Crime and Punishment (1935)

Man is haunted by a murder he's committed.

Director:

Josef von Sternberg

Writers:

Joseph Anthony, Fyodor Dostoevsky (novel) (as Dostoievsky, Feodor Dostoievsky)

Stars:

Edward Arnold, Peter Lorre, Marian Marsh

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Peter Lorre	...	Roderick Raskolnikov
Edward Arnold	...	Insp. Porfiry
Marian Marsh	...	Sonya
Tala Birell	...	Antonya Raskolnikov
Elisabeth Risdon	...	Mrs. Raskolnikov
Robert Allen	...	Dmitri
Douglass Dumbrille	...	Grilov
Gene Lockhart	...	Lushin
Charles Waldron	...	University president
Thurston Hall	...	Editor
Johnny Arthur	...	Clerk
Mrs. Patrick Campbell	...	Pawnbroker
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
A. Gest	...	Clerk

Storyline

Roderick Raskolnikov, a brilliant criminology student and writer, becomes embittered by poverty and his inability to support his family. When he sees a desperate prostitute, Sonya, degraded by a vicious pawnbroker, Raskolnikov, a proponent of the idea that some people are imbued with such intelligence that the law cannot be applied to them as to other people, decides to rid the world of the pawnbroker and thus save his family and Sonya as well from the fate poverty forces on them. When Porphiry, the police detective investigating the murder, encounters Raskolnikov, he finds a man nearly crippled by the guilt and paranoia his deed has burdened him with. But Raskolnikov clings with as much coldness and calculation as he can muster to his guiding idea, that some crimes ought not to be punished.

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Plot Keywords:

fainting man | garnet | psychotronic film | shrewiish woman | pawnbroker | 

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Taglines:

A Superb Drama of Human Emotions!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

[Mrs. Patrick Campbell on Josef von Sternberg] I grasped how foolish I had been to imagine for one moment that there was going to be any intelligent pleasure in working even with this man. He wanted only obedience and silence to get his own effects. Anything in my face and figure that wasn't ugly enough, he made into a camera distortion. The director and the cameraman together did the 'acting' of my short role, helped, I suppose, by the cutting room. When I saw the rushes, I knew beyond question that no director asks for imagination, gifts, or experience from the artist. I had myself wished to put the necessary horror and ugliness into my face, voice, and movements, but instead it was achieved through the exaggeration of every shadow on my face, and even of the pores of my skin.

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Quotes

Pawnbroker Customer: There's something queer about this?

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Crazy Credits

One of the credits reads "Story by Dostoievsky". There is an asterisk next to this credit, and at the bottom it says, "Feodor Dostoievsky, Russia's foremost author, wrote 'Crime and Punishment' in 1866'".

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Connections

Referenced in Dynasty: Grimes and Punishment (1989)

User Reviews

Nice updating of the classic novel

Columbia Pictures updated Fydor Dostoyevsky's classic novel "Crime and Punishment" from its original era and set it during the bleak years of the Great Depression. The updating works due to an excellent director and a superb cast. Josef von Sternberg guided the production along with his usual flair, making "Crime and Punishment" an entertaining motion picture. In the film, Roderick Raskolnikov (Peter Lorre) murders a haggish, old pawnbroker and soon discovers that he hasn't committed the perfect crime. Inspector Porfiry (Edward Arnold) is on to him and starts a cat and mouse game with Roderick that nearly drives Roderick insane. Also, a sympathetic prostitute, Sonya (Marian Marsh), falls in love with Roderick and begs him to give himself up and face the punishment that is coming to him. Although clearly a B-Film (notice that there are not many extras in the cast), "Crime and Punishment" is a good example of how an entertaining film can be made on a limited budget.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 January 1936 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Crimen y castigo

Filming Locations:

Columbia/Sunset Gower Studios - 1438 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

B.P. Schulberg Productions, Columbia Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1