When a 1943 movie boasts it's based on a radio show, one doesn't exactly expect Shakespeare. When it tells the story of a criminal with amnesia who breezes through medical school to become a leading psychiatrist one doesn't expect much relation to reality as we know it. This expectation is fulfilled by depictions of hospitals, universities, prisons and courtrooms in keeping with 1940s comic book standards.
Those quibbles out of the way, I must admit this is fast-paced fun with plenty of action, not much real violence, a plot that makes sense within its simplistic worldview, snappy dialog and minor characters with personality in their brief appearances. The fact that this film spawned nine sequels in six years indicates it must have had something going for it.
A few relatively bigtime actors (Warner Baxter, Ray Collins, Leon Ames) if not in their most memorable roles, a few interchangeable attractive, if not well-remembered, young actresses, and 66 minutes of escapist fun, reminiscent to this old-timer of movies we'd watch on TV in the 50s on rainy afternoons. And now you can see it uninterrupted by commercials. What more could you ask for?
Those quibbles out of the way, I must admit this is fast-paced fun with plenty of action, not much real violence, a plot that makes sense within its simplistic worldview, snappy dialog and minor characters with personality in their brief appearances. The fact that this film spawned nine sequels in six years indicates it must have had something going for it.
A few relatively bigtime actors (Warner Baxter, Ray Collins, Leon Ames) if not in their most memorable roles, a few interchangeable attractive, if not well-remembered, young actresses, and 66 minutes of escapist fun, reminiscent to this old-timer of movies we'd watch on TV in the 50s on rainy afternoons. And now you can see it uninterrupted by commercials. What more could you ask for?