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United Artists
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Her husband was lying so close... the gun was even closer... now she was only one sin away from the Crime of Passion.
Kathy leaves the newspaper business to marry homicide detective Bill, but is frustrated by his lack of ambition and the banality of life in the suburbs. Her drive to advance Bill's career soon takes her down a dangerous path.
CinemaSerf
Jun 1, 2023 · via TMDB
"Kathy" (Barbara Stanwyck) is a feisty journalist who is sent to get the "woman's angle" on a crime and encounters a rather sexist captain and his more reasonable lieutenant "Doyle" (Sterling Hayden). After a bit of an whirlwind romance, the couple marry and move in together. It doesn't take her too long to discover that her husband, though loving, is actually a bit of a plodder who is content to work in the same job, with the same dull people, until he collects his clock. Their relationship starts to founder a little and that's when she becomes friendly with his unhappy colleague "Tony" (Raymond Burr) and his unassuming wife "Alice" (Far Wray). Pretty swiftly there is some cheating going on, but that only frustrates "Kathy" further, forcing a tragedy that has her husband and his entire team focused on an investigation that can only wreak havoc with all of their lives. This starts off quite strongly, with Stanwyck having a few pithy lines to deliver. As it meanders along, though, it loses that sharpness and becomes a bit more of a standard romantic thriller gone wrong! Raymond Burr could never be described as versatile, and he and Hayden battle one and other to see who can be the most wooden. It is watchable but could lose twenty minutes, I thought, leaving us with a far tighter, less verbose, story of betrayal that might just have worked better.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Barbara Stanwyck
Kathy Ferguson
Sterling Hayden
Lt. William Doyle
Raymond Burr
Inspector Tony Pope
Fay Wray
Alice Pope
Virginia Grey
Sara Alidas
Royal Dano
Capt. Charlie Alidas
Robert Griffin
Police Sgt. James
Dennis Cross
Police Sgt. Jules
Jay Adler
Mr. Nalence
Stuart Whitman
Laboratory Technician
Malcolm Atterbury
Police Officer Spitz
Robert Quarry
Sam, Reporter
Gail Bonney
Mrs. London
Joe Conley
Delivery Boy
Larry Carr
—
Jack Chefe
Bartender (uncredited)
Richard Collier
Reporter (uncredited)
Kenner G. Kemp
Party Guest (uncredited)
Peg La Centra
Mrs. James (uncredited)
Carl Sklover
Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
Cosmo Sardo
Guest at Birthday Party (uncredited)
Geraldine Wall
Justice of the Peace (uncredited)
Jean Howell
Mrs. Jules (uncredited)
Gerd Oswald
Director
Verna Fields
Sound Effects Editor
Jan 9, 1957
New York City, New York
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The Stranglers - Live '78, SF
1978
Saddle Leather Law
1944
Sign in to vote
Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
The Dark Knight
2008 · 14 wins
Halloween
1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
Halloween II
1981 · 11 wins
Trivia
Leaderboard →Playing as a guest — sign in to save your score and rank on the leaderboard.
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Guess the movie from a clue — tagline, plot, cast and more. Pick from four posters.
What movie experience do you prefer?
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