Crime And Punishment (1935)

An impoverished student (Peter Lorre) of criminology kills an old woman (Mrs. Patrick Campbell) by beating her to death with a poker. While he at first feels no guilt over the murder, when a police inspector (Edward Arnold) plays a cat and mouse game with him, he begins to unravel. Based on the novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky, considered one of the greatest pieces of world literature, this is a Reader's Digest version of the Russian masterpiece and not even that. Not unexpectedly, the movie lacks the psychological complexities and subtleties of the novel. At an 89 minute running time, how could it possibly be expected to do the book justice. What we get is a gross simplification of the novel. As directed by Josef von Sternberg, the film looks quite good and his cinematographer Lucien Ballard does some nice things with shadows and light. But perhaps best of all is Peter Lorre in one of his few great roles. He can't turn a sow's ear into a silk purse but he's on the right track. With Edward Arnold, the lovely Marian Marsh, Elisabeth Risdon, Douglass Dumbrille and Tala Birell.