Du rouge pour un truand

Polly Franklin (Pamela Sue Martin) is an innocent farm girl obsessed with 42nd Street. She gets caught up with the Dillinger gang's bank robbery. She gets a red dress from a reporter and loses her virginity to him. Her father beats her and she runs away. She is befriended by Rose at a sweatshop but her life descends into prison and forced into prostitution by the ruthless warden.

It's produced by the Roger Corman family. It's a bit rambling. Pamela Sue Martin used to be a star in the 70s and 80s. I missed most of that since I didn't watch Dynasty. I don't really see the range although she has some charisma. The biggest issue is that this story is simply a series of incidents. Some parts are less compelling than others. This could have been an interesting prison movie but that part is pretty quick. The sweatshop confused me a bit. This needs some better directing.

I first saw this film on TV and with the commercial breaks, it suffered. However, I later saw it without the commercials and it's so much better. It's the story of Gangster John Dillenger and his last girlfriend. Pamela Sue Martin as the moll and Robert Conrad as Dillenger both deliver great performances. I don't know much about John Dillenger, but I wonder if he was as "gentlemanly" as Conrads' portrayal was. Just a thought! However, it is a strong story, with enough violence to be realistic (those were violent times). There's also the romantic element that gives a softness to Dillenger. As I said, I wonder if he was a romantic at all. Anyway, a decent enough flick and well-acted.

If they had called it "The life of a Gun Moll", nobody probably would have gone to see it. So they went with the Dillinger angle, but forget it this is Pamela Sue's film.

If you ever wondered how "good little" girls end up being window dressing for some of the most notorious gangsters that ever lived, this film gives a good look at her rebellion against her strict religious up bringing and her descent into crime and prostitution.

Pamela Sue is so cute, you have a hard time believing she is a hardened criminal, but she just about pulls it off.

Fans of 1930's "pre-code" gangster flicks will probably love "The Lady In Red," a beautiful and realistic love letter to films such as "Scarface" (1932) and "Public Enemy." Pamela Sue Martin is ultra lovable as Polly, the rebellious farm girl who just seems to attract trouble like a magnet. At the wrong place at the wrong time, Polly is used as a human shield by the Dillinger gang as they speed away from a bank robbery. They ditch her after she serves her purpose, but a chain of events leads Polly down a very winding road that includes sweat shops, prostitution, a prison stint, and culminating with Polly and her friends picking up the machine guns, John Dillinger style, after the authorities do her wrong. Episodic in structure, which is not a problem, as every 'episode' in Polly's journey is more fascinating and just plain wild than the previous chapter. Now people refer to this as a low budget "B" movie, but the production values are very sleek, with stunning attention to period detail; the cars, the clothes, the hairstyles, the sets and the music, are all completely realistic in a way that is seldom seen in even higher budget films. The cinematography is stunning and this movie is gorgeous. The scenes in the brothel are reminiscent of the Storybook era sets of Louis Malle's "Pretty Baby," while the prison episode is more powerful and realistic than the roughest "women in prison" movie...and YES; that is Beula Ballbreaker from "Porky's," as the evil prison matron, turning in a perfectly savage, evil performance as a hate-filled racist lesbian guard. "Lady In Red" is the perfect balance of exploitation and Hollywood productions like "Bonnie & Clyde," but this is actually more fun than "Bonnie & Clyde." It deserves more recognition.

Often the crime scene was overpowered by the men, The Woman In Red points out an opposite vision of preestablished status quo, where a young woman after passing by many plights insert herself in world of crime on late twenties, a stunning performance of the gorgeous Pamela Sue Martin arouse attention nothing less than Tarantino that had great regards of the little masterpiece.

Deeply overshadowed by majors releases at its time, it somehow thru the time arouse awareness of many defenders, watching this picture for first time I'd realize the filthy environment of house of pleasures, the harassment on the industry and on the jail as well a corruptive world where just the strong can survive.

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Resume: First watch: 2024 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 8.