Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Noutions Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

vincentlynch-moonoi On television, Lucy was Queen (although I much preferred her later television shows -- "Here's Lucy" and "The Lucy Show" -- over "I Love Lucy". But I was never particularly impressed with Lucy on the big screen. That's not to say there weren't a few films that I enjoyed, however. And then there's this little, almost forgotten gem.It's not a perfect film. But it's very intriguing. First, it's interesting that this is an early film of Douglas Sirk, who later directed films such as "Magnificent Obsession". And then there's the odd segment of the film when a crazy Boris Karloff makes Lucille think he's the killer; it's comic, even though this film is not a comedy, and it made me wish that we had seen Karloff in other roles that were not in the horror genre. The plot is a bit fantastic, but deliciously so -- young show girls are being killed in London, and one was the friend of Lucy. She becomes involved in Scotland Yard's efforts to hunt down the killer...as a sort of decoy. The film makes George Sanders appear to be the killer, even as he and Lucille fall in love, but I think you'll probably figure out who the real killer is fairly early in the film. So the fun isn't in realizing who the murderer is...the fun is how the characters unearth who the murderer is.George Sanders is excellent here...playing George Sanders; but that's how I (and I think we) liked him. The role is a tad bit challenging in that he has to appear his usual confident and suave self while feeling helpless as he is charged with serial murder with apparently irrefutable evidence.Lucille Ball is surprisingly good here in what is mostly a dramatic role. Quite convincing.Charles Coburn, one of my favorite character actors, is excellent and very entertaining as an inspector with Scotland Yard. It would be interesting to know why the segment with Boris Karloff was included in the film, but it is very entertaining.At first it seems as if Sir Cedric Hardwicke, as Sanders' assistant, has an almost minor role. But his climactic scene is extremely well done.One of my criticisms of the film involves the part of the plot involving Joseph Calleia and Alan Mowbray, which in many ways is little more than a distraction...but I guess that's what it was supposed to be. Wouldn't you know it -- Mowbray plays a butler, albeit a rather evil one this time around.George Zucco has a good turn as one of the officers, as does Alan Napier.An imperfect film that didn't find much of an audience when it was released, but I very much liked it. Sink handled the story in a way that was different enough to be a bit unique, even though the general story line is not that unusual. Recommended, though it probably won't end up on your DVD shelf.

Robert J. Maxwell It's kind of fun, an example of an early serial killer, just as tricky as all the more modern ones. This madman advertises for pretty girls then murders them because he's too shy to reveal his love. (It's murky, but then the whole plot is a little turbid.) It's more amusing than suspenseful. Lucille Ball, doing a fine job, is swept up in the police effort to nail the murderer. She's used as bait.Of course, the agony columns carry lots of advertisements for pretty girls available for promising jobs, and Ball has to answer the most suspicious-looking adverts. (This is in London.) One of them is Boris Karloff, more menacing than ever, who has her wear a formal gown of his own design and displays her before an audience of dogs and mannequins in his shabby loft. He goes berserk and begins to chase her around with a sabre. He is, however, more of a red herring than a monster.The real killer is strongly hinted at, about two thirds of the way through the movie, as the movie grows less comic and somewhat darker.The cast is exceptionally good. George Sanders is always a splendid cad, and he has a sort of above-it-all character here, minus the sneer but with that built-in superiority. He's also believable as a male romantic lead. Lucille Ball is not nearly as dumb as Lucy and gets to stretch her acting chops a little. She has no esplaineen to do regarding her performance. But then everyone is quite all right. Interesting to see Sir Cedric Hardwicke as a villain. He's certainly convincing. What a marvelous voice. Joseph Calleia is so overcooked as another villain that his eyes pop out like the thermometer button that comes with the Thanksgiving turkey. George Zucco, for a change, is a lower-class cop, on the side of the angels.It's a good example of the kind of films that used to be put out in the 30s and 40s. It's overscored. The music tells us exactly what sensations we should feel, just in case we're confused. Loose ends lie all over the place. It's unpretentious but it includes poems from Baudelaire and Schubert's Eighth Symphony without any apology or judgment.You'll probably like it.

moonspinner55 Early directorial effort from Douglas Sirk offers an offbeat role for Lucille Ball, ably playing an American dancer in London who is enlisted by Scotland Yard to catch a poem-writing serial killer who preys on showgirls. Leo Rosten's screenplay (culled from perhaps various treatments by Jacques Companéez, Simon Gantillon, and Ernest Neuville) is loosely-hinged at best, thin at worst. A sequence with Boris Karloff as a delusional designer goes on far too long, as does a tiresome thread with Ball working as a maid for a possible pervert. Entertaining on a minor level, especially for Lucy-addicts (her dryly comic exasperation is very funny, as is her rapport with the inspectors on the case). George Sanders is ideally cast as a wealthy nightclub owner who takes a shine to our heroine--and who wouldn't? Ball may be photographed in black-and-white, but she exudes both sophisticated glamor and attractive street-smarts. She's a peach. **1/2 from ****

st-shot In spite of some miscasting in key roles this mystery about a London serial killer never flags much in part to the energetic direction of Douglas Sirk. Sirk doesn't allow the viewer to rest a moment as he fills his scenes with sumptuous compositions of detail and action that give hint or distract from the murder trail. It is a work of superb craftsmanship and a very entertaining one at that.Sandra Carpenter (Lucille Ball) is a streetwise taxi dancer at a club in London whose co- worker and friend disappears raising suspicion she may be the latest victim of a well read serial killer partial to Baudelaire who enjoys taunting the police. She brings her concerns to police inspector Temple (Charles Coburn) who hires her on the spot to work undercover to trap the killer. She then gets involved with well known cad about town and prime suspect Robert Fleming (George Sanders) which totally confuses her handlers. Fleming is eventually charged with murder but Sandra remains torn.Lured is one suspenseful fun ride of a whodunnit with Sirk and top tier cinematographer William Daniels filling each scene with fluid, pertinent detail and camera movement that doesn't waste an inch of the frame. It does get convoluted in moments but even that can be rewarding as in the scene with Sandra believing she's luring the killer (a wonderful cameo by Boris Karloff) who instead turns out to be a demented eccentric into psycho drama. George Sanders as the rake is perfectly cast. Being one of the few actors capable of playing heel or hero convincingly he extends the guessing game. Cedric Hardwicke does exactly the opposite however with a tell tale staginess. It may be unfair to single out Lucille Ball as being miscast given the fact that their is no more famous a fictional character and actual person melding in entertainment history. What Daniels did for Garbo he does for Lucy (see) and she starts strong but then goes in and out with a wide eyed naive the rest of the way that doesn't fit a noir fatlale. Then again it may well have been Sirk's intention to give the film a lighthearted spirit while still making biting observations and giving a master class in mise en scene.