Crown v. Stevens

Crown v. Stevens is a 1936 British crime thriller film directed by Michael Powell. It was made as a quota quickie.[1]

Crown v. Stevens
Directed byMichael Powell
Produced byIrving Asher
Written byBrock Williams
Based onthe novel Third Time Unlucky by Laurence Meynell (credited as Lawrence Meynell)
StarringBeatrix Thomson
Patric Knowles
Glennis Lorimer
CinematographyBasil Emmott
Edited byBert Bates
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • 3 August 1936 (1936-08-03)
Running time
66 min
CountryUK
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Ex-dancer Doris Stevens kills a moneylender who is pressing her for settlement of her debt and threatening to tell her respectable husband. Jansen, who also owes money, sees her there but does not report her. Later, Jansen finds out the woman is his employer's wife. He later accidentally intervenes when Doris attempts to also murder her dull and stingy husband.[2]

Cast

Critical reception

At the time of the film's release, Kinematograph Weekly called it a "Vivid portrayal of a young woman who commits murder and then tries to poison her husband, thereby involving his employee, a witness to the former crime. Plot is entirely suited to those who do not demand that a crime story should justify its existence by reaching too high an artistic level in theme, acting or presentation. Definitely unsuited to the family, the picture may nevertheless find a place in the average programme as a quota thriller";[3] while more recently, TV Guide called it "Occasionally suspenseful," though opined "the plot is soggy and the actors all wet";[4] whereas Dennis Schwartz noted "a very entertaining little melodrama," and concluded "The acting honors go to (Beatrix) Thomson. The stage actress was superb as the quintessential femme fatale, and easily steals this film from her capable co-stars."[5]

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References
  1. "Teddington Studios Introduction". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 20 June 2010. Retrieved 9 July 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Contemporary Review (Kinematograph Weekly) - Crown v. Stevens (1936)". www.powell-pressburger.org.
  4. "Crown Vs Stevens - TV Guide". TVGuide.com.
  5. Schwartz, Dennis. "crownvsstevens". homepages.sover.net.


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