In my review of Side Street, I list a few of the top leading men of noir. And there are no shortage of names to choose from in that category. But when discussing the greatest leading lady of noir, there’s only one answer: Barbara Stanwyck.
She’s practically her own subgenre. Whether playing the heroine (Witness to Murder), the victim (Sorry, Wrong Number), or the femme fatale (Double Indemnity), she always commands the screen and elevates the material she’s working with.
In Crime of Passion, she’s a bit of all three roles. Heroine, because we identify and empathize with her, even as she makes decisions that set tragedy into motion—just as we would any noir hero. Victim, because we understand the…