bob the moo Crime of Passion sees ambitious journalist Kathy fall for and marry the simple cop Bill Doyle and move into a world of settled domesticity. Her ambitions however are not satisfied and as she tries to manipulate her way up the social and career ladder for her and Bill, she loses sight of what is important and things start to go wrong.With Stanwyck, Burr and Hayden in the cast I was looking forward to this film and on that front I was happy enough because the cast were as solid as those names would suggest. The problem is not with them but rather with a plot that moves too quickly, doesn't always ring true and is tidied up too easily. We meet Kathy as an aspiring journalist who has ambitions but within a few scenes she has settled down with Bill – a man that one key scene in their new home tells us, that she really doesn't know at all but it is clear to the viewer that the life models for these two don't align. Suddenly we have personal ambitions replaced with ambitions for Bill's career and from there things go wrong in ways that don't really ring true either. I liked Kathy as a character but her frustrations are all over the place – she hates the domestic life of the housewife circle but yet her attempts at betterment are focused on Bill, not herself. Her relationship with Tony Pope is also out of nowhere and again doesn't convince. From here things move very quickly to a conclusion that is far too tidy for its own good and doesn't satisfy as it should.The delivery of the situations always feels rushed and although it pushes a dark tone, it doesn't support it with the material. The cast do all they can though and indeed it is Stanwyck that makes the difference as she sells her character the best she can. Her driven and frustrated performance makes the unconvincing narrative a little less unconvincing. Hayden is solid as you expect and I liked this naïve, rather plain- living character. Burr is a decent presence but he is a narrative device rather than a character – he serves this function well but nothing more.Crime of Passion should have been a much stronger film but instead the narrative is unconvincing and jumps events without making good connections. The cast help cover for this and give good turns but the film is not really deserving of their efforts.

Spikeopath Crime of Passion is directed by Gerd Oswald and written by Jo Eisinger. It stars Barbara Stanwyck, Sterling Hayden, Raymond Burr and Fay Wray. Music is by Paul Dunlap and cinematography by Joseph LaShelle.It's a strange one in many ways, in that it's a film of considerable intelligence and wry social critique. It even folds inwards the role of the film noir femme fatale, marking it out as fascinating. Yet it never fully delivers for dramatic purpose, leaving it as a modest entry in the last throes of the classic era film noir cycle.Plot sees Stanwyck as Kathy Ferguson, a strong and intelligent newspaper columnist who really doesn't suffer fools gladly. However, when she helps the police with a crime she meets and falls in love with Lt. Bill Doyle (Hayden), and after a whirlwind romance she marries him and finds herself in a picket fence suburban hell. Tiring of Bill standing still, happy with his place in society, Kathy takes drastic action to elevate their life to greater heights...Such is the quality of lead cast members doing what they did best, film manages to hold the attention from a narrative perspective, and with LaShelle's photography firmly dealing in the 50s noir realm of darkness in daylight, there's a claustrophobic atmosphere wrung out to accentuate Kathy's suburban Suzy Homemamker suffocation. The wry observations of social standings and the woman's role in the 50s home is given skilled direction by Oswald (A Kiss Before Dying), the feminist viewpoints standing tall at the front of the play.Unfortunately all the brains and technical attributes involved in production can't hide the fact that it's very rarely exciting or suspenseful, practically crawling to a sedate resolution that isn't exactly satisfying. There's a lot of good here, making it worth a watch for fans of the stars or for those that like some brains in their noir diet. But you may end up as frustrated as I was come the end... 6/10

MartinHafer A hard-boiled middle-aged newspaper woman (Barbara Stanwyck) inexplicably falls for a police detective (Sterling Hayden) and gives up her career. Considering that they just met and then got married, it's not surprising that soon afterwords she would come to hate the banality of life in suburbia. She can't stand the life of a housewife and the dull friends--she wants more. So, this scheming and ambitious woman sets out to make changes in their lives--and her first order of business is to get her husband a more important job--even if he is quite content with his lot in life. So, she begins arranging 'coincidences' that help her get in good with the higher-ups at the force and thus improve the quality of their friendships. And, considering that Hayden isn't all that perceptive, she is able to manipulate him throughout the film and use other men (particularly Raymond Burr) for her wicked plans. But, when her plans don't go as she expects, she's even willing to kill! This is a strange film noir-like film. The camera angles and elements of the plot are very noir, though it's highly unusual to make such a film without focusing on everyday criminals but the police. It's actually a noir and the 1940s/50s 'manipulative woman' genre combined (manipulative woman films are often associated with Joan Crawford though Stanwyck also made a few). I really enjoyed it and there was only one sour note--solving the crime at the end of the film was way too easy. There is no logical reason why Stanwyck would so readily admit to the killing. Still, it's an entertaining film from start to finish.

Claudio Carvalho The successful columnist of The San Francisco Post Kathy Ferguson (Barbara Stanwyck) is an independent woman that has the intention of never getting married. However, when she meets the LAPD Detective Lt. Bill Doyle (Sterling Hayden) during the investigation of Dana Case that is resolved with her support, they immediately fall in love for each other and get married. Kathy quits her job and moves to Los Angeles to be a housewife. Bill is very close to his colleagues and their wives, and they have frequent dinner parties at his home, and the boredom of the conversation with other wives and the lack of ambition of Bill in the Police Department make Kathy to plot a scheme to push Bill's career to a higher position. Kathy forces the encounter with his superior Police Inspector Anthony Pope (Raymond Burr) and his wife Alice Pope (Fay Wray) and destroys the friendship of Bill with his immediate superior Police Capt. Charlie Alidos (Royal Dano); then she has one night stand with Tony to get the promise that he will recommend Bill to his position since he is planning to retire. When Kathy realizes that Tony's promise was just pillow talk, the ambitious woman takes a decision with no return.The film-noir "Crime of Passion" is quite dated today but I believe that it was ahead of time in 1957 with an engaging and amoral story of ambition and murder. Barbara Stanwyck plays Kathy Ferguson Doyle, an ambitious woman in the 50's not tailored to be a conventional housewife that loves her husband that is a man that prioritizes his family over his career. The emptiness of her life associated to the lack of interest of her beloved husband in his career drives Kathy insane and capable of committing a murder and destroy her family and certainly Bill's career. Just as a curiosity, the wife of Police Inspector Tony Pope is Fay Wray, the unforgettable Ann Darrow from "King Kong". My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Da Ambição ao Crime" ("From the Ambition to Crime")Note: On 24 Jul 2018, I saw this film again.