William Keighley directed Journal of a Crime, a pre-Code noir crime drama, starring Ruth Chatterton, Adolphe Menjou, and Claire Dodd.
The film is a remake of the 1933 French film, Une vie perdue, written by Jacques Deval.
Chatterton plays Francoise, a jealous wife who spies on her playwright husband Paul, overhearing him and lover Odette, the star of the show, quarreling in the street about him leaving his wife. He protests because he does not want to hurt his wife.
Unbeknownst to him, she is distressed at the news but pretends she knows nothing of the affair. She attempts to seduce him but fails. The more he tries to tell her that he’s leaving her, the more agitated she becomes, speaking rapidly as she backs out the door, leaving him alone in the bedroom.
Cast
Ruth Chatterton as Francoise
Adolphe Menjou as Paul
Claire Dodd as Odette
George Barbier as Chautard
Douglas Dumbrille as Cartier
Noel Madison as Castelli
Henry O’Neill as Doctor
Phillip Reed as The Dunken Young Man at the Party
Henry Kolker as Henri Marcher
Walter Pidgeon as Florestan
Clay Clement as The Police Inspector
Note:
TCM showed the film on April 14, 2020.
