Deux rouquines dans la bagarre

I am a trained psychotherapist, so when I watched "Slightly Scarlet", I saw things some others might not see. I mention this because one of the main characters, Dorothy (Arlene Dahl), is a psychological mess. She's a compulsive thief and a girl who craves excitement...all in the worst way. Today, she'd almost certainly be diagnosed with a Borderline Personality...meaning she possesses many qualities of a variety of personality disorders. Antisocial behavior, addictive behaviors and highly volatile mood swings...these are typical of such an individual...and Dorothy is very clearly dealing with these issues.

The film begins with Dorothy being released, yet again, from prison for shoplifting. Her enabling sister, June (Rhonda Fleming), tries her best to help Dorothy but it's clear Dorothy doesn't want saving....she's hell-bent on self destruction, good times and chasing men. Sadly, June is an idiot when it comes to Dorothy and she makes excuses for her wayward sister...and in many ways she enables and encourages Dorothy's actions. How far will all this go? And, how long will June put up with her sister's horrible behaviors? And, how long does Ben (John Payne) fit into all this?

This is a very exciting film that you'll either love or hate. Dorothy's behaviors and June's reactions to them can feel very frustrating....and I could see viewers hating BOTH sisters. But, if you can look past this, the film is fun to watch and worth your time. In some ways, it's like film noir...but the color cinematography make it hard to call it noir. Still, I enjoyed it despite its shortcomings.

Big-city chronicle dealing with mobsters , corruption , prohibited loves and many other things . Concerning a small-time gangster carries out an assignment from Mafia boss , Ted de Corsia, to smear a law-and-order político , Ken Taylor , running for Mayor . Then he falls in love with the candidate 's secretary , Rhonda Fleming , it leads the plot mucks up even further . Innocent Rhonda has a crook , tipsy and ex-con sister , Arlene Dahl . Later on , Payne attempts to go straight and ends up running the dark business when De Corsia escapes town. Gang leader Payne meeting his comeuppance when he tangles with Rhonda's sister , Arlene Dahl , a hazardous Kleptomaniac . Out of the shadows of a vice-ridden city comes James M Caín most explosive drama ¡ James M Caín scorchingly frank expose of the operators behind big city graft.

A spiffy , thrilling and medium budget Noir Film drama based on the James M Caín novel titled "Love's lovely counterfeit" .James M Cain wrote the prestigious "The postman always rings twice" that had several cinematic adaptations and "Slightly scarlet" script was well written by Robert Blees . Being an effective and provoking studio about mafia , corruption , political messes and thunderous love relationships . This is a smart example of Allan Dwan's 50 output , a good and fine director who made a lot of films , many of them belonging to Noir genre . Although the story results to be some confusing , as forget the twisted plot and just watch the character actors and actresses interplay .Trío protagonists give nice acting . John Payne is frankly well as a gang leader tangled with two beautiful women. Rhonda Fleming is gorgeous as the good girl falling for gang leader and his sister Arlene Dahl is wonderful . Both of whom , Fleming and Dahl , steal the show as the two dynamic sisters . Support cast is very good such as : Kent Taylor , Ted de Corsia , Buddy Baer , Lance Fuller , Ellen Corby and many others .

Colorful cinematography in Technicolor and SuperScope by John Alton , a magnificent cameraman who along with Nicolas Musuruca are the main creators in Noir photography .As well as atmospheric and evocative cinematography by Louis Forbes and uncredited Howard Jackson . The motion picture produced by Benedict Bogeaus was competently directed by Allan Dawn . Even Martin Scorsese incidentally has tipped his cap to this great filmmaker and acknowledge him as an important influence . Dwan had a prolific career directing all kinds of genres as Westerns , Noir , drama , thriller , adventure, such as : Three musketeers , Iron mask , Pearl of the South Pacific , Heidi , Enchanted Island , Escape to Burma , The Gorilla , Rebecca of Sunnybrook farm , Passion , Brewster's millions , Cattle Queen Montana , Tenesse partner , Sands of Iwo Jima , among others . Rating 7/10 . Notable and decent Noir movie .

First, let's be straight: this is a deliriously entertaining, venal and vampy exercise in melodrama. It's a ridiculous movie with a nonsensical script, awesome crazy quilt radioactive light bright technicolor and at times laughably non-motivated behavior. But it's also a tongue-in-cheek anti-noir mini masterpiece crammed with over dramatized scene chewing and pleasingly unintentional laughs. The set designs feature some of the biggest house interiors ever (how does Rhonda Fleming afford that mansion on her secretarial salary??) Arlene Dahl is a deliciously cheesy home run as the sex object du jour and gives Martha "The Big Sleep" Vickers a run for her money in the slutty and criminally irredeemable little sister department. Everyone is working some angle here (particularly John Payne), which is both intriguing and finally just dizzying. Fleming, Dahl, Payne and Kent Taylor take a love triangle and turn it into a quadralateral with little trouble. This isn't the calculated and sleek Double Indemnity James M. Cain, but it sure has the smoulder and desperation of The Postman Always Ring Twice JMC.

There's a political campaign thrown in and a big gangster (huffy and puffy Ted De Corsia) subplot for good measure, but this is ultimately a celebration of the campiest aspects of melodrama and what a party they throw! Definitely a date movie and highly entertaining for all the right reasons. If you can see it in the theatre, you may go blind from the glowingly phosphorescent crimson hues. "Slightly" Scarlet my ass!

"You're not good; you're not bad. You're a chiseler, out for anything you can get."

So, says Solly Kaspar, crime boss of Bay City, of Ben Grace, the anti-hero of this story, adapted from James M. Cain's Love's Lovely Counterfeit. What holds our interest in this story is we're never quite sure what to make of Grace.

There's an upcoming election and crime boss Kasper does not want the reform candidate to win, so Kasper strongarms the newspaper publisher backing him, and in the process kills him.

Grace exposes Kasper, forcing Solly to flee to Mexico, and insuring the election of Frank Jansen, the reform candidate. He uses his influence with Jansen to get an honest police lieutenant friend of his appointed Chief of Police.

Good guy, right?

Then later in this movie he's seen giving orders to Solly's men, going over Solly's books, and positioning himself as Solly's successor. He calls his friend,the chief of police, and demands that his girlfriend's sister who was recently arrested be released without being charged, and so we begin to believe we've misjudged ol' Ben. He's just a hood, a little brighter than most, a little smoother than most, but in the end, no different from Solly Kasper.

Bad guy, right?

Well, we're not sure, because Grace isn't sure. Reform mayoral candidate, soon to be mayor, Frank Jansen has an assistant, June Lyons. On a 1 to 10 scale, Ms. Lyons, with her flaming red hair, and blazing headlights (think Good Girl art) is an 11. Rhonda Fleming never looked better, and Arlene Dahl as her sister, Dorothy Lyons, was equally stunning. But, back to Grace. He is falling for June, and June is a thoroughly decent girl, whose better nature seems to affect him.

In the end, however, Grace's schemes come to naught. Jansen who really is a reform candidate orders Dorothy be tried for her crimes. Solly Kasper returns wanting to take over as rackets boss, and Ben Grace is forced to run. Here's where we see his true character, when he scrounges as much of Solly's money as he can and invites his girlfriend to go on the run with him (she declines).

Solly Kasper was right all along. He really is just a chiseler, out for whatever he can get. Major disappointment, as in the end, Ben Grace disappoints not just his girlfriend, but the audience as well.

This is a beautifully photographed movie in full technicolor. The sets are a wonderful amalgam of art deco - rococo excess. Others here have pointed out how garish everything looked. I didn't find it so. I thought it was beautiful. Certainly, the eye candy was stunning. There aren't any two actresses today who could team as good girl - bad girl siblings the way Fleming and Dahl did. Maybe Julianne Moore and Debra Messing, but they wouldn't look as good. The movie's high marks for visual style are undermined by its low marks for aimless, meandering story. 6 out of 10.

Any story by James M. Cain should automatically command one's attention. Though probably not as famous as his other stories, this one manages to hold the viewer's interest. A curious thing to me is that, once again, the male lead is playing a far from sympathetic character (Ben). John Payne does a good good job, though sometimes it is not easy to figure out what Ben is up to or why. The success of the film rests upon the performance of the two female leads, Rhonda Fleiming and Arlene Dahl, especially the latter, whose acting was way beyond what I expected and almost carries the film, the ending of which might be a bit surprising. A tad slow in spots, 'Slightly Scarlet' nevertheless is a pretty entertaining film.