Segredos de uma Estudante

This is certainly not Joseph H. Lewis at his best. The movie was clearly shot on a low budget. The print I saw was shaky. (This was especially frustrating because several times, pages from the title character's diary, written in script, take up the whole screen and just cannot be read.) Otto Kruger is excellent is an attorney of questionable moral stature. There's a plot about him and his cases and his private moneymaking endeavors. Going on simultaneously is the plot involving said coed: She is his daughter. She is the terror of the campus of a small school. Tina Thayer isn't asked to do much in this role. She's cast just right, though: outwardly sweet, small -- and a complete brat.

Rick Vallin is excellent as a hoodlum who bridges the two plot lines. He's handsome, though convincingly nasty.

Diana Del Rio plays his romantic interest. She sings at a club. What a fiery look she has! She does a campy yet impressive song called "Brazilly Willy." It was written by Jay Livingston, who went on to win three Academy Awards for music in higher class movies.

Lewis keeps a tight rein on the performers and the film moves along with verve and power.