Crown Vs Stevens on AllMovie

Having a great deal in common with the plots of later film noir classics, Crown Vs. Stevens was one of five films that Michael Powell directed for producer Irving Asher. Ex-dancer and femme fatale Doris Stevens, in need of money to pay off a loan shark, has married wealthy Arthur Stevens only to discover that he refuses to part with any of his money. Meanwhile, Chris Jensen, an employee of Mr. Stevens', finds himself in some financial difficulties involving an unpaid-for ring. When he visits a pawnbroker, he sees Doris leaving the premises -- and finds the pawnbroker dead. She denies any wrong-doing and uses her wiles to convince him that it would be in both their interests if he did not tell anyone about this. He goes along with her, but when he later learns that Mr. Stevens has suddenly taken ill, he suspects that she may be trying to kill her husband to collect on his insurance. Jensen hurries to his employer's house, hoping to avert another murder. Crown's screenplay was by the prolific Brock Williams, who had earlier worked with Powell on three earlier "quota quickies."