So thinks Barbara Stanwyck in "Crime of Passion," a 1957 film also starring Sterling Hayden and Raymond Burr. Stanwyck is newspaper woman Kathy Ferguson who, in the beginning, is going after the story of a crime being investigated by Doyle and Alidos (Hayden and Royal Dano). Dano gives the newsroom a speech on the idea of "let us do our job" and Stanwyck is the only one who speaks up, stating, "And we're trying to do our jobs." Alidos' reply is a killer: "You should be home making dinner for your husband." Do you love it? Doyle and Kathy fall in love and get married a little too soon after they meet. Kathy, a woman who craves excitement and new adventures in life, is stuck with a bunch of vapid women she can't tolerate. Making things worse, her husband is a gentle and loving man but he has no ambition. And she's bored out of her skull. Of course, now that she's married, there's no question of her working. In an effort to help him, Kathy cultivates a friendship with the wife (Fay Wray) of Police Inspector Pope (Burr) and then has a flirtation with the inspector himself. It leads to problems (that's putting it mildly).

Stanwyck is terrific in a difficult role, that of a woman with more going on internally than even she knew; Burr does a good job as a hard-nosed, cold police inspector. Sterling Hayden has never been a favorite of mine. To me he always comes off as a dufus. In "Crime of Passion," he's excellent as a good man whose only ambition is to be happy and spend time with his wife. Alas, his wife didn't share his dream.

This is a small movie, probably a B, directed by Gerd Oswald that is shot in black and white, probably reflective of what people were seeing on television by then. The twists and turns will keep the viewer off-balance and interested. not to mention the pervasive '50s attitudes toward women.

We've all heard the saying that behind every great man, there's a little woman pushing him on. But what if the big lug has no desire to be pushed on? What's a gal to do then? Well, if the woman is Barbara Stanwyck in the 1957 film "Crime of Passion," she connives, eliminates the competition, arranges phony accidents, engages in adultery and finally commits homicide, all to push hubby up the rungs of success. In this film, Babs plays a tough-dame reporter in San Francisco who falls hard for L.A. cop Sterling Hayden. She even marries the big galoot after a couple of dates and moves to Lalaland with him. Anyway, that's the setup of what turns out to be a fairly interesting, sexually frank, compact little noir, featuring a once-in-a-lifetime cast. Stanwyck, 50 here and nudging toward the end of her spectacular film career, is as intense as ever (she always gave her all in every picture); Hayden is his typically macho, upright self; Raymond Burr, playing Hayden's boss, is a tad less sleazy than usual but still not to be trusted; and Fay Wray, also 50 here and approaching the end of HER career, is fine in her small role as Burr's wife. Director Gerd Oswald, a favorite amongst fans of the old "Outer Limits" (and who also went on to direct Burr on TV's "Perry Mason"),does his usual excellent job as well. The presences of Stanwyck and Hayden, who had starred in such noir classics as "Double Indemnity" ('44),"The Asphalt Jungle" ('50) and "The Killing" ('56),add greatly to the noirish feel here. And if this film shows anything, it's that there's one place on Earth you DON'T want to be: on Babs' bad side!

A devoted columnist for a large San Francisco newspaper, Barbara Stanwyck has forgone marriage and romance to have a career. But when Los Angeles police detective Sterling Hayden comes to town on a case, sparks fly between the two of them, and they impulsively marry. Stanwyck relocates to Los Angeles and finds the mediocrity of her existence not to her liking at all, and that includes instant resentment towards the wives of Hayden's co-workers, lead by chatty Virginia Grey. Certainly, these "Ladies who Lunch" types would get on the nerves of an independent woman such as Stanwyck, and it becomes her life's mission to change their situation immediately.

Stanwyck thinks like a ruthless businessman and schemes to get into the good graces of Hayden's boss's wife (Fay Wray),hoping that her husband (Raymond Burr) will look at Hayden for an important promotion. To get this to come to fruition, she goes as far as seducing him, but that's no guarantee that hubby will get the job Stanwyck wants for him. Stanwyck does what any other film noir wife will do. She resorts to murder!

Not as ruthless as her 40's film noir vixens Phyllis Diedrickson, Martha Ivers, or Thelma Jordan, Stanwyck's character is certainly a strong woman, having worked mainly around men and seemingly preferring their company. Certainly, the women in her new social circle seem frivolous and flighty, and its obvious that Stanwyck would feel more comfortable playing cards with the boys rather than swapping recipes with the girls. So while the crime she commits seems to come out of nowhere (other than perhaps a mental breakdown gone untreated),it does make sense that the frustration she felt would take over and cause her to snap. Stanwyck, getting ready to move on to her television career (with only a few feature films left),is still a quite attractive, shapely woman, and for someone in her early 50's, she has quite a bit of sex appeal left. This won't go down in the list of best film noir thrillers, but Stanwyck's performance helps it rise above what was being done in abundance already on television.