Crime of Passion (1957 film)
Encyclopedia
Crime of Passion is a 1957 American crime film noir
directed by Gerd Oswald
and written by Jo Eisinger
. The drama features Barbara Stanwyck
, Sterling Hayden
, Raymond Burr
and Fay Wray
, among others.
police detective, and his partner Charlie Alidos (Royal Dano
) travel to "Frisco" to arrest a fugitive wanted for murder. He meets Kathy and they fall in love. Kathy had been offered a big job in New York City
, but she abandons her career, marries Doyle and moves to Los Angeles.
Her new role as a 1950s suburban wife and homemaker quickly makes her unhappy. She wants her husband to move up in the world. She wants him to have the same kind of ambition she had in her last job, to become "somebody." Doyle has different values. He works in order to afford a comfortable lifestyle, no more.
Kathy schemes to push her husband up the ladder by any means necessary. She manipulates Tony Pope (Burr), who has an ailing wife (Wray), to sleep with her. She wants Pope to promote her husband, but he is not so easily manipulated. He refuses to grant Doyle a plum job, believing he's not qualified.
Dropping by the police station, she steals a gun used in a crime her husband is investigating. Kathy then confronts Pope in his home and pleads that he not grant Charlie Alidos the promotion. Pope refuses so she coldly shoots him.
Doyle is assigned to Pope's murder investigation and all trails lead to his wife. When Bill confronts Kathy, she tells him, "Now I'll know just how much of a cop you really are." Bill responds, "The same cop, Kathy. The same cop you met in Frisco. Same cop I was 10 years ago, pounding a beat. The same cop." Bill Doyle then takes Kathy Doyle to police headquarters to be booked for murder.
Critic Glenn Erickson liked the film's noir screenplay and wrote, "Crime of Passion is a fascinating film that goes head-on with the classic conception of the femme fatale character. Screenwriter Jo Eisinger wrote the delirious 1946 Gilda
, noir's most romantically perverse epic, but here she dissects the murderous female from a 50s perspective. It's hard-edged, direct in its theme and both dated and progressive at the same time. Barbara Stanwyck and Sterling Hayden make an exceptional screen couple."
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
directed by Gerd Oswald
Gerd Oswald
Gerd Oswald was a director of American films and television. The son of German film director Richard Oswald, he was born in Berlin and died in Los Angeles, California....
and written by Jo Eisinger
Jo Eisinger
Jo Eisinger was a film and television writer whose career spanned more than forty years from the early forties well into the eighties...
. The drama features Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
, Sterling Hayden
Sterling Hayden
Sterling Hayden was an American actor and author. For most of his career as a leading man, he specialized in westerns and film noir, such as Johnny Guitar, The Asphalt Jungle and The Killing. Later on he became noted as a character actor for such roles as Gen. Jack D. Ripper in Dr...
, Raymond Burr
Raymond Burr
Raymond William Stacey Burr was a Canadian actor, primarily known for his title roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside. His early acting career included roles on Broadway, radio, television and in film, usually as the villain...
and Fay Wray
Fay Wray
Fay Wray was a Canadian-American actress most noted for playing the female lead in King Kong...
, among others.
Plot
Kathy Ferguson (Stanwyck) is a San Francisco newspaper advice columnist. One day, Bill Doyle (Hayden), a Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
police detective, and his partner Charlie Alidos (Royal Dano
Royal Dano
Royal Edward Dano was an American film and television character actor.-Early life:Dano was born in New York City to Mary Josephine , an Irish immigrant, and Caleb Edward Dano, a printer for newspapers. He reportedly left home at the age of twelve and at various intervals, lived in Florida, Texas...
) travel to "Frisco" to arrest a fugitive wanted for murder. He meets Kathy and they fall in love. Kathy had been offered a big job in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, but she abandons her career, marries Doyle and moves to Los Angeles.
Her new role as a 1950s suburban wife and homemaker quickly makes her unhappy. She wants her husband to move up in the world. She wants him to have the same kind of ambition she had in her last job, to become "somebody." Doyle has different values. He works in order to afford a comfortable lifestyle, no more.
Kathy schemes to push her husband up the ladder by any means necessary. She manipulates Tony Pope (Burr), who has an ailing wife (Wray), to sleep with her. She wants Pope to promote her husband, but he is not so easily manipulated. He refuses to grant Doyle a plum job, believing he's not qualified.
Dropping by the police station, she steals a gun used in a crime her husband is investigating. Kathy then confronts Pope in his home and pleads that he not grant Charlie Alidos the promotion. Pope refuses so she coldly shoots him.
Doyle is assigned to Pope's murder investigation and all trails lead to his wife. When Bill confronts Kathy, she tells him, "Now I'll know just how much of a cop you really are." Bill responds, "The same cop, Kathy. The same cop you met in Frisco. Same cop I was 10 years ago, pounding a beat. The same cop." Bill Doyle then takes Kathy Doyle to police headquarters to be booked for murder.
Cast
- Barbara StanwyckBarbara StanwyckBarbara Stanwyck was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
as Kathy Ferguson Doyle - Sterling HaydenSterling HaydenSterling Hayden was an American actor and author. For most of his career as a leading man, he specialized in westerns and film noir, such as Johnny Guitar, The Asphalt Jungle and The Killing. Later on he became noted as a character actor for such roles as Gen. Jack D. Ripper in Dr...
as Police Lt. Bill Doyle - Raymond BurrRaymond BurrRaymond William Stacey Burr was a Canadian actor, primarily known for his title roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside. His early acting career included roles on Broadway, radio, television and in film, usually as the villain...
as Police Inspector Anthony (Tony) Pope - Fay WrayFay WrayFay Wray was a Canadian-American actress most noted for playing the female lead in King Kong...
as Alice Pope - Virginia GreyVirginia GreyVirginia Grey was an American actress.She was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of director Ray Grey. One of her early babysitters was movie star Gloria Swanson. Grey debuted at the age of ten in the silent film Uncle Tom's Cabin as Little Eva...
as Sara Alidos - Royal DanoRoyal DanoRoyal Edward Dano was an American film and television character actor.-Early life:Dano was born in New York City to Mary Josephine , an Irish immigrant, and Caleb Edward Dano, a printer for newspapers. He reportedly left home at the age of twelve and at various intervals, lived in Florida, Texas...
as Police Capt. Charlie Alidos - Robert Griffin as Police Sgt. James
- Dennis Cross as Police Sgt. Jules
- Jay AdlerJay AdlerJay Adler was an American actor in theater, television, and film.Born in New York City, New York, he was the eldest child of Yiddish theater stars Jacob and Sara Adler, and the brother of the more famous Luther and Stella.Jay Adler died at age 81 in Woodland Hills, California and was buried in the...
as Mr. Nalence - Stuart WhitmanStuart WhitmanStuart Maxwell Whitman is an American actor.Stuart Whitman is arguably best-known for playing Marshal Jim Crown in the western television series Cimarron Strip in 1967...
as Laboratory Technician - Malcolm AtterburyMalcolm AtterburyMalcolm Atterbury was a stage and vaudeville actor who was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is probably most well known as Bixby in Wagon Train and Lee Reinhard in Dragnet...
as Police Officer Spitz - Robert QuarryRobert QuarryRobert Walter Quarry was an American actor, known for several prominent horror film roles.Quarry was born in Santa Rosa, California, the son of Mable and Paul Quarry, a doctor. His films include Count Yorga, Vampire , its sequel The Return of Count Yorga , and Dr...
as Sam, Reporter - Gail Bonney as Mrs. London
- Joe ConleyJoe ConleyJoe Conley is an American actor.In a career going back to 1956, he has played many roles, but is probably most remembered for the part of storekeeper "Ike Godsey" in The Waltons opposite Ronnie Claire Edwards, who portrayed the bossy wife Corabeth Walton Godsey.He is married with three daughters...
as Delivery Boy
Critical reception
Critic Dan Callahan gave the film a positive review, writing, "Hayden installs Stanwyck into a hellish suburbia where the women only talk about their TV sets; after a particularly trying montage of idle housewife chatter, Stanwyck rages against the mediocrity all around her. When she rails against her kitchen duties, she's a '30s star railing potently against '50s conformity. Though her character turns violent, the reasons behind her anger are powerfully expressed and the film puts you on her side. This overlooked, subversive movie has a strong feminist message and an even stronger Stanwyck performance."Critic Glenn Erickson liked the film's noir screenplay and wrote, "Crime of Passion is a fascinating film that goes head-on with the classic conception of the femme fatale character. Screenwriter Jo Eisinger wrote the delirious 1946 Gilda
Gilda
Gilda is a 1946 American black-and-white film noir directed by Charles Vidor. It stars Glenn Ford and Rita Hayworth in her signature role as the ultimate femme fatale. The film was noted for cinematographer Rudolph Mate's lush photography, costume designer Jean Louis' wardrobe for Hayworth , and...
, noir's most romantically perverse epic, but here she dissects the murderous female from a 50s perspective. It's hard-edged, direct in its theme and both dated and progressive at the same time. Barbara Stanwyck and Sterling Hayden make an exceptional screen couple."
External links
- Crime of Passion film review at DVD Verdict
- Crime of Passion film clip at You Tube