MovieChat Forums > Crime of Passion (1957) Discussion > Where Was Alice? (There Be Spoilers)

Where Was Alice? (There Be Spoilers)

posted 11 years ago by Schmoozette
9 replies | jump to latest

Maybe I'm missing something, but when Tony Pope (Burr) got home and Kathy (Stanwyck) followed him in and eventually shot him, where the heck was Alice? I remembered that she had been released from the hospital, and I figured she was home. Anybody? Also: Cathy holding the gun at waist level--too low for a shot through the head! But, I just gotta say, wasn't watching Raymond Burr a blast? He was so expressive, and had much more going on behind the eyes than he ever did as Perry Mason! I would have loved to see him in more roles like that--not the good-doing lawyer, but not the dumb thug,either. Getting to watch those wheels in motion is what really did it for me!

[–] treeline1 11 years ago

Yes, I wondered where Alice was, too. I think they forgot she got out of the hospital.

(I kept expecting Kathy to kill the wife so she could be with Tony.)

The end was strangely quiet. They walk into the police station and say nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not, "How could you?! What were you thinking?! Are you crazy?! Just nothing.

[–] idcook 10 years ago

The end was strangely quiet. They walk into the police station and say nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not, "How could you?! What were you thinking?! Are you crazy?! Just nothing.

That conversation took place in their home before he took her into the station.

"Your thinking is untidy, like most so-called thinking today." (Murder, My Sweet)

[–] idcook 10 years ago

Cathy holding the gun at waist level--too low for a shot through the head!

There’s no telling where a shot fired by an inexperienced hand will go.

I didn’t take Cathy for a marksman and we really don’t get to see the angle she’s holding the gun when she shoots. After she fires the camera moves downward to show her holding the gun at a more or less level position after having fired the shots.

"Your thinking is untidy, like most so-called thinking today." (Murder, My Sweet)

[–] jmillerdp 9 years ago

My question is: How did Kathy go from being a hard-working, level-headed professional woman to being a complete looney-toon housewife?

I. Drink. Your. Milkshake! [slurp!] I DRINK IT UP! - Daniel Plainview - There Will Be Blood

[–] annseton 9 years ago

Raymond Burr said she was a kook who belonged in those files on whack women. Foreshadowing.

I think Alice was probably sedated. You know they really pushed the tranqs and sedatives back then on women who were emotionally stressed.

Same Rules Apply

[–] liscarkat (16476) 6 years ago

"How did Kathy go from being a hard-working, level-headed professional woman to being a complete looney-toon housewife?"

That's the biggest flaw of this movie. She goes from being a completely normal person to over-the-edge mental case who kills a guy. It just isn't plausible.

[–] IFeedPigeons 9 years ago

If you liked Burr's performance here, then seek out "The Blue Gardenia." Another good, slightly similar role for him. I give that one a 7/10, but it's well worth a try. It stars Anne Baxter and Richard Conte.

I agree when you say that Cathy holding the gun at waist level was too low for a shot through the head. It actually made me smile to see that. And of course not only that, but she got him in the head (a relatively small target) with just ONE FATAL bullet. That's one hell of a job. Maybe she should have joined the force too, alongside her husband. With that kind of marksmanship it was SHE who could very well have risen up to the top rank as a copper in no time, forget about HIM.

I gave this film a 7/10 too. Barbara Stanwyck is one of my top performers. Double Indemnity is my favorite movie of all time, despite the ridiculous wig, which should have received it's own billing right under Edward G. Robinson (my fave actor).

[–] Schmoozette 9 years ago

I may have seen The Blue Gardenia, but thanks for reminding me; I'll try to do so again. OMG, Double Indemnity is fantastic! It's my favorite Fred MacMurray movie. I also love Edward G. Robinson. I'm reading a book now about Michael Curtiz, and Robinson pops up in it. As I'm sure you know, he starred in one of Curtiz' most successful films, The Sea Wolf, which I never really watched from start to finish--gotta fix that...cheers!



[–] liscarkat (16476) 6 years ago

It doesn't matter where she was holding the gun, at waist level, or anywhere else. What matters is the angle at which she was holding it. If it was tilted slightly upward, it could have hit him in the head. However, given her probable inexperience, combined with the difficulty of hitting a relatively small target with a handgun, it would have been a lucky shot.