Lured

Personal Column

1947

Douglas Sirk
Director
United Artists
Studio

Taxi dancer Lucy winds up working undercover for Scotland Yard to help uncover a serial killer who preys upon young women, leaving little Baudelaire-based bits of doggerel behind.

Enjoyable mystery based on the 1939 French film Pièges is great for the first hour, but then runs off the rails. There are, as is so often the case with mysteries of this era, too many red herrings. Granted, one of these is Boris Karloff as an insane fashion designer, so that is not really a bad thing.

The real problems lie in the motive of the actual killer. Without trying to give anything away, the killer's professions of love for Ball ring false, especially given the rather overt homosexual subtext that is built up through the film. The killer may be in love with someone, but it isn't Lucy! Now obviously they couldn't do anything given the rigid production code of the time, but it makes the ending sound a false note. Still deserves kudos for some fine acting, especially Zucco, playing against type as a common, crossword-obsessed, copper.

-Dave W.

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Lured
5th September 1947
Cinema



102 mins
1.33:1

Lured
23rd May 2000
DVD



102 mins
1.33:1




"
George Sanders
Robert Fleming
Lucille Ball
Sandra Carpenter
Charles Coburn
Inspector Harley Temple
Boris Karloff
Charles van Druten
Cedric Hardwicke
Julian Wilde (as Sir Cedric Hardwicke)
Joseph Calleia
Dr. Nicholas Moryani
Alan Mowbray
Lyle Maxwell
George Zucco
Inspector H. R. Barrett
Robert Coote
Detective
Alan Napier
Detective Gordon
Tanis Chandler
Lucy Barnard
Unknown
Scotland Yard Mail Sorter
(uncredited)
Unknown
Police Typewriter Expert
(uncredited)
Wilson Benge
Police Lab Technician Examining Paper
(uncredited)
Unknown
Police Lab Technician
(uncredited)
(Philip Coolidge?)
Unknown
Police Lab Technician
(uncredited)
Unknown
Dance Hall Tout (uncredited)
Eddie Parks
Oswald Pickering (uncredited)
Gerald Hamer
Harry Milton (uncredited)
Ethan Laidlaw
Sailor Dancing with Lucy
(uncredited)
Alex Frazer
Professor Harkness
(uncredited)
Jimmy Aubrey
Nelson, Dance Hall Manager
(uncredited)
Unknown
'Watch It, Sonny'
(uncredited)
Lynn Baggett
Robert's Jilted Girlfriend
(uncredited)
Unknown
'The position has been filled'
(uncredited)
Unknown
Position Filler (uncredited)
Unknown
Bird Lover (uncredited)
Ann Codee
Matilda (uncredited)
Unknown
Cabbie (uncredited)
Charles Coleman
Sir Charles (uncredited)
Colin Campbell
Mr. Wilberforce (uncredited)
Unknown
Marie, Sir Charles' Maid
(uncredited)
Eric Wilton
Ticket Booth Clerk
(uncredited)
Unknown
Ticket Booth Clerk
(uncredited)
(Martin Kosleck?)
Sayre Dearing
Concertgoer in Lobby
(uncredited)
Harold Miller
Concertgoer in Lobby
(uncredited)
Brooks Benedict
Concertgoer (uncredited)
James Conaty
Concertgoer (uncredited)
Carl M. Leviness
Concertgoer (uncredited)
Wilbur Mack
Concertgoer (uncredited)
Frank McLure
Concertgoer (uncredited)
Jeffrey Sayre
Concertgoer (uncredited)
Isabel La Mal
Dowager Shushing Fleming at Concert
(uncredited)
Unknown
'Music Lover' (uncredited)
Sam Harris
Old Man at Concert Asking for Whiskey
(uncredited)
Unknown
Usherette (uncredited)
Unknown
Fleming's Chaffeur
(uncredited)
Unknown
Club Doorman (uncredited)
Unknown
Club Coat-Check Girl
(uncredited)
Jack Chefe
Pierre the Headwaiter
(uncredited)
Ethelreda Leopold
Nightclub Singer (uncredited)
Unknown
Jilted Girlfriend's Friend
(uncredited)
Dorothy Vaughan
Mrs. Miller (uncredited)
Herbert Evans
Fleming's Butler (uncredited)
Unknown
Police Constable
(uncredited)
Cyril Delevanti
Medical Examiner (uncredited)
Wyndham Standing
Asst. Medical Examiner
(uncredited)
Unknown
Arresting Sergeant (uncredited)
Mike Lally
Mike - Nightclub Bartender
(uncredited)
Houses of Parliament
Houses of Parliament
(matte painting)

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