Dr. T.S. Clitterhouse (Edward G. Robinson) is a cultivated and distinguished Park Avenue doctor, with a respectable list of clients. He's also obsessed with the workings of the criminal mind, and begins a research project that will help advance the cause of science and the medical profession in understanding the scientific basis for criminal action. As the film opens, the good doctor has just committed his fourth robbery, all jewel heists, and is now about to ingratiate himself with a mob, hoping to gain further insight.

I found "The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse" to be a blast, owing largely to Robinson's understated, almost casual performance as a master criminal. His random choice of a gang to work with leads him to Jo Keller (Claire Trevor),and a short list of Warner stock players, including Allen Jenkins, Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom, and Ward Bond as members of the mob. He's generally well received by all, especially after making Lieutenant Johnson (Robert Homans) sweat it out in a routine interrogation. The one thorn in Clitterhouse's side is Rocks Valentine (Humphrey Bogart),who doesn't take kindly to the doctor's high society manner and scientific method. The fact that Jo might be falling for the doc is also a factor, though there is no chemistry to speak of between Jo and Rocks, their relationship primarily focused on the next big heist.

What might have begun as scientific research begins to look a lot like enjoyment for the doctor, so after robbing a fur vault Clitterhouse decides it's time to take a break. He doesn't find it so easy though, as Bogie's character traces his identity back to it's Park Avenue origins and attempts to blackmail him. However the doc's knowledge of drugs give him the upper hand, and slipping Rocks a paradol chloride cocktail is enough to take him out of the picture.

The cat and mouse game that follows between Police Inspector Lane (Donald Crisp) and Clitterhouse is well conceived; as the doc is about to be arrested, the chance arrival of his lawyer offers an intriguing exchange that offers him a legal way out. With surprising calm, Clitterhouse learns that he's a megalomaniac, and as mad as a hatter if he thought he could get away with murder. The courtroom scene that follows turns into a three ring circus as the jury finds that Clitterhouse must be insane. One thing that surprised me though, is there such a thing as a "State Lunacy Commission"?

There are enough elements of each for this movie to be considered both a comedy and a crime film, with about equal parts of both taking center stage. Robinson's role is uncharacteristic of his typical gangster performances, here he's a cool and sophisticated operator; he doesn't really believe he's doing anything wrong in his quest to advance medical science. Presiding over the final court room scene having given way to utter chaos, Clitterhouse calmly surveys the madness and can only comment - "Amazing, really amazing."

This is a decent and VERY typical gangster film from Warner Brothers that is so similar to a long string of such films made by this studio during this era. While this might be a negative for some, fans of the genre such as myself will find that this is yet another well-written and well-acted gangster film complete with the usual Warner stars and support cast. In this case, though, the story is a bit unusual in that Edward G. Robinson plays a doctor who infiltrates a mob to test his theories concerning the criminal mind. While I admit this is a little silly, all the usual story elements combine to still make a very watchable and enjoyable film. While not among his or Bogart's best, it is a rousing good time nonetheless.

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.