Runtime: 102 minutes
Directed by: Douglas Sirk
Starring: George Sanders, Lucille Ball, Charles Coburn, Boris Karloff, Sir Cedric Hardwicke
From: United Artists
A Douglas Sirk film noir? Sign me up! This has been on the Criterion Channel for weeks yet last night I finally had the inclination to check it out. The cast also was rather enticing, as I’ll mention in a bit.
In London, a serial killer finds victims by placing ads in newspaper personal columns. Lucille Ball is among some Americans who perform in London as dancers… no, not that kind of dancing. The killer flexes via taunting poems they write. Ball is in fact used as bait by law enforcement in a honeypot sort of scheme to lure the villain. This thriller has other famous faces, such as George Sanders, Boris Karloff, Alan Mowbray, Alan Napier & Sir Cedric Hardwicke.
There is some nice atmosphere in the night scenes and was always compelling throughout as Ball meets several men who aren’t even the serial killer but are mentally unwell or engage in other criminal activity. That felt natural to the plot rather than the movie spinning its wheels to kill time. There are occasional chuckles but the movie is mostly serious; for someone who I remember best for I Love Lucy reruns watched when I was a little kid, Ball shone bright in her role.
As the story involves “rich folk,” there are occasional glamorous outfits to view in this tale which brought London to life via soundstages. Thus, this unexpected film from a famed director managed to work despite its unfamiliar genre. Such details as Ball’s police officer bodyguard who just wanted to do his crossword puzzles… a nice touch.
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