" Crime Without Passion." At the Plaza Tuts grimly efficient piece
is the work of Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, two leading American scenario writers. Tired, apparently of Hollywood methods, they went to New York and started production themselves. But their story-- of a famous lawyer who struggles to protect himself against a threatening murder charge — follows a fairly familiar Hollywood pattern. Their treatment, too, is not-particularly original, though they make an unusually generous—and quite effective—use of the subjective soliloquy device. whereby a character's unspoken thoughts are given audible form.
However, Crime Without Passion is a strong, dramatic entertainment, particularly exciting during the sequence which shows the lawyer working against time to coistruct an elaborate alibi. He is played by Claude Rains, who give, an admirably incisive performance and has good support from Margo, a Mexican dancer new to the screen. The film sags towards the middle, but not for long, and ends with swiftly unexpected irony.
GENERALLY RELEASED NEXT WEEK.
Death Takes a Holiday. Fredric March in. ambition.; symbolic story of Death in evening dress, studying the of men. Good acting ; pleasant Italian settings ; treatment never far above level of melodramatic fairy-tale. .rld
CHARLES. DAVY.
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