence.
How long is Crack-Up?
Crack-Up runs 1 hour 36 minutes (96 minutes).
When was Crack-Up released?
Crack-Up was released on September 6, 1946.
Who directed Crack-Up?
Crack-Up was directed by Irving Reis.
More films by Irving Reis Who is in the cast of Crack-Up?
Crack-Up stars Pat O'Brien as George Steele, Erskine Sanford as Museum Director Barton and Jack Cheatham as Museum Attendant (Uncredited), among 70 credited actors.
Does Crack-Up have a post-credit scene?
No. Crack-Up has no extra scene during or after the credits.
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