Mike Farrell (Edmond O'Brien) has spent his life hustling, so when he's approached by Brandy Kirby (Lizabeth Scott) with a deal worth millions, he figures he knows what he's getting into, even if it does require a little mutilation between friends. See, Brandy has a line on an old rich couple who lost their son many years ago. Their son was missing the top joint of his finger, but with a couple of months of salt and sun exposure, a new wound looks much like an old one. She and her silent partner, Vincent (Alexander Knox), the old couple's attorney, have worked out a scam to steal the multi-million dollar inheritance by substituting their own Anastasia Romanov. With inside knowledge to help him prep, they introduce Mike to Kathy (Terry Moore), the couple's niece, a naive do-gooder anxious to "reform" him. But as Mike and Kathy's relationship progresses, Brandy and Vincent's jealousy begins to grow until it threatens to derail the entire plan.
This is a cute movie. It's breezy and not particularly tense, with screwball elements courtesy of Kathy. I would definitely consider it a lesser noir, but it's worth a watch. I don't find Lizabeth Scott particularly beautiful but she is magnetic. You can't take your eyes off her. That's a level of star quality that is missing from a lot of performers today.
Unfortunately, it's not available to stream anywhere. You're going to have to dig out a physical copy. This came from the "Bad Girls of Noir" set. I got it from Netflix while they're still in the physical media game. This is your periodic reminder to make copies of your shit and buy physical if you possibly can. Streamers and studios will just disappear content like Josef Stalin removing dissidents from photos. Never thought we'd see the day where piracy has the moral high ground but yaaar, mateys, thar t'is.
No comments:
Post a Comment