Thanks for the memories!

Great Film overall

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Expertly paced proto feminist indictment of the '50s US suburbia, directed boldly and efficiently by Gerd Oswald - an "outsider" of the Hollywood system. Stanwyck is in her usual neurotic best as the trapped, sexually frustrated wife, while Hayden and Burr turn in solid supporting performances. Interestingly, no child ever appears in the film, a rather curious fact for a film criticising the american dream of the era, enigmatically leaning the story towards an adult critique of the sexual predicament of the couple as the primary social unit.

Hard-boiled LAPD detective Royal Dano, tracking a fugitive in San Francisco, rubs local reporters the wrong way with his failure to communicate, none more so than fiercely independent Barbara Stanwyck, whom he advises to go home and make dinner for her husband. She doesn't have one, of course, but she soon does after falling in lust with Dano's stolid but hunky sidekick Sterling Hayden.Marry in haste, repent at leisure. The dullest audience member can see this is a bad idea. After the life of a suburban LA housewife has driven her literally to tears, Stanwyck devotes her Lady Macbethian wiles to advancing her hubby's career ahead of that of his superior officer. These machinations involve police commissioner Raymond Burr and his wife Fay Wray. Yes, Kong's crush is now married to Perry Mason.Needless to say, all does not end well here. The cast alone would make this film worth a look, but it has many other virtues, including a slick professionalism and enough twists and turns to keep things moving along without any filler or padding. Although feminism and women's liberation were not in the general public's consciousness until the 60s, one can see their roots in many 50s films. If there is a Film Studies course somewhere entitled Proto-feminism in Film Noir, and there probably is, this would be right up there as subject matter along with various other films featuring Stanwyck, Joan Crawford, Ida Lupino et al. Not that it preaches about it, just something there as a springboard for Stanwyck's actions.

Kathy (Barbara Stanwyck) leaves the newspaper business to marry homicide detective Bill but is frustrated by his lack of ambition and the banality of life in the suburbs. Her drive to advance Bill's career soon takes her down a dangerous path.Barbara Stanwyck, Raymond Burr, Fay Wray, Robert Quarry and others... this is quite the cast. That alone should make this worth watching. Stanwyck leads the way, and while this may not be her finest performance, it is always nice to see her in the lead.How this is not considered one of the better-known film noir movies out there is something of a mystery to me given those involved. It certainly is not seen on the level as "Asphalt Jungle" or the works of Fritz Lang. Maybe it should be?

Crime of Passion (1957)** (out of 4) Sussessful woman Kathy Ferguson (Barbara Stanwyck) gives up her career when she falls for a police officer (Sterling Hayden). The two are eventually married but the wife grows tired of her husband not working harder to accomplish more so she decides to strike up a relationship with his superior (Raymond Burr) in hopes to help the husband's career but everything backfires. CRIME OF PASSION struck me as a rather far-fetched and over-dramatic story that never really grabbed my attention. There's no question that the entire cast is in fine form but at the same time I just couldn't get caught up in their story simply because I found it to be rather silly and at times poorly handled. I think one of the biggest issues for me was the Stanwyck character and the various things she does throughout the picture. I mean, it seems like this hard-working woman wouldn't have thrown her job away to begin with and it seems like she would have realized that this man wasn't going to be her match. The entire plot with the Burr character is just so far-fetched that I had a hard time believing such a smart woman would sink this low and be fooled so badly. Stanwyck is certainly believable in the part but then again she's always strong in these type of roles. Hayden was also very believable in his part and it was nice seeing Fay Wray in her supporting bit. The standout is clearly Burr who seems to be having a great time playing this low-life character.