Blonde Bait

Angela Booth is a singer and performing to crowds in London. However, she is attacked by Julius Lord and to protect herself from this lecherous old goat, she hits him with her mirror. He is well- connected and this American girl is sent to a women's prison...despite being entirely innocent of everything except trying to keep herself from being molested! However, the State Department in the US is interested in her. It's not that she's done anything wrong...but her boyfriend, Randall, is scum...a traitor who collaborated with the Nazis during WWII and they want him! But she won't willingly help, so they arrange for her to be able to escape from prison in order to follow her to a meeting with Randall...or so they hope. This summary is not exactly the same as the one on IMDb, as it is not quite correct.

This is an adequate movie...nothing bad but nothing great about it either. It is the epitome of the term 'time-passer' and the finale is less than well handled--it's over and done with way too quickly.

Beverly Michaels is a new find for me, and I must say I like her a lot! Here she stars as "Blonde Bait" from 1956, also starring Thora Hird, Jim Davis, Paul Cavanagh, and Richard Travis.

Michaels plays a London performer, Angela Booth. She is sent to prison when she tries to leave her possessive employer for her boyfriend Randall (Jim Davis). She winds up hitting him with a mirror, and his connections lead to her being incarcerated.

The U. S. State Department wants her boyfriend because he was a Nazi collaborator. Angela has secret plans to meet Randall on New Year's Eve at the Oxhead Inn so they can run off get married. In order to catch him, it's arranged that Angela escape with the help of "Gran" (Hird), an old-time prisoner. The plan is to follow Angela to wherever the meeting is to take place.

I thought this was a good film, a real B British noir. Michaels is different in this film from the last one I saw her in, Pickup, where she gave Ann Savage's Detour performance a run for its money. She played an abusive, trashy woman. Here she's a woman sincerely in love, who demonstrates some class and possesses humanity.

Thora Hird is a scream. Jim Davis, frankly, is pretty bad. It's no wonder when he returned from Korea, Bette Davis forgot she ever heard of him. He still needed some seasoning.

All in all, entertaining.

Jim Davis is wanted for murder and treason. He's been in Great Britain since the War, doing all sorts of villainous stuff (as not explained in a monotonous manner by Richard Travis in an office). He meets up with girlfriend Beverly Michaels, makes a date to meet her on New Year's Eve to get married, and then disappears until the end of the movie; he's the Maguffin of the movie, and that's his personality.

Miss Michaels speaks to her manager in his office, since she's quitting show biz, but he doesn't like it, and in the struggle, he's injured. She goes to prison. Meanwhile, Travis, in yet another office, arranges for her to break out in the company of Thora Hird, April Olrich and Miss Olrich's baby, so she can lead them to Davis.

Director Elmo Williams was a fine editor, but as a director, he was a washout, and this movie is a fine example. Everyone speaks slowly and boringly, and the plot advances at a glacial rate. There are plenty of moving shots; normally they help a movie, but they gave me the impression that that cameramen were as anxious for the movie to get on with it as I was. There is one good sequence with Hermione Badderly as Miss Hird's nasty pal they hide out with. Otherwise it's a dull affair.

Yes the late Thora Hird could be a comedienne in roles such as this playing Granny Rafferty, opposite American Beverley Michaels who plays her fellow inmate in a women's prison.Previous reviewers have outlined the plot of a tale of post WWII & the Cold War where both Scotland Yard and the U.S. State Dept mount a joint venture to entrap a traitor/murderer played by Jim Davis (most known in this country for playing JR's father in early episodes of "Dallas").The reference to "Lindberg" in the screenplay I assumed referred to aviator Charles Lindberg when the three escaped women prisoners and baby use an old MG to make their getaway, with Thora joking at the wheel.They make their getaway with the connivance of UK/US authorities before the denouement when Beverley finally realises the rotten relationship she had with the Jim Davis character.Yes I rated it 7/10 and was entertained on this, my first ever viewing.

In their quest to nab a spy for the Soviet Bloc named "Nick Randall" (Jim Davis), the American State Department decides to follow his girlfriend, "Angela Booth" (Beverly Michaels) to a secret rendezvous the two had planned a few months earlier. The only problem is that Angela is sent to prison in England for a crime she wasn't guilty of. Not wanting to tip their hand, the Americans and British resort to desperate measures to make sure that Angela keeps her appointment with Nick at any costs. At any rate, rather than spoil the film for those who haven't seen it, I will just say that this is a decent enough B-Movie from the mid-50's which might appeal to those who enjoy action-dramas of this nature. I would also like to add that this film is not nearly as risqué as the movie poster printed during this time might lead a person to believe. Again, one has to consider the time period in which it was made. That said, I rate it as average, all things considered.