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The oft-filmed Dostoyevsky novel Crime and Punishment was committed to the screen once again in this Russian adaptation, originally released as Raskolnikov. The plot adheres faithfully to the original novel, with idealistic student Raskolnikov, determining himself to be "above" such intangibles as a conscience, brutally murdering a nasty old pawnbroker. Raskolnikov is certain that he will be able to conceal his guilt, but the truth surfaces through the dogged diligence of philosophical detective Porfiri. Produced by members of the Moscow Art Theater, Crime and Punishment was distributed in the U.S. by Michael Mindlin, an exhibitor who trafficked exclusively in foreign films. Its New York premiere was held at the Fifth Avenue Playhouse, a chi-chi "art" theatre that had previously housed such Mindlin imports as the 1921 German film Shattered (originally Scherben).