Watch Slightly Scarlet Movie Online
Lundi, août 2nd, 2010 |
Watch Slightly Scarlet Movie Online.
Movie Title: Slightly Scarlet Slightly Scarlet is available for streaming or downloading. |
The DVD from VCI presents this film in its widescreen version and the technicolor photography by JOHN ALTON looks terrific. I admit I was at first perplexed by the color: it did not seem necessary. So I turned the color off on the TV and watched some scenes in black & white–they looked terriic, vintage Alton. But watching again in color I realized what may be the very special quality this film has: it looks like those PULP CRIME NOVEL COVERS we have all enjoyed over the years. The reds, greens, blues, yellows, etc of those wonderful old covers seem to be reproduced here. In combination with the very pulpy, James M. Cain-based plotline, we have an extremely FUN movie.
Rhonda Fleming and Arlene Dahl play sisters who share some sort of duplicitous secret from childhood. Director Alan Dwan (who replaced Kurt Neumann for this film) makes sure we appreciate the doppelgangerishness of the actresses from the opening scene–Fleming picks up Dahl as she exits prison and the two embrace in that movie-ish way, cheek-to-cheek, so their striking similarity of features and RED HAIR can be fully displayed. Fleming really could act, and she gets some choice scenes, but Dahl tends to steal most of Fleming’s thunder with her pouty, Dorothy Malone-like, bad girl characterization.
John Payne–by 1956 and aging matinee idol–makes a pretty good conflicted lead. But the other real standout is Ted de Corsia as a mean, mean villain along the lines of Lawrence Tierney or Ward Bond. De Corsia gets to chew garishly colored scenery at several turns.
It’s always a pleasure to see the ubiquitous Ellen Corby as Fleming’s thankless and clueless housekeeper (”what should I make for supper?”..oops she’s being arrested!). And one never tires of Frank Gerstle and Lance Fuller (one of de Corsia’s thugs)
The disc has an informative commentary by mystery writer/filmmaker Max Collins. Extras really make the package: a static, luridly-colored main menu leads (via realistic-sounding gunshots!) to the extras menu, which includes a nicely done James M. Cain bio and a little panorama of color reproductions of Cain pulp covers from Collins’ own collections. There are also some trailers: for “Slightly Scarlet” (this one looks good) and atrociously awful-looking ones for “Double Indemnity” and “The Postman Always Rings Twice”.
Highly enjoyable all around.
I like this 50’s pulp film because it’s an example of what must have been considered “adult” back then. Tough, brutal–with “girlie” shots of redhead Rhonda Fleming in scanty outfits and the all-out performance of Arlene Dahl as her klepto/nympho/psycho sister-both vying for the he-man pleasures of hunky John Payne and everyone caught up in Big City Corruption and Scandal. Lushly photographed and tightly directed ,this is fun stuff–worth repeat viewings any time. Good quality DVD product from VCI that’s in vivid 50’s color.
I recommend this for buffs who like a little cheese on their cracker–like me.
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