Crime and Punishment U.S.A. (1959) is an American feature film directed by Denis Sanders, written by Walter Newman and starring George Hamilton in his first screen role. The film was released on November 1, 1959. The New York Times called the film "a beat generation version" of the novel Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. The film differs from the book in some of its plot elements and characterizations, and it takes place in contemporary Los Angeles rather than in 19th-century Russia.