Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

DKosty123 This is a film noir style of movie which features Barbara Stanwyck as the wife of a hard driving chief police detective. Her husband always goes for the headlines and often gets them with the help of his department including Burr. Everything is going fine until - well this is where Barbara gets in.In the case of this policeman's wife, she starts getting involved in things she should not be involved with. Then comes the ultimate crime of all, she has an affair with someone very close to her husband. Then she feels guilty about it and can not get past it. So she steals a gun and guns down the man like a dog.To solve the crime, Bill Doyle needs help to get this cop killer so in a small role Stuart Whitman is Laboratory Technician who gets the evidence rolling, though it takes the whole department to get the goods on Kathy Doyle. There is more to it, as Barbara Stanwyck is Kathy Doyle, Sterling Hayden is Bill Doyle, Raymond Burr is Tony Pope and Fay Wray is Alice Pope.

LeonLouisRicci Mistitled, the Crime here is not one of Passion but of other Things. Frustration Mostly, an Inability to Escape the Confines of Conservatism and a Predetermined Place that Society has Set Up for a Woman in Postwar America. Barbara Stanwyck is a Thoroughbred asked to drive a Buggy. It is this Predicament that the Film Exploits but while it is an Edgy and Topical Story for the Late Fifties, the Execution and Exposition is None too Smooth. A Good Cast tries Nobly to make it all Say Something Worthy, it is just too Thin a Story and Most of it is Forced into its Many Turns as Stanwyck comes Unglued.The Abruptions that the Movie takes from the Beginning are Stark and Strain Credulity. There are some Unintentionally Funny Moments (darning socks) and some of the Melodrama is Murky and the Result is a Somewhat Haphazard Film with a Good Story to Tell and some Sociological Comments to Make, but it isn't Told Very Well and the Statements are more Thrown Out There than Realized.Overall it is a Mediocre Attempt at a Very Interesting Take on a Situation that Needed some Exploration and Examining. The Housewife's Plight and a Women's Place in the Man's World of the 1950's was a Target Worth Shooting Towards. This One Came Close to the Mark but Missed.

tvnutt I gave this 9 starts for two reasons: (1)I am a big admirer of Ray Burr and love to watch anything he does, (2) I love when characters become morally depraved by force or by choice. Now, I don't listen to critics...never found them useful. If I see a preview for a movie or it has an actor I like in it, I'll see it. I enjoy watching films and I don't see how picking films apart, comparing them to others is necessary. If you want to see a film, see it. Don't waste your time analyzing it. Anyway, to the review. Barbara Stanwyck plays quite the character in Kathy Ferguson, who works for a newspaper. She's not a reporter but rather the "Dear Abby" type. Still, it is impressive to see a woman having a career(and in the media for that matter). instead of being relegated to the role of housewife...a rarity for the 50's. ***Quick note, a very young Joe Conley plays a food delivery boy at the newspaper. Joe, as you may know, played Ike Godsey on "The Waltons." I digress, anyway you can see that Kathy is conniving and will do anything to get herself to the top of the ladder. It turns out a woman writing for advice is wanted for murder and two cops arrive looking for Kathy's help in tracking down the woman. One of the cops, Bill Doyle(Sterling Haden), takes a shining to Kathy and her likewise. She even gives Doyle's partner a false lead so Bill can solve the case. See, right there you can tell Kathy is the type that will do whatever to get what she wants. It later becomes quite a shock when Kathy turns down a lucrative newspaper job to become Doyle's wife in the burbs. She likes it at first but, who is she kidding? He has card games while the wives sit in another room and talk about mundane "wife" issues. Kathy can't stand it nor can she stand her milquetoast husband. She begins to create a plan that will get her the happiness SHE wants and hopefully make her husband happy too. She causes a car accident with the wife of Doyle's boss...Inspector Tony Pope(Ray Burr). Soon the couples become friends and begin to socialize and Pope takes a liking to Kathy. He even shows her some files of people he thought committed crimes for "interesting" reasons. Of course, Kathy plays into this interest further by saying she'd like to see HIS files "from time to time." Basically she's feeding Pope's ego...sort of like cheating on her husband "emotionally" not physically. I don't think Kathy cares for Pope in "that way" but he is showing interest in her which is something she is thriving for and he certainly lusts after her. Kathy later tells her husband to leave the department and get a safer job in Beverly HIlls. He relents(barely) but after a few minutes agrees to resign. Kathy knows, I mean KNOWS, the resignation will not go through because she's been showing so much interest in Inspector Pope that he'll beg Bill to stay. Turns out, Pope tells Doyle to rethink the resignation as things will be changing in the department. Kathy has a nice grin on her face upon hearing this. However, things don't change as fast as Kathy wants and she later plants notes that her husband easily finds. The notes accuse her of having an affair with someone in the department. This enrages Doyle(finally showing some guts) as Kathy had hoped. She claims the wife of Doyle's superior, Capt. Charlie Alidos(Royal Dano), is spreading the rumors because the couple is jealous of Bill and Kathy's friendship with the Popes(especially Kathy and Tony's recent closeness). Bill heads to the station and beats up Alidos. Inspector Pope finds out, investigates both men and sends Alidos to another department while keeping Bill instead, not before asking if the notes mentioned anyone in particular(i.e. Pope). Doyle quickly becomes Capt. but it's not enough for Kathy. She learns Pope's wife is ill and he plans to retire. She wants Bill to be Inspector and Pope said it could be possible. Then he kisses Kathy passionately. She pulls away but then realizes(you can see it in her eyes) if she sleeps with Pope he'll make Bill an inspector. Well, men lie and so does Tony. He tells Kathy to leave him alone and that the one-night stand was a mistake on both parts. He warns her to leave him alone and, of course, she doesn't. Now she can't live with the fact that she put-out for another man and didn't get anything in return. She decides someone needs to die and soon she finds herself on the opposite side of the law. I love how Ray uses Kathy and how she resorts to becoming a sex pawn. Ray plays the kind of man you love to hate and it was just before he started his role as "Perry Mason."

Michael O'Keefe Interesting crime drama directed by Gerd Oswald. Kathy Ferguson(Barbara Stanwyck)is a newspaper columnist unhappy with her job. She has brains and talent...and very easy on the eyes. She is blindsided by love. "Fergie" falls in love with Los Angeles Police Lt. Bill Doyle(Sterling Hayden). She is determined and self assured, while her new husband seems to lack ambition. Kathy does her best to help Bill climb the ladder in rank; she even satisfies Police Inspector Tony Pope(Raymond Burr)in the process. No longer an ace columnist, but an unhappy suburban housewife, Mrs. Doyle blames Bill's job for her loneliness. And when Pope refuses to keep his promise to promote Bill, Kathy becomes a desperate woman scorned. When Pope is found dead with one shot to the head, who do you think is a prime suspect? This movie was filmed entirely at RKO-Pathe Studios in Culver City, California. CRIME of PASSION proves what drives an intelligent, and otherwise, normal person to commit murder. Supporting cast includes: Royal Dano, Fay Wray, Robert Griffin and Virginia Grey.