Gertrude Walker's story "Case History", known at the time for being partly inspired by Virginia Hill's life, becomes tough Joan Crawford vehicle from Warner Bros., some of it wonderfully juicy. A runaway wife (guess who?) gets a job modeling clothes for a low-rent fashion company (while entertaining the clients after-hours!); she meets a timid accountant and introduces him to a shady nightclub manager, who then introduces the couple to the governor, a crook with ties to racketeering. The governor, married but having a torrid affair with our heroine, sends her out under an alias to spy on a casino owner who may be in-cahoots with the mob, and she falls for him too! Very lively, engrossing, and ridiculous--but enjoyably so. Joan gives a tight, taut performance (one of her best from this period), and she's matched wonderfully by smoldering Steve Cochran, snarling David Brian, and a young Richard Egan as the spouse she escaped from. Only Kent Smith stumbles as the CPA (his weak profile and slack chin make him an automatic doormat for any scenario). Otherwise good fun, though the title is mysteriously irrelevant. **1/2 from ****