Lured
Encyclopedia
Lured (1947) is the title of a film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...

 released by United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....

, directed by Douglas Sirk
Douglas Sirk
Douglas Sirk was a Danish-German film director best known for his work in Hollywood melodramas in the 1950s.-Life and work:...

, and starring Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...

, George Sanders
George Sanders
George Sanders was a British actor.George Sanders may also refer to:*George Sanders , Victoria Cross recipient in World War I...

, Boris Karloff
Boris Karloff
William Henry Pratt , better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor.Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , and Son of Frankenstein...

, Charles Coburn
Charles Coburn
Charles Douville Coburn was an American film and theater actor.-Biography:Coburn was born in Macon, Georgia, the son of Scots-Irish Americans Emma Louise Sprigman and Moses Douville Coburn. Growing up in Savannah, he started out doing odd jobs at the local Savannah Theater, handing out programs,...

, and Sir Cedric Hardwicke.

Plot

Sandra Carpenter (Lucille Ball) is an American who came to London to perform in a show but now is working as a taxi dancer
Taxi dancer
A taxi dancer, or taxi for short , is a paid dance partner in a partner dance. For official purposes in the US, their occupation was referred to as "dancer", when they worked in taxi-dance halls that had all the necessary business permits...

. She is upset to find out that a friend, a dancer named Lucy Barnard (Tanis Chandler), is missing and believed to be the latest victim of the notorious "Poet Killer," who lures victims with ads in the newspaper's personal columns and sends poems to taunt the police.

Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...

 Inspector Harley Temple (Charles Coburn) asks if Sandra would be willing to work undercover to help find her missing friend and the killer. He sees first-hand how observant she is and gives her a temporary police identification card and a gun. Sandra is asked to answer personal ads, with a Yard officer named H.R. Barrett (George Zucco) always nearby, just in case.

By coincidence she meets the dashing man-about-town nightclub owner Robert Fleming (George Sanders), who at first wished to hire her for his stage revue but now wants to pursue a romance. In the meantime, Sandra answers an ad placed by Charles van Druten (Boris Karloff), a former fashion designer who is now mentally imbalanced. Her bodyguard Barrett has to come to her rescue.

She also needs to be saved, this time by Fleming, from a mysterious figure named Mr. Moryani (Joseph Calleia). He apparently recruits young women and whisks them off to South America by offering them a promising opportunity in a new land while, in reality, having something more sinister in mind.

Fleming shares a stately home with Julian Wilde (Sir Cedric Hardwicke), his business partner and best friend. Fleming ultimately does win Sandra's heart, even becoming engaged to her. Inspector Temple thanks her for her efforts and even agrees to come to their engagement party.

During the party at the beautiful home where she will soon live, however, Sandra accidentally discovers evidence that links Fleming to the Poet Killer's crimes, including a distinctive bracelet worn by her friend Lucy.

Fleming is placed under arrest. Circumstantial evidence mounts up, although he adamantly denies any involvement in the crime. Sandra believes him, but the Yard does not.

Lucy's body is found in the river. Wilde assures his incarcerated friend that he will hire the best possible attorney and do everything possible to clear him. It occurs to Inspector Temple that it is actually Wilde who fancies poetry and is in a position to have been the killer.

Just before he can flee, Wilde is visited by Sandra at home. He is secretly obsessed with her, just as he possibly was with the other women he abducted. Wilde at first expresses his desire for Sandra, then removes his scarf and prepares to strangle her. Scotland Yard's men break through the windows to rescue her just in time.

Fleming is set free, and he and Sandra toast with champagne to better days ahead.

Cast

  • George Sanders
    George Sanders
    George Sanders was a British actor.George Sanders may also refer to:*George Sanders , Victoria Cross recipient in World War I...

     as Robert Fleming
  • Lucille Ball
    Lucille Ball
    Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...

     as Sandra Carpenter
  • Charles Coburn
    Charles Coburn
    Charles Douville Coburn was an American film and theater actor.-Biography:Coburn was born in Macon, Georgia, the son of Scots-Irish Americans Emma Louise Sprigman and Moses Douville Coburn. Growing up in Savannah, he started out doing odd jobs at the local Savannah Theater, handing out programs,...

     as Inspector Harley Temple
  • Boris Karloff
    Boris Karloff
    William Henry Pratt , better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor.Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , and Son of Frankenstein...

     as Charles van Druten
  • Sir Cedric Hardwicke as Julian Wilde
  • Joseph Calleia
    Joseph Calleia
    Joseph Calleia was a Maltese born American singer, composer, screenwriter and actor, both on Broadway and in film...

     as Dr. Nicholas Moryani
  • Alan Mowbray
    Alan Mowbray
    Alan Mowbray MM, , was an English stage and film actor who found success in Hollywood.Born Alfred Ernest Allen in London, England, he served with distinction the British Army in World War I, being awarded the Military Medal for bravery...

     as Lyle Maxwell alias Maxim Duval
  • George Zucco
    George Zucco
    George Desylla Zucco was an English character actor who appeared, almost always in supporting roles, in 96 films during a career spanning two decades, from 1931 to 1951. He is fondly remembered for his roles in classic horror films.-Early life:Zucco was born in Manchester, England...

     as Officer H. R. Barrett
  • Robert Coote
    Robert Coote
    Robert Coote was an English actor. He played aristocrats or British military types in many films, and created the role of Colonel Hugh Pickering in the long-running original Broadway production of My Fair Lady.-Biography:Coote was educated at Hurstpierpoint College in Sussex...

     as Detective
  • Alan Napier
    Alan Napier
    Alan William Napier-Clavering was an English actor, best known for portraying Alfred Pennyworth in the 1960s live-action Batman television series.-Early life and career:...

     as Inspector Gordon
  • Tanis Chandler as Lucy Barnard

Critical reception

Film critic Dennis Schwartz gave the film a mixed review, writing, "The flawed film never settles into a dark and sinister mood (filmed in a Hollywood studio) but succeeds only in keeping things tension-free and lighthearted with continuous breezy comical conversations as Ball does a sturdy Nancy Drew
Nancy Drew
Nancy Drew is a fictional young amateur detective in various mystery series for all ages. She was created by Edward Stratemeyer, founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate book packaging firm. The character first appeared in 1930. The books have been ghostwritten by a number of authors and are published...

 turn at sleuthing with her comical detective partner Zucco (who knew the usually typecast villain could be so amusing!). It can't quite measure up to compelling film noir, but it's pleasing and easy to handle despite everything feeling so contrived and confining."

External links

  • Lured film clip at You Tube
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