Had this film ended better, I could easily have seen giving it a higher score. But sadly, the movie really caught my attention--only to end in a hasty and unsatisfying scene that should have been so much better. It's a shame, as up until then it was a dandy low-budget film.
Leslie Brooks stars as an incredibly conniving and dangerous woman. You get an idea of how conniving as the film begins. Although she's been in love with a co-worker, she marries a rich guy simply because he's rich. But Leslie has no intention of being faithful to her new hubby--and has every desire to pick up with the old boyfriend! When the husband catches her writing love notes to the guy while they are on their honeymoon, he announces that he's divorcing her. Enraged, she kills him--and then concocts a plan to give herself an alibi. The investigators believe her and soon she begins batting her eyes at the D.A.--and her path to riches and the high life appears to be leading directly to him. In the meantime, she STILL keeps the old boyfriend hanging on in hopes that they'll marry. Eventually all this leads to MORE murders and you realize that she's one of the earliest serial killers shown on film. Of course other films featured female murderers but this one repeats itself several times--and it's pretty shocking even for a noir film.
This film was made with a shoestring budget--using no-name actors, simple sets and a swift pace. Despite that, it was engaging and well-made....that is, until the end where the woman is confronted and she quickly admits to her murders!!! It's like the end of practically every "Perry Mason" show--where the killer inexplicably shouts out that they did it--even though there was no hard evidence to support this!! This rarely happens in real life--at least on this planet! It's a shame as even a halfway decent ending would have made this movie well worth seeing. As is, it's too disappointing to place it among the better examples of film noir.
Leslie Brooks stars as an incredibly conniving and dangerous woman. You get an idea of how conniving as the film begins. Although she's been in love with a co-worker, she marries a rich guy simply because he's rich. But Leslie has no intention of being faithful to her new hubby--and has every desire to pick up with the old boyfriend! When the husband catches her writing love notes to the guy while they are on their honeymoon, he announces that he's divorcing her. Enraged, she kills him--and then concocts a plan to give herself an alibi. The investigators believe her and soon she begins batting her eyes at the D.A.--and her path to riches and the high life appears to be leading directly to him. In the meantime, she STILL keeps the old boyfriend hanging on in hopes that they'll marry. Eventually all this leads to MORE murders and you realize that she's one of the earliest serial killers shown on film. Of course other films featured female murderers but this one repeats itself several times--and it's pretty shocking even for a noir film.
This film was made with a shoestring budget--using no-name actors, simple sets and a swift pace. Despite that, it was engaging and well-made....that is, until the end where the woman is confronted and she quickly admits to her murders!!! It's like the end of practically every "Perry Mason" show--where the killer inexplicably shouts out that they did it--even though there was no hard evidence to support this!! This rarely happens in real life--at least on this planet! It's a shame as even a halfway decent ending would have made this movie well worth seeing. As is, it's too disappointing to place it among the better examples of film noir.