Smooth as Silk

Virginia Grey stars with Kent Taylor, Jane Adams, and John Litel in "Smooth as Silk" from 1946.

Grey, in an unusual role for her, plays an ambitious actress, Paula Marlowe, who is appearing in a play. However, she's got her eye on a new play being produced by Stephen Elliott (Litel).

Paula's boyfriend, attorney Mark Fenton, is able to get Elliott's loser son (Danny Moore) acquitted of on a manslaughter charge. Elliott promised him that if he could do that, the lead in his next play would belong to Paula. After his son's trial, Elliott says Paula is not right for the role.

Paula gets to work. While pretending to still be engaged to marry Fenton, she goes after Elliott and not only grabs the lead, but wins Elliott's heart as well. Fenton has no idea of any of it until Elliott announces their engagement. Then it's time for Fenton to get to work - setting Paula up for murder.

My knowledge of Virginia Grey is of her as an older actress in films like Portrait in Black, Madame X, All that Heaven Allows, and tons of TV. She does very well in this lead role.

Grey's real-life story is a sad one - the man she loved was killed in the war; after Carole Lombard's death, she was often seen with Clark Gable. However, in 1949, he married someone else. In 1952, when he was divorced, she was devastated when the two didn't pick up again. As a result, she never married.

She did, however, have a very nice career even if she didn't become a huge star. "Smooth as Silk" is a rare opportunity to see her as a young woman and in a lead.

Not a heavy-duty noir but close enough for the purists not to be totally outraged at my classification of this obscure sleeper, SMOOTH AS SILK is a fast paced crime drama featuring sexy Virginia Grey heartlessly romancing three gents at the same time to advance her career. She has a field day with great bitchy remarks and retorts thanks to writer Dane Lussier who previously gave Stephanie Bachelor great lines in PORT OF FORTY THIEVES. The viewer is expecting her to get her just desserts for three-timing her prey, but twists in the story keep one guessing how it will all end. The producer Jack Bernhard directed/produced DECOY and directed BLONDE ICE.

"Smooth as Silk" is a B-movie from Universal Studios. Rarely have I seen a film where the characters are so obvious and one-dimensional...particularly Susan. I think the writing is the problem here...as the story idea is good...but the dialog and characters really needed some improvement.

The story begins with Mark Fenton (Kent Taylor) winning a big case. It seems the man was incredibly guilty but Mark's defense was immaculate. Immediately after the trial, you see Mark with his fiancee, Paula...and Paula is about the most obvious and poorly written character I've seen in some time. She's obviously an evil narcissist...yet NO ONE seems to notice this! Soon, she dumps Mark even though he adores and dotes after her. Why does she dump him? To try to bag the man who was just aquitted of killing a woman...because he's rich. Sure, he's a drunk and a total jerk, but Paula wants a sugar daddy...one more successful and rich than Mark. Plus the drunk's uncle is a producer...and she desperately wants to be in his next show. What's next? See the film...or don't.

Paula (Virginia Grey) is just impossible to believe and incredibly annoying. Now I know that in a B-movie the plot must be hurried a bit, but she, the director and the writer all fell down on this part of the film. She's so shallow and annoying that you can't help but think everyone around her is addle-brained in not noticing what a godawful piece of work she is...a HUGE problem for this film...HUGE.

Another problem is Paula's sister, Susan...who just seems to be there for no particular reason. In fact, nearly everyone seems to just be there and few seem like fully realized characters...more caricatures.

Overall, a good story idea and one that manages to lose every bit of good it should have had just minutes into the story. A time-passer at best.

I confess I know little about Charles Barton's directorial gifts, but he certainly pulls off a solid job in SMOOTH AS SILK. Relying on superb cinematography by Elwood Bredell, this picture runs fast and smooth, with a credible script by Ryerson and fitting background music by Ernest Gold.

When I first considered watching it on the Internet, I was not overly impressed with the cast. I had never heard of the leads Kent Taylor, Virginia Grey. Or Milburn Stone - but I had no reason to fear. They all contribute toward a riveting flick. Taylor is cucumber-cool, Grey plays the remorselessly opportunistic gold digger with elegance, Stone is effective as DA Kimble, and Litel and Trowbridge complete the main set with aplomb.

SMOOTH AS SILK is no masterpiece, even within the confines of film noir, but I rate it very professionally done and gripping entertainment, even if anyone can spot some holes, like the rather convenient and predictable trap DA Kimble sets, which an astute criminal would hardly fall for - that said, all criminals make mistakes...

Must-see for film noir lovers. At 65' long, you won't waste your time and it's well worth it!

Lawyer Kent Taylor (Mark) helps writer John Litel (Steve) by defending his relative Danny Morton (Don) in a drink-driving case where he is guilty. Taylor manipulates witness accounts so that Morton goes free and he does this on the understanding that Litel will give his girlfriend Virginia Grey (Paula), the lead role in his new play. Well, after the court case, Litel goes back on his word and, understandably, Taylor is not happy, especially when Grey's true character begins to reveal herself as she ruthlessly pushes her self-interest. Time for a murder......

This is a fast-moving film with entertaining dialogue and a cast that holds things together. Virginia Grey is good as an ambitious bitch who gets herself engaged whenever it suits her career and drops men like flies when she no longer needs them. She seems to be the main player for the first part of the film which then seems to switch and focus on the plight of Kent Taylor. We see the murder occur but does the cover-up work out? I tell you what, surely Virginia Grey isn't going to get away with having a personality like she has....surely not....?....

I'm not sure what the title means but it's an engaging film that moves along nicely.