In 1935, Marsh signed a two-year pact with Columbia Pictures. During this time, she starred in such films as "The Black Room" (1935) regarded as one of Boris Karloff's best horror films of the decade, Josef von Sternberg's classic "Crime and Punishment" (1935) with Peter Lorre, wherein she played the sympathetic prostitute Sonya, "Lady of Secrets" (1936) with Ruth Chatterton, "Counterfeit" (1936) with Chester Morris, "The Man Who Lived Twice" (1936) with Ralph Bellamy, and "Come Closer, Folks" (1936) with James Dunn.