Lured (1947) User Reviews

Fun film

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 11 May 2011]

In a way, it's easy to see why Lucille Ball did not achieve mega movie stardom. By the time she was getting decent roles, she was in her thirties, and back in those days, that was getting long in the tooth. Though she was beautiful, she had the delivery of a character woman -- great comic timing and dry wit. I suspect Hollywood wasn't sure what to do with her -- too pretty for the Eve Arden roles, and not ingenue enough for the leading lady ones.

In "Lured," Ball plays Sandra Carpenter, an American dancer living in London whose good friend and fellow dancer disappears after answering a personal ad. The police, led by Inspector Temple (Charles Coburn) have been frustrated by a series of poems they have been receiving before a murder of a young woman takes place. They feel helpless. When it turns out that Sandra's friend is a victim of the mad poet, the Harley asks Sandra to act as bait and answer suspect ads. They will be watching her at all times.

Sandra has some strange adventures -- one with a whack job (Boris Karloff) who wants to paint her in costume, and then she is invited to a concert where her date does not show up. There, she meets wealthy Robert Fleming (George Sanders) who sweeps her off her feet. Could he be the killer? Could it be the strange doctor she meets? There are a few suspects.

Well directed by Douglas Sirk, known later for his big glossy soap opera type films, "Lured" has suspense and atmosphere, though it moves from a mystery to a love story mid-script. However, the performances are very good - Lucy looks stunning in her gowns and she plays the down to earth, savvy young woman very well; George Sanders is smooth as silk, and the two have good chemistry. Sir Cedric Hardwicke gives a standout performance, and Coburn is excellent. "Alfred the Butler" from the Batman series, Alan Napier, is also in the film, as is George Zucco.

Recommended. Very enjoyable. Just wish the emphasis had been more on the mystery.

SURPRISING FUN FOR A NOIR...!

[masonfisk · 8/10 · 14 February 2019]

Another noir film starring of all people Lucille Ball. A serial killer is on the loose in England who uses the personals column to lure his victims. Ball, who is an ex-pat in Blighty working as a dancehall companion, has a friend who goes missing so while giving her account to the local constabulary, the chief investigator strikes upon an idea to have Ball go undercover to see if the killer can be caught. Directed by the future king of the 50's melodramas Douglas Sirk, he manages to make a light noir feel fun & engaging w/o the prerequisite baggage which usually comes w/this sort of material. Aiding Ball admirably are the supporting cast of actors which includes George Sanders, Charles Coburn, Cedric Hardwicke & a scene stealer from Frankenstein himself, Boris Karloff.

Lured (1947) ***

[JoeKarlosi · 7/10 · 15 March 2005]

An interesting curio for Lucille Ball fans as well as those who enjoy old horror and mystery films. This one is worth seeing for its cast alone, featuring (in addition to Ms. Ball): Boris Karloff, Sir Cecric Hardwicke, Alan Napier, George Zucco and George Sanders! This solid mystery/thriller stars Lucille Ball in a dramatic part before she became Lucy Ricardo. She plays a feisty American gal in England who is hired by Scotland Yard to go undercover to trap a serial killer who claimed one of her friends. Boris Karloff's role is a small one but it's absolutely wonderful, and it's an essential watch for the actors' legion of fans. George Zucco is a cop who keeps an eye out for Ball to make sure she doesn't get into too much trouble. *** out of ****

Into The Theater

[boblipton · 7/10 · 6 October 2020]

The show closed after four days in London. Stranded Lucille Ball is working as a taxi dancer, hoping something will turn up. She's envious when the girl next to her tells her it's her last day; her tall, dark and handsome man is taking her away from all of this. The next day the newspapers announce it: she's the latest victim claimed by the Poet Killer, a serial killer who likes to send the police Baudelaire-inspired notes. Miss Ball goes to talk to Inspector Charles Coburn, who promptly hires her as bait.

Hunt Stromberg pulled out all the stops on his production: director Dirk Sirk, cameraman William Daniels, script credited to Leo Rosten, and a cast that includes George Sanders, Boris Karloff, Cedric Hardwicke, Alan Mowbray, Robert Coote... well, it was primed for success.

Mostly it's pretty good, with Miss Ball giving a varied and layered performance, and Sanders at his most charming. There are some issues with the show. As soon as he showed up on screen, I tagged the murderer. Miss Ball's engagement by the police as a decoy has too many details handwaved away, and she never gives the impression she feels herself at risk. That's what spike heels are for.

Still, the studio-bound movie shows its glitter on the screen, and in a theater in the dark, it should look like a fine couple of hours.

Murder by way of the "personal" ads.

[michaelRokeefe · 7/10 · 11 February 2009]

Much surprising and over-looked crime drama. Lucille Ball in Film-Noir. Miss Ball, fresh, leggy and lovely, plays Sandra Carpenter, an American living in London and working as a taxi-dancer. Her friend Lucy(Taris Chandler)goes missing after answering a job offer in the "personal" column; just like several others who've vanished without a trace. After being questioned by Scotland Yard, Sandra is talked into being a decoy undercover cop by Chief Inspector Temple(Charles Coburn). Not knowing that Sandra left her dancing job, she is squired by a mysterious and wealthy Mr. Fleming(George Sanders). Miss Carpenter hopes to lure the killer by answering personals herself.

Very nice Black & White photography with a brisk moving story and strong supporting cast that includes: Boris Karloff, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, George Zucco and Alan Napier. Ball is very impressive and strong in this roll; almost a shame she had to turn to comedy.

Lured/Pièges

[dbdumonteil · 27 October 2006]

As an user has pointed out,"lured" is the remake of Robert Siodmak's movie "Pièges" (1939) starring Marie Dea (Lucille Ball's part),Maurice Chevalier (Sanders' part) ,Erich Von Stroheim (Karloff's) and Pierre Renoir (Cedric Hardwicke's) Both versions are good.If ,like me,you've seen Siodmak's version first ,you'll probably find Sirk's work less interesting and vice versa . The differences between the treatments are minimal.

-George Sanders is a better choice than Maurice Chevalier ,cause we do believe he might be a serial killer,which is difficult with the French chanteur.

-On the other hand the scene featuring Boris Karloff is weaker than its French equivalent where Stroheim was more disturbing.

-In both movies,the weakest link is the part of the story where the heroine is a servant in a shady house.

A cast full of red herrings

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 3 December 2015]

Producer Hunt Stromberg of Lured wanted to make very sure his audience couldn't possibly suspect whoever the elusive strangler of young women might be in post World War II London. So he gathered a cast together any one of the men could have been that strangler who gets his victims through personal ad columns in London's papers.

Lucille Ball is an American entertainer there who is raising quite a row with Scotland Yard over the disappearance of a friend. So Chief Inspector Charles Coburn decides to use her as undercover bait. A risky business, but Lucy has moxie.

So Ms. Ball has a couple of adventures and even uncovers a white slavery ring, but no strangler. One of the cast is arrested, but he's not the right guy. At the very end we learn who it is without a few harrowing moments for our leading lady.

When you've got a cast with people like George Sanders, Cedric Hardwicke, Joseph Calleia, Alan Mowbray, George Zucco, Alan Napier and Boris Karloff that could be any one of them. Stromberg and director Douglas Sirk counted on the movie going public's instinctive reactions to these people.

It works nicely too. Even Coburn has seen some villainy on the screen. Lured is a nice mystery to it. I will give you a hint, it's the most cultured character in the cast.

All For Love

[krorie · 8/10 · 1 July 2006]

This excellent noir film was somewhat copied forty years later as "Sea of Love," with several changes bringing it up-to-date. One surprise in store for viewers is the comic talents of George Zucco, obviously kept hidden throughout most of his brilliant acting career. He is an excellent comedic sparring partner for Lucille Ball. They work well as a team, providing laughs that are sorely needed in an otherwise serious murder mystery thriller. Boris Karloff adds to the fun as well, giving a monster performance as an insane dress designer--can you believe? The stellar lineup also includes the likes of George Sanders, Charles Coburn, Cedric Hardwicke, and Alan Mowbray. The cast alone is worth the price of admission.

Directed with savvy by Douglas Sirk, the film has a script put together by a hodgepodge of writers. Still, the dialog is filled with witty and intelligent lines. The mystery will keep the viewer guessing until the serial killer is revealed. There are red herrings along the way to lead the best sleuth astray. Even when the movie seems to be ending with the mystery solved, it becomes the wrong solution to the case under investigation. The film proceeds to fool the viewer a second time before the ultimate meanie is apprehended. There are thrills aplenty throughout this delicious cinematic whodunit.

The story involves a serial killer running amok in London who kills beautiful young women lured by newspaper ads. The madman fancies himself a poet copying his style from the dark poetry of Charles Baudelaire, who once wrote about a tempting woman being more beautiful in death. One such poem is sent to Scotland Yard before each murder. Inspector Harley Temple (Coburn) is determined to catch the psycho any way possible, even using a young woman, Sandra Carpenter (Ball), as a decoy to lure the monster out into the open. Sandra is chosen when she inquires about her good friend's disappearance. Coincidentally, her friend's moniker is Lucy. In the process of finding the perpetrator of the crimes, Sandra makes several interesting encounters, eventually meeting a stranger named Robert Fleming (Sanders) with whom she falls in love. Their favorite song becomes "All For Love," which serves as a clue in the mystery.

Alluring!

[BaronBl00d · 6/10 · 24 December 2004]

Director Douglas Sirk, later best-known for sappy Hollywood melodramas, makes this early Lucille Ball vehicle about a killer that writes poetry to the police about the victim he is going to kill. Ball plays a dance hall girl that loses a friend and decides to help by joining the Scotland Yard force. She begins to answer personal ads by men looking for attractive young women. Along the way she comes in contact with a slaving-like operation and a bizarre eccentric fashion designer played with incredible gusto by Boris Karloff. Karloff has roughly 5 minutes of screen time, but boy does he know how to use it. This is a very enjoyable film. If you are looking for a lot of action - look somewhere else. What you get here is a lot of talk and character studies. The cast is one of the most complete I have seen in some time. George Sanders, Cedric Hardwicke, Charles Coburn, Robert Coote, Alan Napier, George Zucco and Alan Mowbray round out this incredibly talented cast. Zucco really stands out as a plain-clothes policeman. Ball is beautiful, and she does a very credible job in the lead. Sometimes I forget that she was a gorgeous woman with a lot of talent other than making you laugh. But that was certainly her greatest gift. Lured is a good, old-fashioned mystery yarn. The killer is painfully obvious about halfway through, but the actors go through the motions with obvious relish. Unfortunately the DVD release I had by KINO had nothing on it all all in terms of extras...didn't even separate chapters from main feature!

A good drama with a great cast

[gbill-74877 · 8/10 · 24 January 2019]

I was 'lured' into this one by its cast - Lucille Ball in a dramatic role, opposite George Sanders, and with Charles Coburn and Boris Karloff in supporting roles. I wasn't disappointed. It's a nice mystery/drama where a serial killer in London finds his victims through personal ads, and then boasts about it to the police with poetry reminiscent of Charles Baudelaire. Ball plays an American working in a dancehall who begins working undercover for the police when one of her friends becomes a victim. That bit is a little contrived, but I liked her pluckiness and how she stands up to a variety of creepy male behavior (in the dancehall, various ogling, and with some of the men she meets via the personal ads). There are some standard tropes - Ball's extraordinary powers of observation, Coburn being the distinguished sleuth who engages in a cat and mouse game with the criminal, etc - but the script is intelligent and has some interesting turns. Just don't go into it with the expectation that it's film noir, and enjoy the performances.

"I'm afraid you'll never see your friend again"

[ackstasis · 6/10 · 26 December 2008]

Director Douglas Sirk is generally known for producing weepy melodramas, so 'Lured (1947)' seemed like an exciting exception to the rule. The title alone has the feel of a dark and claustrophobic film noir thriller, with stark silhouettes skulking in alleyways and the shadow of gnarled fingers reaching toward a heroine's throat. The Production Code Administration apparently took a dislike to the film's name, perhaps conjuring up similar mental images to my own, and the film's title was subsequently changed to the less-lurid 'Personal Column,' which sounds more like a Lubitsch romantic comedy. Neither title quite does justice to the film's tone, which is somewhere between thriller and melodrama, stranded hopelessly in middle-ground between the two distinct genres. An impressive cast – including Lucille Ball, George Sanders, Boris Karloff, Cedric Hardwicke, Joseph Calleia and Charles Coburn – does its best with the uneven material. The tone of the screenplay shifts markedly between the moody and sophisticated first half and the less-interesting second, when each character abandons all the traits that had made them appealing.

Sandra Carpenter (Ball) is a smart-mouthed taxi dancer, the sort of girl who doesn't take any nonsense from the opposite sex. When her colleague goes missing after answering an ad in the newspaper personals column, the police suspect that she is the latest victim of a deranged serial killer, who sends the authorities flowery poetry readings to boast of his crimes. To prevent the next murder, Sandra is unexpectedly recruited to identify the man responsible, going undercover as his next prospective victim. Among the suspects is Boris Karloff, unfortunately underused as a hilariously demented fashion designer, and George Sanders, playing one of those charmingly smug suitors that he always played so well. Veteran cinematographer William Daniel's creates a nice, moody black-and-white atmosphere, perhaps lacking the grittiness of your typical 1940s film noir, though that would hardly have worked alongside a screenplay where even the most depraved murderers speak with a high degree of elegance and sophistication. Apparently, that's just how everybody is in England.

The first half of the film delicately develops a mysterious and slightly Gothic air of uneasiness, and then something happens: Douglas Sirks' melodramatic instincts kick in, and his characters suddenly become less interesting than before. Lucille Ball's sassy and independent woman becomes enamoured with George Sanders, discarding all her saucy wise-cracks in favour of the anguished cries of a weepy and vulnerable damsel-in-distress. Sanders, likewise, is effectively neutered by the onset of love, losing his indomitable lust and becoming all quiet and contemplative. George Sanders quiet and contemplative, you say? Outrageous! Even so, Cedric Hardwicke singlehandedly rescues the film's final half, refusing to subdue his grotesque depravity even before we're supposed to guess that he's the man responsible for the serial murders. I don't know if I could confidently recommend 'Lured' to fans of Douglas Sirk, but the excellent cast of actors means that most viewers should find some degree of fulfillment in his unusual brand of film noir film-making. This is worth a look.

An EXCELLENT film!

[normv · 9/10 · 16 November 2001]

For those of you who only know Ms. Ball as the "dizzy redhead" in the 50's sitcoms, you're in for a TREAT!

Before making the above, she was in many films -- Marx Brothers, The "Annabel" series, and this great film.

Backed by a solid cast (Zucco, Sanders, Karloff, Napier, Coburn), she acts as the "bait" to lure a London killer out of hiding.

Even tho (at least to ME) it was obvious who the killer is, it is fascinating watching her in a non-comedy role! And, she certainly was lovely!

If you get a chance to see this, DO SO! You won't be disappointed! It's a shame that she didn't make more films in this genre.

Baudelaire, Beauty & Death

[seymourblack-1 · 7/10 · 30 July 2014]

This remake of Robert Siodmak's "Pieges" (1939) is an engaging thriller about Scotland Yard's pursuit of a London serial killer who attracts his victims by advertising in the newspapers' personal columns. The mysterious maniac, who's clever enough to have avoided being caught by the police, is also conceited as he regularly sends them notes that include poetry and clues to the identities of his forthcoming targets. Checks carried out by the police reveal that the killer's verses are strongly influenced by the works of Charles Baudelaire and betray a preoccupation with a perceived link between beauty and death. Furthermore, the typeface of these notes is so distinctive that they could only have been produced by one specific typewriter.

Sandra Carpenter (Lucille Ball) is a brash New York City dancer who'd travelled to London to work in a stage musical which had closed prematurely due to poor box office returns. After working for a while in her next job as a taxi-dancer in a popular dance hall, she becomes concerned when her fellow dancer and good friend Lucy Barnard (Tanis Chandler) goes missing. Police Inspector Harley Temple (Charles Coburn), is convinced that Lucy has become the killer's latest victim and so interviews Sandra. He quickly recognises her strong personal qualities and so invites her to assist in his hunt for the killer by acting as the bait to catch the culprit. Sandra readily agrees to work undercover as a temporary detective and then starts to systematically reply to each new personal ad that appears.

Through her work, Sandra meets a variety of contacts including a seriously deranged retired dress designer called Charles van Druten (Boris Karloff) and a strange character called Dr Nicholas Moryani (Joseph Calleia) who it later transpires is involved in transporting young women to work as slaves in South America. In another of her blind dates, her contact, who she was due to meet at a classical music concert, fails to turn up, but that evening at the concert she meets nightclub owner Robert Fleming (George Sanders) and very soon, they fall in love.

Robert is a sophisticated womaniser who lives in a large house with his business partner and close friend, Julian Wilde (Cedric Hardwicke). On the night of their engagement party, Sandra finds a number of suspicious items in Robert's desk (including Lucy's photograph) which lead to him being arrested and becoming the prime suspect in Inspector Temple's investigation but finding conclusive proof of his guilt proves to be extremely difficult.

"Lured" features a colourful collection of characters and the performances of its top quality cast are consistently good. Lucille Ball is irrepressible despite the number of times that her character has to be rescued from threatening situations and the unorthodox ways in which her bodyguard, Detective H.R. Barrett (George Zucco) finds the solutions to his crossword puzzles are also quite amusing. The emphasis in making this film was clearly on producing an upbeat thriller which has many of the characteristics of a routine whodunit (e.g. numerous red herrings) and judged purely on this basis, it is very successful and entertaining.

Too sloppily written to be anything more than a time-passer.

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 20 August 2009]

What's the matter with this film's casting--was Hollywood running out of genuine English actors? I can't understand with all the English actors in the film and the film being set in London, you'd sure think that all the actors would be Brits--or at least sound British. So why did they cast Charles Coburn (a great actor, sure) and Lucille Ball in this film? As a result, when the film started I felt puzzled to say the least but at least noticed that there were a lot of actors in the film other than these two leads who actually were Brits.

The film concerns a serial killer who is killing pretty young ladies. Oddly, he has a calling card of sorts, as he leaves strange and rather cryptic poems for the police. When Lucille Ball is able to give the police some important information concerning her friend who just disappeared, the police instantly make her a police woman and send her out on assignments to find the killer. It seems that whoever is doing the killings is using personal ads in the newspaper to recruit victims, so they have Lucy go in response to many, many such ads.

Here's the odd part--and I don't blame the film makers for this but the marketing jerks at Kino Video today. You see, on the cover of the DVD, there is a nice photo of Lucy and Boris Karloff and it's very prominent. However, Karloff is only in the movie about five minutes and he's eliminated as a suspect early on in the film--yet the DVD maker would have the viewer expect this to be a film in which Karloff starred. Heck, a dozen people were in the movie would could have easily been put on the cover with Lucy instead! Despite all this, Karloff is NOT the psycho (or at least he's a DIFFERENT psycho). So, Lucy goes on several more meetings until she is able to crack a smuggling ring--but not the serial killer. Along the way, she meets and almost instantly falls in love with George Sanders and they decide to marry(!). But, when it appears that Sanders may actually be the killer, Lucy may be in for far more than she thought.

The film has an interesting plot and could have been a very good film...but it was not. There were several problems with the film. First, the casting was just all wrong. Second, what police force in the world would take an untrained civilian and make her an instant police woman? Additionally, why would they hand her a loaded gun--especially when the British police rarely carry revolvers! Third, the relationship with Sanders and Lucy just went way, way too fast. No offense, but he's rather erudite and rich--so why would he go all ga-ga over Lucy? Back in the 1930s, she was rather pretty but still so unlike Sanders. Now, in 1947, the match just made little sense--perhaps he was on the rebound from Zsa-Zsa. Sadly, so much about the writing was good--such as the nice plot twists in the latter half of the film. But it's just too sloppy and improbable throughout to be more than a time-passer.

Sad, as there was a cast of wonderful actors that were unfortunately wasted. Other than the folks I already mentioned, the film starred Cedric Hardwicke, George Zucco, Joseph Calleia, Joseph Calleia and Alan Napier--all very, very talented men.

Well-acted detective story...some funny, cynical asides, though the script doesn't hold together

[moonspinner55 · 6/10 · 7 August 2011]

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 ****

A nice surprise!

[barbarella70 · 6 January 2003]

Great, atmospheric tale of a struggling chorus girl (Lucille Ball)who is used as bait by London police to catch a serial killer who preys on women through newspaper personal advertisements.

Douglas Sirk is the Director of the Moment due to the release of the superb Far from Heaven -a remake of Sirk's All That Heaven Allows- and his films are now being rented and talked about as if they never existed. This film is a beautiful showcase for the almost larger-than-life characters, incredibly detailed sets, and use of lighting that would become trademarks for his later films.

Lucille Ball makes a great 'dame' and her dramatic abilities were sensational. Boris Karloff takes his one scene and plays it to the creepy hilt while George Sanders was a rather cool and sexy guy before he sealed his film fate as Addison DeWitt in All About Eve.

Lured maybe hard to find in most video stores but give it a chance if you come across it.

Split Personality

[Lechuguilla · 6/10 · 16 May 2005]

A killer lures lonely young women via the "personals" column in a London newspaper. A friend of one of the victims, an attractive dancer named Sandra Carpenter (Lucille Ball), acts as bait to catch the killer, under direction of Police Inspector Temple (Charles Coburn). One of the suspects is Robert Fleming (George Sanders) who may, or may not, be the killer. Fleming, suave and sophisticated, charms Carpenter into romantic complications.

The whodunit element of "Lured" gets off to a strong start, with good direction, some spooky lighting at the beginning, and an assortment of interesting suspects. But, as the film progresses, the whodunit element gets undercut by the developing romance between Carpenter and Fleming. The upbeat "All For Love" musical score, combined with elegant costumes, reinforce the romantic theme. The whodunit element sputters out about two-thirds through the film.

My impression is that the screenplay for this film was adapted from "Pieges", a 1939 French film (which I have not seen), billed as a romantic thriller. In "Lured", we certainly have a romantic theme; thrills maybe, depending on how you define "thrills". You get the feeling that the film's director (Douglas Sirk) started with the intention of making a whodunit, but later changed his mind and decided to make a romantic melodrama. The film's split personality may also be the result of the casting of two strong lead actors (Ball and Sanders), whom we do not usually associate with murder mysteries.

"Lured" certainly has entertainment value. I love Lucy no matter what role she plays. Coburn and Sanders are nearly always engaging. The film has good B&W cinematography. The dialogue is crisp. And the film provides some great nostalgia, via 1940's clothes, hairstyles, and music. Overall, "Lured" has a great cast and some wonderful atmosphere. But, when I want to watch a murder mystery from the 30's or 40's, I will be more inclined to watch a film whose sole aim is to present a whodunit puzzle, such as, for example, a good old fashion Charlie Chan film with Sidney Toler ... romance be damned.

Pretty Good, Not Quite Noir

[Jiszmo · 7/10 · 10 June 2019]

This movie was pretty good. I won't go into the plot or anything since others already have. The Cinematography was beautiful. The copy I have is 1080p and the black and white is really crisp. That was probably the best thing for me. So, I guess a combination of cinematography and media quality, is what I'm thinking of. With any less than1080p, I doubt I would have even bothered to finish it.

That's not to say that the story wasn't entertaining though. It did keep my interest all the way through. Though I pretty much guessed who the killer was by about a quarter of the way through. I just hoped I was wrong. But, I wasn't.

**spoilers**

That does bring me to the part I didn't like. The stupid romantic subplot. A subplot where a poor gold digging semi-prostitute ends up with the philandering playboy. Similar to pretty woman in it's ridiculousness. But, at least in that movie the guy wasn't a womanizer, if I remember correctly. But here we get the typical happy ending, even if it does seemed doomed to self- destruct about a week after the film ends, when the playboy discovers another beauty, and the gold digger sues him for half of everything he owns. lol

The good thing about it was that the final confrontation with the killer, (though playing out exactly as I expected, and I do mean exactly, with the police breaking in as Lucille Ball was being strangled) was handled a little better than I expected. Some of the speeches the killer made, and the sort of back and forth between the killer and the inspector, were pretty good. As I said, those parts were better than expected from a movie with such a cliche romantic plot, and typical Hollywood type ending.

That does bring me to a minor point of confusion though. I thought Noirs weren't supposed to have typical happy endings. I may be wrong, as I do kinda have a hard time understanding what classifies a film as Noir. But most of what I've read about it seems to suggest that one of the genre's defining characteristics is that the films don't have a happy ending. So, I don't know about that.

But anyways, it's a pretty good movie. Definitely worth a watch, and will probably keep you entertained throughout. But probably not good enough to where you seek people out and recommend it to them.

A shadow in So Ho commits poetry with murder.

[mark.waltz · 8/10 · 22 February 2017]

It's pretty obvious from the beginning who the shadow is, and the only clues to the sinister crimes come from a series of poetry letters. The poor victim of the final walk to fate gets the opening, and as soon as you see his silhouette, it's obvious that the end might not be imminent, but certainly soon. A lack of opening credits deliberately adds to the intrigue, with Charles Coburn leading the investigation into unknown crimes involving a series of letters, while the innocent lass (ironically named Lucy) tells her pal, Lucille Ball, about the mysterious gentleman she's been seeing. Lucy soon disappears, leading Lucille to begin her own search.

While this brilliant thriller is set in modern times, it could easily be set in the days of Sherlock Holmes, Jack the Ripper, and Queen Victoria. The fog is thick, the gaslights are barely lit, and the thick sound of cockney accents fill the air. When Coburn and Ball get together, the chemistry he shared with Jean Arthur is almost immediately forgotten. He's seemingly lecherous (with a cause) and she's no nonsense and filled with the cynical wisecrack of a showgirl who's obviously been around. In short, she's as far from McGillicuddy, Ricardo, Carmichael and Carter as she can get, basically a nicer version of her showgirl from "The Big Street".

The colorful characters she meets along the way are brilliantly constructed, a character actor's dream. From Coburn to dashing George Sanders to urbane Sir Cedric Hardwicke to Boris Karloff, anything is possible in this shadowy night world where courageous Lucy proves herself to be any of these men's equals. Had she not gone onto TV comedy, she may have had a shot at real dramatic acting, directed here by none other than Douglas Sirk, a master of melodrama. Karloff (along with Anne Codee as his partner in lunacy) is hysterically funny, although certainly not sane.

What makes this film so much fun is the combination of Gothic mystery, light farce, a bit of film noir and of course, Lucy, makes this a must. It features an outstanding technical look with an incredible set design, superb photography, a wonderful musical score and unsurpassed pacing. The film gets episodic as it moves along, with George Zucco and Alan Mowbray popping in for amusing bits. Coburn, totally adorable in every nuance of his performance, plays well opposite Lucy, and it's a shame that this was their only pairing. Once you begin this film, you'll be lured in as I was, and there is no return until it is all over.

"Looks like I'm next, doesn't it?"

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 5 July 2021]

Just a few short years before we all got to love her as Lucy, Lucille Ball stars here in a crime/murder mystery in which she's recruited by Scotland Yard! To catch the 'Poet Killer', a serial murderer inspired by the works of Charles Beaudelaire. There's a very fine cast here made up of many of the era's stalwart actors, some of them dubiously appearing as red herrings before the killer is eventually revealed. The primary one is Boris Karloff, almost seeming like he belongs in a different picture. He's not in the story very long, just enough to suggest that this could have been an entirely different movie if he stuck around.

While Sandra Carpenter (Ball) responds to come-ons in the personals column of the London Courier, she's trailed by Yard detective Barrett (George Zucco), at first unbeknownst to her but making a splash the first time he has to make the save in a tight situation. A little bit of the old Lucy Ricardo is previewed during that comical gun exchange between them in the back of a cab. Ball seems to drift in and out of a slight British accent in the film, which she didn't have to since she's an American who traveled to England.

For a while the story line points to the elegant Robert Fleming (George Sanders) as the Poet Killer, a situation that becomes complicated for Ms. Carpenter when it appears that a romance is in the offing. There's an awkward scene in Fleming's study between Sandra and Inspector Temple (Charles Coburn) in which it appears she's trying to shield him from suspicion, but then reverses itself when she cooperates. I thought that was clumsily done.

Well before the finale it becomes pretty obvious who the real killer is, so obvious that even O. J. could figure it out. It brings the story to a successful conclusion for Scotland Yard and the new pair of lovebirds. I rather liked this one for it's atmosphere and interesting cast, and upon consideration, probably the only time you'll see Karloff and Zucco together in a non-horror film.

Excellent Thriller

[johnnydeco · 10/10 · 12 February 2008]

Great Film Noir, Well acted by all, One of the best 1940's crime movies, George Sanders and Lucille Ball have perfect chemistry, The movie will keep you guessing until the end. This "rediscovered" classic from 1947 has one of Lucille Ball's best dramatic roles of her career. A Jack-the-Ripper-like serial killer is looking for and murdering beautiful young women, and Lucille Ball's characters friend is the killer's latest victim. Wanting desperately to help the police find the brutal murderer, she is hired by Scotland Yard to become a decoy for the killer, who lures his victims through newspaper advertisements. Lots of plot twists keep movie exciting to the end.

Poet Killer Believed To Be At Bay!

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 17 October 2013]

Lured (AKA: Personal Column) is directed by Douglas Sirk and collectively written by Leo Rosten, Jacques Companéez, Simon Gantillon and Ernst Neubach. It stars Lucille Ball, George Sanders, Charles Coburn, Cedric Hardwicke, Joseph Calleia and Boris Karloff. Music is by Michel Michelet and cinematography by William H. Daniels.

A serial killer in London is murdering young women whom he meets through the personal columns section of the newspaper. Taunting the police with cryptic poems, the killer is proving most illusive, so much so that when a friend of dancer Sandra Carpenter (Ball) disappears, the police enlist her to act as bait to lure the killer in.

There's a lot to like about Lured, on proviso you have your expectation level correctly set as to what sort of film it is. It's a very uneven movie in tone, which when one sees that there were four writing contributors involved in bringing it to the screen, perhaps comes as no surprise. A remake of Robert Siodmak's 1939 film Pièges (set in Paris), it is never sure if it wants to be a comedy mystery or a dark brooding thriller. A shame because in spite of it being a set bound production, Sirk and Daniels create a sinister visual mood when the story lurks around the constructed London sets.

The cast are ever watchable, though you can see Ball struggling to rein in her natural comedic bent during the more dramatic sequences, but she leads off from the front and looks positively lovely and radiant. Karloff fans get a fun extended cameo, with the great Uncle Boris playing up to a caricature of unstable characters he could do in his sleep, Sanders is suitably stand-offish, Coburn ebullient, while Hardwicke and Calleia add a touch of class to the support ranks.

Michelet's musical score is in keeping with the mixed tonal flow of the picture, in fact sometimes sounding like it should be in a screwball movie from decades previously, but with competent professionalism coming elsewhere from Sirk, Daniels and the lead cast members, it's an enjoyable movie. Even if it's all a bit too jolly and nonchalant for its own good at times. 6.5/10

Lucy Trying to Find a Killer

[theowinthrop · 8/10 · 9 March 2009]

For some reason LURED has not shown up on television very often. I don't know why, as it is well acted and directed. Possibly because of a flaw in the 1947 telling of the story that would be handled differently today. The villain is killing women because he cannot attract them like other men, and sees that they are at their most beautiful when they are dead (which oddly enough would have been the viewpoint of Reginald Christie, the Rillington Place strangler who was alive in 1947 and killing). But today the character would probably be latently homosexual. There are signs of it in his intellectual interests and even his use of poetry, as opposed to the other males in the film (especially the hero). I think that might have made the film a trifle more believable.

LURED is based on a 1939 French movie that starred Maurice Chevalier, and possibly gave that great entertainer his meatiest dramatic role. The cast here is damned good one, with Lucille Ball as an American dancer in London who is searching for a missing friend. She is recruited by Charles Coburn (as a Chief Inspector from Scotland Yard) to assist him, Alan Napier, and Robert Coote in trying to find her friend and solve the disappearance (in two years) of eight other woman. She is supposed to be bait for the criminal - to lure him into a trap. Lucy is given the personal columns and is to answer all that pertain to some man seeking a woman as a companion.

Ball is good - first as a tired American down on her luck (she is now a taxi dancer). She is hard boiled, but she seeks to improve herself. She does get a chance by answering an invitation to work for a nightclub owned by George Sanders and Cedric Hardwicke. But then her friend vanishes, and she finds her sense of public duty overcoming ambition.

Except for one thing. Fate keeps throwing her and Sanders together, and the latter (from his phone call with Lucy earlier) has been very interested in her. Slowly they are falling in love.

But she is determined to help Coburn. And the screenplay allows Douglas Sirk to go to town here. Sirk was brilliant at using the riches of materialism to manipulate his audiences (best shown in the 1950s in his color films). But in black and white he is just as effective, illustrating the situations Lucy finds herself in by his use of sets and costumes.

First the meets Boris Karloff, a well dressed man who seems to be offering her a modeling job. He is. But(in a switch for Karloff) he is an insane couturier (ruined years earlier by unscrupulous competitors), and he is putting on his greatest show (with Lucy wearing a twenty year old (1920 style) gown for a non-existent audience of blue-bloods (the main seat supposedly for a Princess has a British bull dog growling in it!).

Next she answers an ad for a maid in a banker's house. Interestingly this involves Lucy with a gang run by Joseph Calleia and Alan Mowbray (as a crooked butler - Topper's butler would not have approved). The gang is also causing young women to vanish, but for commercial reasons. Again the script is forced to change what is probably going on: the women, in the finished film are being shipped to become thieves working for Calliea in South America. In reality they would probably be turned into prostitutes in a white slavery ring down there. Again Sirk manages to translate a vision of the danger Lucy is in by the claustrophobic lower kitchen of the house where she is alone with a suspicious Calleia and a dumbfounded Mowbray.

Finally Lucy agrees to marry George, and everything seems headed smoothly ahead, except for the mysterious criminal sending another poem to the Yard that seems to aim at Lucy. Then she finds disturbing items in Sanders' desk. And the story takes us back to the serious elements we saw earlier when Lucy was trying to find her missing pal.

The film is quite good, and bears good comparison to later Sirk masterpieces like MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION and IMITATION OF LIFE. I only wish to add what several have pointed out: the performance of George Zucco as a Scotland Yard Lieutenant who works with Lucy, and is brave, but is also a perfect comic partner for her. Watch his interest in crosswords, and how she unconsciously helps him on them.

"There's a homicidal maniac loose somewhere in the vast honeycomb of London."

[bensonmum2 · 6/10 · 9 December 2015]

A homicidal maniac is loose in London, murdering young women he meets through newspaper personal ads. When Lucy Barnard goes missing, her friend Sandra Carpenter (Lucille Ball) agrees to help Scotland Yard catch a killer. Along the way, however, she falls in love with number one suspect Robert Fleming (George Sanders). Despite all the evidence to the contrary, he can't be the killer, can he?

Despite all the flaws in Lured, it's just too much fun not to give it a positive rating. The cast is strong. I really enjoyed watching several of them play against character. Sanders usually played men in charge of their environment. It was interesting to watch him play a character who has lost control of his situation. Lucy is obviously best know for her work in comedy. While she a few funny moments in Lured, I was really impressed with her efforts in the more dramatic parts. George Zucco, an actor I know best playing Egyptian priests or mad scientists, gets a chance to do comedy. He's more than up to the task. Throw into the mix the talents of Boris Karloff, Charles Coburn, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Alan Mowbray, and Alan Napier and you've got one impressive cast.

Beyond the cast, other positives I found in Lured, include: fabulous costumes, nice cinematography, a witty script, and plenty of atmosphere.

But as I said, Lured has it's share of flaws. Chief among them is that there's really not much of a mystery. I found it way too easy to spot the killer. And his motives are a bit muddled. If he did it because he loved Sandra, then why kill all the other women? If he did it because he loved Fleming (as some suspect), then why frame him? There's a lot of plot inconsistency.

Finally, as much as I enjoyed watching Lucy and Karloff in their scenes together, it doesn't really fit with the rest of the movie. It almost felt like this part came from another film. These scenes really do nothing to advance the plot.

Even with the multiple problems, like I said, Lured is a fun movie. A 6/10 from me.

Lured -Don't Be Enticed **

[edwagreen · 4/10 · 9 March 2009]

Pretty bad film with George Sanders and Lucille Ball starring. Their chemistry is about non-existent. This is supposed to be a murder thriller and for a change there is absolutely no violence shown as 7 women fall victim to a mysterious killer.

Charles Coburn is the inspector of Scotland Yard yet he has no British accent. Lucille Ball plays a dancer doing odd jobs who works as a decoy for the Yard when one of her friends mysteriously disappears and eventually shown to fallen victim to this maniacal killer.

Ball is essentially Lucy without the laughs. Despite what others say, she shows absolutely no dramatic flare here at all. I expected Ethel and Fred Mertz to intervene at any time to save the day.

It becomes so obvious who the killer is. Sir Cedric Hardwicke, who was so good in "The Ten Commandments" and memorable as Henry Cabot Lodge in "Wilson," looks like a real odd-ball here.

The ending is predictable even with Sanders, the lover of Ball, in the film confessing guilt to draw the real killer out.