Dr. Crippen (1962 film) Dr. Crippen (1962 film) Dr. Crippen is a 1962 British biographical film directed by Robert Lynn and starring Donald Pleasence, Coral Browne and Samantha Eggar. The film's plot concerns the real-life Edwardian doctor Hawley Harvey Crippen, who was hanged in 1910 for the murder of his wife. The cinematography was provided by Nicolas Roeg. The film ostensibly covers Crippen’s trial but the story is fleshed out with flashbacks to the doctor’s relationship with his coarse, overbearing wife and his affair with a young mistress. Bosley Crowther in "The New York Times" wrote, "well, one must give good scores to Mr.
Hawley Harvey Crippen a German mother and a Polish-Russian father. She was a would-be music hall singer who openly had affairs. In 1894 Crippen started working for Dr Munyon's, a homeopathic pharmaceutical company. In 1897, Crippen transferred to England with his wife, although his US medical qualifications were not sufficient to allow him to practise as a doctor in the UK. As Crippen continued working as a distributor of patent medicines, Cora socialised with a number of variety players of the time, including Lil Hawthorne of The Hawthorne Sisters and Lil's husband/manager John Nash. Crippen was sacked by Munyon's in 1899 for spending