Crime Without Passion (1934)
3.7 of 5 from 46 ratings
1h 10min
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- Synopsis:
It's a drama blessed with marked originality and photographed with consummate artistry. And not the least of its many advantages is that of having Claude Rains in the main rôle. This actor, it may be remembered, was only beheld for something like thirty seconds in his first screen vehicle, "The Invisible Man". It is quite a different matter in this current offering, for he not only appears in virtually all the scenes, but in some of them there are double exposures of him. In making this picture, Messrs. Hecht and MacArthur realized that in order to further their aims they needed an expert camera man and therefore they engaged Lee Garmes, and his work in the production is of great value to the story, for he reveals a veritable genius for effective camera angles. Mr. Rains' rôle is that of Lee Gentry, a dissolute and thoroughly unscrupulous lawyer, who does not hesitate to manufacture evidence. He has a quick tongue, a command of language and is given to ridiculing his opponents politely. This cynical gentleman at the opening of the chronicle is eager to terminate his affair with one Carmen Brown, a dancer; for another girl, named Katy Costello, is much more to his liking. Subsequently Gentry visits Carmen at her apartment and after a discussion he shoots her. Believing that she is dead, he proceeds to employ his knowledge of criminal activities in attempting to prove an alibi. But, shrewd as he is, he discovers that too many persons have set eyes upon him and he also realizes that Katy might inadvertently be responsible for furnishing a motive for the crime. The drama has something vaguely reminiscent of "Payment Deferred" in its dénouement. It is ingeniously manipulated and unlike so many films there is no telling what is coming next. - Actors:
- Claude Rains, Margo, Whitney Bourne, Stanley Ridges, Leslie Adams, Alice Anthon, Dorothy Bradshaw, Fanny Brice, Jack Carr, Esther Dale, Fraye Gilbert, Greta Granstedt, Helen Hayes, Ben Hecht, Ethelyne Holt, Charles Anthony Hughes, Alice Jefferson, Charles Kennedy, Mickey King, Charles MacArthur
- Genres:
- Classics, Drama
- Collections:
- A Brief History of Singer Biopics
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