Movie Cosmos - Crime Without Passion

Description:

Caddish lawyer Lee Gentry is going out with Katy Costello, but carrying on an affair with dancer Carmen Brown. When he wants to end the dalliance with Carmen, she is so distraught that she becomes suicidal. Seizing the gun from Carmen, he accidentally shoots her, and thinking she's dead, concocts a series of increasingly outlandish alibis to cover his tracks under the guidance of a ghostly apparition that is his alter ego.

Top Cast >

Claude Rains

As Lee Gentry

Margo

As Carmen Brown

Whitney Bourne

As Katy Costello

Stanley Ridges

As Eddie White

Leslie Adams

As State's Attorney O'Brien

Dorothy Bradshaw

As Jury Member (uncredited)

Fanny Brice

As Woman in Hotel Lobby (uncredited)

Jack Carr

As Defendant (uncredited)

Esther Dale

As Miss Keeley (uncredited)

Fraye Gilbert

As Jury Member (uncredited)

Greta Granstedt

As Della (uncredited)

Helen Hayes

As Woman in Hotel Lobby (uncredited)

Ben Hecht

As Court Interviewer with Pipe (uncredited)

Charles Anthony Hughes

As Man (uncredited)

Charles Kennedy

As Police Lt. Norton (uncredited)

Charles MacArthur

As Second Interviewer (uncredited)

Cornelius MacSunday

As Gentry's Butler (uncredited)

Marjorie Main

As Backstage Wardrobe Woman (uncredited)

Marion Martin

As Theatre Cashier (uncredited)

Fuller Mellish

As Judge (uncredited)

Betty Real

As Waitress Slapping Lee Gentry (uncredited)

Betty Sundmark

As Jury Member (uncredited)

Paula Trueman

As Buster Malloy (uncredited)

Top Crew >

Ben Hecht

Screenplay, Director, Producer, Story

Charles MacArthur

Director, Screenplay, Producer

Lee Garmes

Director of Photography, Director

Oscar Levant

Additional Music

Arthur Ellis

Editor

Frank Tours

Original Music Composer, Music Arranger

Slavko Vorkapich

Editorial Services, Special Effects

Joseph I. Kane

Sound Recordist

Albert Johnson

Set Decoration

Arthur Rosson

General Manager

Mickey King

Choreographer

Leslie Bain

Special Effects

James L. Shute

Writers' Assistant

Reviews:

CinemaSerf (6/10)

Claude Rains is good in this as the smug, intelligent lawyer "Gentry" who prides himself on being able to get even the most odious of criminals acquitted. That ensures that just about every one in law enforcement loathes him - until, that is, serendipity strikes a blow as he gets very jealous about the antics of girlfriend "Carmen" (Margo) and is soon having to establish an alibi for himself - and things really take a turn for the bizarre. Indeed, that's probably the word for much of this production. The opening scenes are quirky, to say the least - though it does revert to a better trodden path as it progresses. The writing is basic, and it's delivery frequently quite staccato in style which doesn't help the pace much, but it is still enjoyable to see the star playing well.

2022-06-13