|
Jack Crawford is a supporting character appearing in the Hannibal Lecter series of books by Thomas Harris, in which he is in charge of the Behavioral Science division of the FBI. Though a fictional character, he is modeled after John Douglas, who holds the same position.
In the books, Crawford is a friend and mentor to the two heroes, Will Graham and Clarice Starling.
His first appearance is in the book Red Dragon, where he calls upon Will Graham to ask for his assistance in solving the murders being committed by the "Tooth Fairy." As a profiler, Graham had a reputation for being able to think like the perpetrators he hunted, thus making it possible for the FBI to apprehend them. He had retired after being attacked by his last suspect, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a Baltimore psychiatrist who had helped the FBI on several occasions. Crawford convinced Graham to come out of retirement for one last case, and soon they both realized that they would need Lecter's help again.
Red Dragon was filmed first as Manhunter, in which Crawford is played by Dennis Farina. In the remake, Red Dragon, he is played by Harvey Keitel.
Crawford appears again in The Silence of the Lambs, once again investigating a serial killer, this one know as "Buffalo Bill," and once again needing to call upon the services of Dr. Lecter. This time, he sent a trainee, Clarice Starling, to interview him. By way of information obtained from Lecter, Crawford and the FBI attempted to track down Jame Gumb. However, the address they obtained for him was out of date. Gumb had killed the employer of one of his former victims and moved into her house to use its large basement. Realizing that "Buffalo Bill" probably knew his first victim, Clarice Starling set about interviewing everyone close to her, and ended up stumbling upon Gumb's house. All of Gumb's victims had been large women, so her suspicions were aroused when Gumb asked if Mrs. Litman was "a great big fat person." Upon stepping inside, she saw the "Death's Head Moth," and realized she had found the killer. She pursued him into his basement, where she fatally shot him. Crawford did not arrive until afterwards.
In the film version of The Silence of the Lambs, Crawford is played by Scott Glenn.
Crawford appears in the book Hannibal, and dies close to the end. He does not appear in the film. A deleted line of dialogue refers to him having died between films.
|
