"Lured" Review

 

by Daniel White

"She is stunning", actor George Sanders avows in 1947's Lured. He's talking about Lucille Ball and she certainly looks stunning in this flawed yet entertaining film. And, of course, Miss Ball was stunning in so many other ways as well.

Critic Andrew Sarris, analyzing Lucille Ball's film career, once stated that the reason she wasn't more successful was that she was too "knowing." Did he mean she was too aware, too forthright, maybe even a bit too common? That she wasn't a lady, as some of her peers were, like Myrna Loy, Claudette Colbert, or Irene Dunne?

Certainly that's the case in Douglas Sirk's Lured (1947), where she plays Sandra Carpenter, a cynical American taxi dancer in London who goes to the police to report the disappearance of her friend and fellow dancer-for-hire Lucy (Tanis Chandler).

Lured is not a great movie; at times it's not even a good movie. But it is an interesting one, one that should be seen by any film buff who enjoys flicks from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Though George Sanders gets top billing (in an unusual role for him -- he plays Ball's love interest), this is Lucy's movie and she's top-notch.

In a plot twist that can only happen in a hackneyed Hollywood pot boiler, Sandra is recruited by a Scotland Yard detective (Charles Coburn) to go undercover and solve a string of murders of which her missing friend is suspected of being one of the victims.

And she is "knowing", a world weary dame who feels compelled to find the man who probably murdered her pal, another gal hoofing for pennies (or shillings as the case may be). Is there a feminist sub plot at play here? Possibly, which may be the reason Sirk was attracted to the material. The director was known for his interest in stories that were women-centric.

About 25 minutes into this imbroglio, Boris Karloff shows up playing a Charles James-like dress designer who is off his noodle. Besides being an amusing cameo, it's also an historic moment in the history of entertainment: Frankenstein's monster meets Lucy Ricardo!

The movie meanders too much with too many plot twists that amount to nothing and go nowhere. But there is so much GOOD stuff here, including a comical George Zucco, who plays Lucy's bumbling guardian angel, a police detective with a penchant for crossword puzzles. At one point, he admonishes Lucy for losing her gun, she thanks him, then hands him his own misplaced pistol!

Lured was released in 1947, and Lucille Ball's film career, which had never really taken off, was in danger of losing whatever steam it had acquired. The 36-year-old actress was also in danger of losing her marriage to band leader Desi Arnaz. His constant touring and wandering eye had put a strain on the couple, a situation Ball was hoping to correct. About this time she was offered a radio show, My Favorite Husband, which was very successful and would soon lead to her foray into television and history.

Lured is overlong, verbose, and a bit tedious. It's also an above average who-done-it (not a film noir as some misguided film pundits have labeled it). A suitable showcase for Lucille Ball, it has one of the best (mostly British) supporting casts, sumptuous, detailed, delicious set designs by Nicolai Remisoff, and one of the most elegant, stylish wardrobes that the actress has ever worn (courtesy of designer Elois Jenssen, who would eventually work on I Love Lucy).

A mixed bag that never quite takes off (akin to Ball's film career), Lured is nevertheless a fascinating film that offers us a glimpse at Lucille Ball on the eve of becoming a television icon.

Co-starring Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Joseph Calleia, Alan Mowbray, and Alan Napier (I get giddy just listing those names!), and produced by Hunt Stromberg, Lured is available on YouTube.