Despite the disclaimer at the start which says that the film is not based on any real event or persons, or that sort of thing, the film in fact actually is a fictionalized dramatization of an actual event.
The film concerns a nightclub hostess who works for a high profile New York… More
Despite the disclaimer at the start which says that the film is not based on any real event or persons, or that sort of thing, the film in fact actually is a fictionalized dramatization of an actual event.
The film concerns a nightclub hostess who works for a high profile New York gangster. She gets into a sticky situation when she and her coworkers find themselves faced with a dilemma when they become involved in a trial that could put their boss away-if he doesn't "take care" of them first.
The real life event that inspired this film was that of the testimony of a bunch of call girls during a murder trial who ended up exposing Lucky Luciano as a major figure in a prostitution ring, and putting him behind bars. Due ot the censorhip in place at the time in the film industry, the material had to be softened and the less savory parts likewise toned down, but the result is still a decent, if ultimately unremarkable period melodrama.
I thought the film was okay, but it bugs me that the studio system was the way it was back then, because this material had the potential to be really powerful and effective, and if made today, the justice that the stroy deserves coudl be done, and wouldn't have to be as restricted (and the fake out disclaimer wouldn't be necessary either). But at least the film did do something major by showing the criminal world from the perspective of the victimized female- something rare for the day.
Bette Davis gives a strong and fairly decent performance as the lead girl Mary, who plays the most pivotal role in the criminal case at the film's center, as it is her character who was with the victim hours before his death, which came at the hands of her employer. In a rare good guy turn (for the time, that is), Humphrey Bogart sheds his typecast label as a thug or heavy and puts in good work as the stern, yet sympathetic prosecutor David Graham.
All in all, this is a decent enough melodrama. It's not really all that memorable, and it is formulaic and predicatble, and it bugs me that the story was compromised, but the performances are fine, it's not boring, and it's refreshing to see an older film that shows women in good roles and from their perspective. Though, to be honest, some of the supporting women still come of as shrieking stereotypes, but Davis at least has a good role.