Directed by Lewis Allen • 1947 • United States
Starring John Hodiak, Lizabeth Scott, Burt Lancaster
Lurid Technicolor, deep-dish melodrama, and gay subtext abound in this pulpy noir firecracker. In the desert town of Chuckawalla, Nevada, tempers flare, passions spark, and violence erupts when Paula (Lizabeth Scott), the defiant daughter of a hard-boiled casino owner (Mary Astor) falls for no-good gangster Eddie Bendix (John Hodiak)—igniting the jealousy of Bendix’s possessive partner (Wendell Corey, in his film debut). In one of his earliest film roles, Burt Lancaster costars as the local cop who finds himself embroiled in the deadly tangle.
Up Next in Murderous Melodramas
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Niagara
Directed by Henry Hathaway • 1953 • United States
Starring Marilyn Monroe, Joseph Cotten, Jean PetersMarilyn Monroe dazzles in her star-making turn as a devious femme fatale in this sultry tale of seduction and murder. While on vacation at Niagara Falls, Rose Loomis (Monroe) plots to murder her...
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Queen Bee
Directed by Ranald MacDougall • 1955 • United States
Starring Joan Crawford, John Ireland, Betsy PalmerJoan Crawford delivers a ferocious performance in this scorching domestic melodrama. She stars as Eva Phillips, a Southern socialite who, though she appears to be the epitome of grace and char...
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The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing
Directed by Richard Fleischer • 1955 • United States
Starring Ray Milland, Joan Collins, Farley GrangerInspired by one of the most notorious scandals of the early twentieth century, this lavishly mounted crime melodrama recounts the perverse love triangle that unfolded between Evelyn Nesbit (Jo...
