Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 1935
Crime and Punishment (1935 American film)
Buy Crime and Punishment (1935 American film) now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
'Crime and Punishment' is a 1935 American drama film directed by Josef von Sternberg for Columbia Pictures.[http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=4127 The AFI Catalog of Feature Films:'Crime and Punishment'] The screenplay was adapted by Joseph Anthony and S.K. Lauren from Fyodor Dostoevsky's 1866 novel of the same title. The film stars Peter Lorre in the lead role of Raskolnikov (here named Roderick instead of Rodion).
Von Sternberg, who was contractually obliged to make the film, disliked it, later writing that it was "no more related to the true text of the novel than the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Gower is related to the Russian environment."[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026246/trivia IMDB trivia]
The Library of Congress holds a print.'Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artist Collection at The Library of Congress' p.37 c.1978 by American Film Institute
Synopsis
The American Film Institute provides a summary of the film's narrative:
Cast
* Peter Lorre - Roderick Raskolnikov
* Edward Arnold - Inspector Porfiry
* Marian Marsh - Sonya
* Tala Birell - Antonya Raskolnikov
* Elizabeth Risdon - Mrs. Raskolnikov (as Elisabeth Risdon)
* Robert Allen - Dmitri
* Douglas Dumbrille - Grilov
* Gene Lockhart - Lushin
* Charles Waldron - University President
* Thurston Hall - Editor
* Johnny Arthur - Clerk
* Mrs. Patrick Campbell - Pawnbroker
Production
Sternberg and Paramount studios ended their eight-year affiliation with the completion of 'The Devil is a Woman', the director's seventh and final collaboration with actress Marlene Dietrich.Beltzer, 2004: Sternberg "banished from Paramount"Swanbeck, 2013Baxter, 1971. P. 130
Producer B. P. Schulberg, recently expelled from Paramount, joined Harry Cohn's Columbia Pictures and quickly brought Sternberg on board in a two-picture contract with the "poorly financed" studio.Baxter, 1971. P. 130Supten, 2006: "Columbia [was] still uncomfortably close to their days as a Poverty Row outfit..."Weinberg, 1967. p. 66: Sternberg lacked "the freedom and the largesse he had enjoyed at Paramount."
Dostoyevsky's psychological exploration of a murderer, his remorse and redemption posed an immense challenge for cinematic rendering "as there could be no visual equivalent [for] the author's detailed reasoning and elaborate description of [his characters] mental attitudes."Baxter, 1971. P. 131 Harry Cohn approved the project in part because 'Crime and Punishment', first published in 1866, was in the public domain and would require no copyright fees.Swanbeck, 2013 'Crime and Punishment' exemplifies a trend in Hollywood of the 1930s towards elevating feature film credentials through adapting classical literature "to lend an air of prestige" to the film industry.Swanbeck, 2013Sarris, 1966. P. 44
The "odd cast", bestowed upon Sternberg, included a mix of Columbia contract artists as well as "supers"freelance players engaged without a contract, for a modest feethat satisfied Columbia's budgetary constraints.American Film Institute, 2017Sarris, 1966. P. 44: "[Sternberg] inherited script, cast, and miscast..."
Production code officials had reviewed a recent stage adaption of the novel and warned that the narrative describes "a failure of the police to arrest and prosecute the young college student [Raskolnikov]" and that "serious thematic difficulties will be encountered because of the characterization of the heroine [Sonya] as a prostitute. This characterization is a definite part of the plot."American Film Institute, 2017
Sternberg, recognizing the complexities inherent to the novel, prudently chose to compose a straightforward genre film "about a detective and a criminal."Swanbeck, 2013Baxter, 1971. P. 130
Critical reception
Writing for 'The Spectator' in 1936, Graham Greene gave the film a poor review, noting that despite the fine acting of Peter Lorre, this version of 'Crime and Punishment' was entirely too vulgar. Greene commented that the original Russian story of "religious and unhappy mind" had been altered in this picture into a "lunch-bar-chromium version" with idealism, ethics, and optimism "of a salesman who has never failed to sell his canned beans". He recommended 'Crime et Chtiment' as a much better version of the story. (reprinted in: )
References
Sources
*American Film Institute. 2017. Crime and Punishment (1935). Movie details, History section. Retrieved 2 July 2018. https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/4127
*Beltzer, Thomas. 2004. Crime and Punishment: A Neglected Classic. Senses of Cinema. Retrieved 2 July 2018. http://sensesofcinema.com/2004/cteq/crime_and_punishment/
*Baxter, John. 1971. 'The Cinema of Josef von Sternberg'. The International Film Guide Series. A.S Barners & Company, New York.
*Beltzer, Thomas. 2004. Crime and Punishment: A Neglected Classic. Senses of Cinema. Retrieved 2 July 2018. http://sensesofcinema.com/2004/cteq/crime_and_punishment/
*Sarris, Andrew. 1966. 'The Films of Josef von Sternberg'. Museum of Modern Art/Doubleday. New York, New York.
*Supten, Tom. 2006. 'Auteur in Distress: On Wallace Beery, von Sternberg, and Sergeant Madden'. Bright Lights Film Journal. Retrieved 12 July 2018. http://brightlightsfilm.com/auteur-distress-wallace-beery-von-sternberg-sergeant-madden/#.W0ea_ZCWyUk
*Swanbeck, Laura. 2013. The Crank: 'Crime and Punishment' Program Notes. UCLA Film and Television Archive. Retrieved 2 July 2018. http://www.tft.ucla.edu/mediascape/blog/the-crank-crime-and-punishment-program-notes-41113-screening/
Buy Crime and Punishment (1935 American film) now from Amazon
<-- Return to movies from 1935