Crime and Punishment (1935) ( Crime & Punishment )

Crime and Punishment (1935) (Blu-Ray) (*)

$24.99

Alternate Title: Crime & Punishment
Language Selections:
English ( Mono )
English ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
United Kingdom ( Blu-Ray/Region B )

Running Time:
88 min

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen

Special Features:
Commentary
Documentary
Featurette
Interactive Menu
Music Video
Photo Gallery
Scene Access
Special Edition
Black & White
Remastered

Movie filmed in 1935 and produced in:
United States ( USA, Canada )

Directed By:
Josef von Sternberg

Written By:
Joseph Anthony
Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Actors:
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

Synopsis:

The story goes that Peter Lorre wanted to star in a film version of Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, but was certain that Columbia Pictures chieftain Harry Cohn would turn the project down flat. So Lorre hired a secretary to type up a synopsis of the story in words of one syllable then submitted this simplified resume to Cohn. Enthusiastic over the project, Cohn gave Lorre the go-ahead -- but first he asked 'Tell me -- has this book got a publisher?' Apocryphal story or no, the fact is that Lorre did star in Columbia's Crime and Punishment and in the bargain was directed by the ultra-stylish Josef Von Sternberg. As the arrogant sociopath Raskolnikov, who is convinced that he can get away with the murder of a nasty pawnbroker because he is 'above' such intangibles as a conscience, Lorre is excellent, especially when his bravado is slowly eroded by the gentle but determined Inspector Porfiri (Edward Arnold). Like the aforementioned typed-up synopsis, the film oversimplifies the Dostoyevsky original, concentrating only on the crime, the pangs of guilt, the confession and the arrest: the punishment and its aftermath, so essential to the novel's overall impact, are dispensed with entirely. To make the film even more accessible to a mass audience, the story is subtly updated, though any distinctly 'contemporary' touches such as automobiles, telephones and current slang are studiously avoided. The supporting cast is wildly inconsistent: Mrs. Patrick Campbell is fine in her brief scenes as the vitriolic pawnbroker, but Marian Marsh is all wrong as the streetwalker heroine Sonya. The principal strength of this Crime and Punishment is the film-long game of cat-and-mouse between the reckless Raskolnikov and the quietly methodical Porfiri.

A modern day adaptation of Dostoyevsky's classic novel about a young student who is forever haunted by the murder he has committed.

Story of a young man tortured by moral doubts who kills an evil, greedy pawnbroker and who suffers a final spiritual awakening through the love of a poor street girl.

This product was added to our catalog on Friday 10 June, 2022.