Crack-Up

George Steele violently forces entry into the Manhattan Museum of Art and is quickly apprehended by a patrolman. He claims he was involved in a train wreck, a story that triggers police interest and confusion about his mental state. Lieutenant Cochrane notes there is no record of any recent accident, while Steele begins to recount the strange events he has experienced.

Earlier that day, Steele's enthusiastically received lecture is followed by a rebuke from museum director Barton who denies access to X-ray equipment to prove a forged painting, the Adoration of the Magi. The clash reveals the institution's grip on his work and foreshadows the personal costs of his method. This confrontation frames the stakes of his subsequent investigation.

While sharing a drink with his girlfriend Terry Cordell, Steele receives an urgent call that his mother has been taken to a hospital. He rushes to Grand Central Station and boards the last train, hoping to reach her in time. The sudden crisis intensifies his mounting paranoia as the day spirals out of control.

About 40 minutes after boarding, Steele watches helplessly as another train crashes into his own car. The disaster fuels his confusion and becomes the central mystery the police struggle to verify. It marks the dramatic turning point that drives the rest of the plot.

Cochrane finds no record of a train wreck or his mother's hospital visit, while Barton pleads with him not to arrest Steele. Stevenson and Dr. Lowell vouch for Steele's character, complicating the case and keeping Steele on the museum's radar. The fragile boundary between truth and image in the art world becomes a central tension.

Traybin, a British art expert and undercover investigator, signals that he wants Steele freed, prompting the police to keep a discreet watch on him. Steele is released, but the museum board cancels his lectures and suspends him for unstable behavior. The conflict between law, reputation, and artistic integrity continues behind the scenes.

Determined to clear his name, Steele attempts to reenact the train voyage and learns that a drunk passenger was removed from the train by two men, suggesting an impersonation. He informs Stevenson and begins to suspect that a Gainsborough loaned to the museum was actually a forged copy. The case widens into a suspected theft scheme.

Steele is warned that the fire destroying the Gainsborough was not an accident, and he and Stevenson arrange to meet in the museum vault. When he arrives, he finds Stevenson dead and flees as a watchman spots him. The murder escalates the conspiracy and shatters any remaining trust.

Traybin and Cochrane appear just as Steele is cornered by arsonists aboard the vessel; the crew intervenes and Steele escapes back to shore. He is secretly disembarked and collected by Terry, who has driven Traybin to the pier. The team consolidates their pursuit of the truth.

Back ashore, Steele persuades Barton's secretary Mary to arrange an X-ray of the painting, confirming that the Gainsborough is a copy. As they leave, Steele is knocked unconscious and Mary brandishes a gun at Terry, signaling the shift to danger. They are taken to the estate of Dr. Lowell, who is revealed to be behind the thefts.

At Lowell's estate, the doctor explains his motive as a frustrated art lover who could never acquire masterpieces legitimately, and uses narcosynthesis on Steele to coax the truth. Traybin and Cochrane burst in just in time, shooting Lowell dead and saving Steele and Terry. The conspiracy begins to unravel as investigators close in on the culprit.

Traybin is revealed to be an undercover Scotland Yard inspector who had been investigating the Gainsborough theft and the Dürer’s fate all along, and he orchestrates the safe return of the Dürer. Mary shows Traybin where the stolen artworks are hidden, bringing the case to a close. The film ends with justice served and the truth about the forgeries laid bare.