Auto Focus (2002)

★ 6.4 1h 44m 214 votes IMDb

Drama Crime

A successful TV star during the 1960s, former "Hogan's Heroes" actor Bob Crane projects a wholesome family-man image, but this front masks his persona as a sex addict who records and photographs his many encounters with women, often with the help of his seedy friend, John Henry Carpenter. This biographical drama reveals how Crane's double life takes its toll on him and his family, and ultimately contributes to his death.

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Director Paul Schrader

Cast Greg Kinnear, Willem Dafoe, Rita Wilson, Maria Bello, Ron Leibman, Kurt Fuller, Ed Begley Jr., Michael E. Rodgers, Michael McKean, Christopher Neiman

Wuchak 7/10 Jul 05, 2025

**_Bob Crane's growing sexual addiction and murder_**

Crane (Greg Kinnear) befriends a video expert named John Carpenter (Willem Dafoe) around the time he gets the gig for Hogan's Heroes. He is soon seduced by the temptations of being a big star; "free sex" is the sin du jour of the era and Crane can't resist the scores of beautiful women who want him. Unlike Crane, Carpenter isn't a star and isn't handsome, but he's able to continually pick up women simply due to his friendship with Bob. During and, especially, after his popular TV show, Crane experiences a downward spiral as he becomes entangled in the web of loose sex. By June, 1978, he was dead at 49.

"Auto Focus" (2002) was based on Robert Graysmith's book "The Murder of Bob Crane: Who Killed the Star of Hogan's Heroes?," which – believe it or not – depicts Crane's plunge into sexual immorality even worse than seen in the movie.

Director Paul Schrader is a writer or director of quite a few critically acclaimed films, like "Taxi Driver" (writer), "The Mosquito Coast" (writer) and "Hardcore" (writer & director). Speaking of "Hardcore," that film also addresses the subject of sexual hedonism with focus on a fascinating father/daughter relationship that develops between a staunch Calvinist conservative (George C. Scott) and a young lost prostitute (Season Hubley). "Auto Focus" may not be quite as good but, if you can handle the sleazy aspects, it maintains your attention and the actors do a quality job.

Rita Wilson and Maria Bello are on hand as Crane's wife and mistress/new-wife respectively. Meanwhile Michael E. Rodgers plays Bob's somewhat nemesis, Richard Dawson.

The DVD features a documentary on Crane's death and the most obvious culprit, John Carpenter. It's an interesting case, to say the least.

I shouldn't fail to add that I know someone who worked as a waitress at an A&W in my area during the mid-70s when Crane was forced to do traveling theater work to earn a living, as shown in the movie. She waited on him & another guy and Bob was his typically amiable self, just with a decidedly smart-alecky edge. I guess my friend didn't act starstruck enough because he didn't leave her a tip!

It runs 1 hour, 45 minutes, and was shot in California and Arizona.

GRADE: B