Fun, low-budget late noir, where we see capable, independent career woman Barbara Stanwyck fall in love with straight-arrow L.A. cop Sterling Hayden, try to fit in as a happy Fifties housewife, quickly go insane from the effort, and commit the crime of the title. There's abundant pre-feminist social commentary, as well as palpable heat between the principal players--we see at once what's keeping them together. But there are loose ends, too. If Stanwyck's so unhappy with cakes and pies and cleaning, why doesn't she just go out and get another job, as Hayden would surely allow? Why would she Make a Mistake with his boss, an unappealing Raymond Burr, then regret it instantly? And what palpable gains are to be gotten from her from committing the titular crime? Some nice location filming helps, and we understand how the stultifying life she's chosen is messing with her head. But the plot motivations aren't entirely credible.
Review of Crime of Passion
