{"id":5230,"date":"2008-02-05T15:44:14","date_gmt":"2008-02-05T22:44:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5230"},"modified":"2021-01-31T15:06:53","modified_gmt":"2021-01-31T22:06:53","slug":"crime-without-passion-1934","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5230","title":{"rendered":"Crime Without Passion (1934)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Always saving somebody&#8217;s life, so abominably clever at solving other people&#8217;s trouble &#8212; so half-witted when it comes to my own.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Crime-Without-Passion-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Crime-Without-Passion-Poster-199x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-28590\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Crime-Without-Passion-Poster-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Crime-Without-Passion-Poster-85x128.jpg 85w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Crime-Without-Passion-Poster.jpg 266w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA successful lawyer (Claude Rains) engaged to an icy blonde (Whitney Bourne) accidentally shoots his mistress (Margo), then constructs an elaborate series of alibis to cover up his crime.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Claude Rains Films<\/li>\n<li>Jealousy<\/li>\n<li>Lawyers<\/li>\n<li>Love Triangle<\/li>\n<li>Womanizers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nThis little-seen psychological thriller establishes itself as a must-see gem from its fantastical opening sequence, in which we witness the three dark-haired &#8220;Furies&#8221; of Greek myth emerging full-form from droplets of blood, and immediately wreaking gleeful havoc upon unsuspecting mortals. When this mind-bending montage comes to a close and the camera settles upon the story&#8217;s all-too-human protagonist (Rains), the effect is somewhat unsettling &#8212; yet Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur&#8217;s clever, witty screenplay immediately draws us in to Rains&#8217; romantic dilemma. While the story remains firmly grounded in &#8220;real life&#8221; from this moment on (with only occasional nods to the supernatural), the point has been well established that Rains&#8217; cocky, womanizing lawyer will be made to pay for his arrogance, and in a suitably dramatic fashion. <\/p>\n<p>Rains is excellent in the lead role, managing to sustain our interest despite his character&#8217;s decidedly unsavory actions and demeanor. Equally impressive is 17-year-old Margo (castanet-clicking &#8220;Clo-Clo&#8221; in Val Lewton&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=3395\"><em>The Leopard Man<\/em><\/a>) in her screen debut as the object of Rains&#8217; lustful affections &#8212; while we desperately want to shake some sense into her (how can she be in love with such a cad?!), she engages our genuine sympathies as well. Wrapping up within a neat 70 minutes, <em>Crime Without Passion<\/em> tells its fall-from-grace narrative quickly and succinctly, and is well worth the enjoyable ride.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Claude Rains as Lee Gentry<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/01\/crime-passion-rains.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/01\/crime-passion-rains.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5235\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Margo (in her screen debut) as Carmen Brown<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/01\/crime-passion-margo.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/01\/crime-passion-margo.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5233\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>The phenomenal opening montage sequence, showing the &#8220;Three Furies&#8221; emerging from drops of blood and wreaking havoc on humankind<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/01\/crime-passion-camerawork.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/01\/crime-passion-camerawork.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5232\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Lee Garmes&#8217; impressive camera work<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/01\/crime-passion-opening.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/01\/crime-passion-opening.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5234\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Hecht and MacArthur&#8217;s clever screenplay<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as an all around &#8220;good show&#8221;. Listed as a Cult Movie in the back of Peary&#8217;s book.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Good Show<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/imdb.com\/title\/tt0025009\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1934\/09\/01\/archives\/claude-rains-in-the-first-hechtmacarthur-production-crime-without.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Always saving somebody&#8217;s life, so abominably clever at solving other people&#8217;s trouble &#8212; so half-witted when it comes to my own.&#8221; Synopsis: A successful lawyer (Claude Rains) engaged to an icy blonde (Whitney Bourne) accidentally shoots his mistress (Margo), then constructs an elaborate series of alibis to cover up his crime. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Claude Rains Films Jealousy Lawyers Love Triangle Womanizers Review: This little-seen psychological thriller establishes itself as a must-see gem from its fantastical opening sequence,&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5230\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5230"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67472,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5230\/revisions\/67472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}