The Company She Keeps

The film begins with the parole board meeting at a woman's prison. They are discussing Diane Stuart's case. She's granted parole and moves to Los Angeles. Once there, she's met by her new parole officer, Joan Wilburn (Lizbeth Scott). The p.o. is VERY positive and friendly--unrealistically so, actually. She seems more like a cheerleader than an officer of the court. All this occurs while Diane acts as if she'd rather be anywhere than with Joan. Pleasant, she is not.

While Diane does okay on parole, she is a conniver. When she sees Joan with her boyfriend, Larry (Dennis O'Keefe), she decides to get him for herself and slowly he falls for her. However, unexpectedly, she falls for him as well. Here is where is gets more ridiculous--Joan isn't thrilled by all this but is super-supportive and pushes to get the pair permission to marry. As for Diane, she's broken-hearted and expects the worst. What's next?

When the film began, I loved Greer's character. She was wonderfully noir--with a bad attitude and a hard edge. But, when she suddenly actually fell for Larry AND her p.o. was so supportive, the film felt very sappy...and lame as well as VERY inconsistent. Up until then, I would have given this one an 8 or 9. How could they have screwed up so badly?!

When diane (jane freer) is released from prison, she has a hard time adjusting; her parole officer joan (lizabeth scott) does her best to help diane ease back into society, and a new job. And somehow goes on a date with her parole officer's boyfriend. But that huge chip on her shoulder keeps giving her away. She snaps at everyone, and blames others for her own insecurity. She's so determined to hide her parolee status that it ends up working against her. When joan's boyfriend falls for diane, it all hits the fan. How will diane, joan and larry deal with all this? Complicated. It all kind of plods along. It's all pretty unlikely, as these things go. Directed by john cromwell, who was caught up in the HUAC shenanigans in the 1940s, 1950s, rightly or wrongly. He made this film and "the racket" before he was suspended. He also specialized in fun adventures in exotic, far-away lands, which were usually the back lot. Story by ketti frings. Watchable, but not very exciting.

Lizabeth Scott is OK here, & I'm a big fan of hers, but I would have liked her better in the role of Diane (played by Greer). Scott is just too sugary sweet in her role as a Parole Officer Angel. On the other hand, I kept waiting for Greer's character to wake up & smell the coffee, but she really never did, & that's what makes this film a cut above similar soapers of this kind. Greer is excellent as a sneering, eye-rolling bad girl who just doesn't care about those trying to help her or society, & really doesn't even care about herself. I rate it 6/10. I would have rated it higher if not for Scott's too sweet character & the happy pat en

I fell for Lizabeth Scott in Too Late for Tears, and she's delicious here as a tortured altruist. But it's Jane Greer as the broken dove who has a the limelight for the first two acts. The shades of gray--and green--make this a juicy little melodrama for both characters. Indeed, the lesbian tension is palpable in the beginning (and I didn't know about Scott's reputation), suggesting much more than the film makers may have intended (but, oh, what a movie this COULD have been...). Dennis O'Keefe is the weak link, looking older than his 43 years and strolling thru scenes without adding much flavor. Fay Baker is a nice addition as the tough girl that Greer might have been without the help she gets.

Scott and Greer are very good in this "woman gets out of prison" movie that could have been awful. Cromwell directs crisply and many shots are well lit and evocative. This may or may not be film-noir, depending on the viewer's perspective, but it holds up well. If you can find it on TV, it is well worth taping, since it is not easy to find on video.