Produced in 1941 and directed by H. Bruce Humberstone, this classic film noir is based on a novel written by Steven Fisher. It stars Laird Cregar, Victor Mature, Betty Grable (and her million dollar legs), Carol Landis, Elijah Cook, Jr and William Gargan. Set in New York in the 1940s, this film captures prime city locations, such as the Hotel St. George in Brooklyn Heights, where Jill Lynn (Betty Grable) and Frankie Christopher (Victor Mature) show off her famous legs and begin their ascent to love. The plot concerns a murdered model, Vicky Lynn (Carol Landis) and a police inspector named Ed Cornell (Laird Cregar), who is bent on framing sports impresario, Frankie Christopher, for her murder.
Cornell’s motives are at first murky, but it soon comes to light that he was in love with the murdered woman and blamed Christopher for her death. Victor Mature looks good as usual, but he is only so-so in this role. Never a consummate actor, he does maintain the ambivalence of the character effectively. Still, he is far overshadowed by the brilliance of Laird Cregar as the bleak and creepy police inspector who clearly has a dark and foreboding underside.
Betty Grable was 25 years old in 1941 (and so were her beautiful legs). She was already an established star when she undertook the role of Jill Lynn, Vicky’s older and more stable sister. Carol Landis was an ill-fated star whose real life ended when she committed suicide while still in her twenties, over an unhappy love affair with married actor, Rex Harrison. Her real life was much like the part she played in this film, proving once again that art does imitate life.
This movie is diverting and wonderful film noir from its beginning all the way to its surprise ending. Rent it today if you haven’t seen it and rent it again if you already have.