tomsview This movie used to turn up a lot on Australian television during the 1960's, but now seems quite rare with the DVD fetching a high price if Amazon is any guide.It's a serial killer movie before the term was actually coined. The film is set in Hollywood London with plenty of fog, sumptuous interiors, loads of atmosphere and a terrific cast.Lucille Ball, a few years before "I love Lucy", plays Sandra Carpenter an American working as a taxi dancer. When a friend of hers becomes a victim of The Poet Killer, she is hired by Inspector Temple (Charles Coburn) of Scotland Yard as a temporary undercover policewoman to act as bait.Although the way the police put the clues together with early attempts at psychological profiling is interesting, credulity is stretched when Temple enlists Sandra after a few questions and asking her to lift her dress to check the shape of her legs – he also gives her a pistol. However Charles Couburn brings plenty of gravitas to his character, which makes up for the odd lapse in logic.The murder plot is woven around wanted ads in the paper and messages based on the poems of Baudelaire, "One of the most fantastic madmen who ever lived", according to Inspector Temple. Sandra also becomes involved with Robert Fleming (George Sanders) and his business partner Julian Wilde (Cedric Hardwick) who together run a string of popular nightclubs. Both men are drawn into the mystery, which keeps the whole plot pretty close to home.The film is full of red herrings including a bizarre sequence starring Boris Karloff.The reason why the film works so well is the brilliant mood that is established from the start, a clever script and the smooth direction by Douglas Sirk – the film has a light touch without losing suspense. Then there are the stars; a very pretty Lucille Ball exudes feistiness and confidence, while George Sanders delivers that unique quality of unflappable sophistication and superiority, and he plays a nicer guy here than his Addison Dewitt in "All About Eve" – he was a brilliant screen presence that was never replaced.Although a suspension of disbelief helps, this movie has something. I love the ending, but I wouldn't spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it. It's one of those films I can always watch again.

utgard14 Film noir thriller about an American dancer (Lucille Ball) in London recruited by Scotland Yard to help nab a serial killer. The killer, who taunts the police by sending them poems about the killings, finds his victims through ads in the personal column of the newspaper. Lucy's investigation puts her in contact with several odd characters played by fine character actors. The identity of the killer is fairly obvious even if you managed to avoid being spoiled by plot descriptions or other reviews. That being said, it's still fun to watch Lucy play detective and fun to sort through the red herrings. She snaps off quite a few 'tough dame' lines as well. The cast is just fantastic. In addition to Lucy, there's George Sanders, Charles Coburn, Alan Napier, Alan Mowbray, Boris Karloff, Cedric Hardwicke, and George Zucco. What a lineup! Karloff's part is tiny but he makes the most of it. If there's a major negative with the film, it's the length. For this era, it's unusual to see an 'A' runtime given to what is essentially a 'B' movie. The cast and Douglas Sirk's direction make it an enjoyable watch but it really should have been cut down some.

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.

christopher-underwood Set in London but mainly studio bound, this is a super outing from Douglas Sirk and although known as, Lured, here in the UK, the US title, Personal Column, seems more appropriate as the UK title does suggest the film is rather more hard edged than it is. But, never mind, Lucille Ball is excellent and we can see just what a loss to cinema she was when swallowed up by TV. Indeed all the cast a great, helped by the dialogue and plotting. George Sanders is his usual likable self but it is the Karloff cameo that shines and for me his surreal scene makes the film worth seeing on its own. Things could have been tightened in the middle when we almost forget there is a killer at all but things soon pick up and much fun is had by all.