After fleeing nazi germany following the success of m and re establishing himself in britain as a villain for alfred hitchcock, the great peter lorre arrived in hollywood in 1935, signed to a contract with columbia pictures'. '.strtoupper('h')is dream star vehicle a big screen adaptation of fyodor dostoyevsky s most famous novel crime and punishment'. '.strtoupper('h')is choice of director josef von sternberg, already celebrated and castigated in equal measure for his seven film collaboration with marlene dietrich.roderick raskolnikov lorre has graduated from university as a noted expert in criminology, but nonetheless lives in extreme poverty'. '.strtoupper('d')esperate and anguished, he murders a miserly pawnbroker, stealing her valuables before fleeing into the night'. '.strtoupper('t')he next day, he encounters inspector porfiry edward arnold, the detective assigned to the murder, and is asked by porfiry to consult on the case when an innocent man is arrested as a suspect'. '.strtoupper('h')ow long until the conflicted, guilt ridden raskolnikov arouses the master detective s suspicions?one of many attempts at the time by hollywood studios to give cinema an air of prestige by adapting great works of literature, von sternberg s stylish direction and lorre s tour de force performance are ready for rediscovery in this blu ray premiere of their only collaboration.