Cleo Moore is a doll! We don't even mind if the opening scene in our film is one of her in a swimsuit lying on the beach...for quite sometime. It's Cleo Moore, after all! Of more interest is the role she plays...a sultry not too competent waitress. Her character is grouchy, not the best employee, and hardly honest. Extenuating circumstances? Of course. For all of you out there that give it 40%, drawing the scorn of all those who always give 100%, and go home with the same paycheck...this one's for you. Our feature today is 1953's "One Girl's Confession," (aka "A Woman's Dark Secret") directed by Hugo Haas. We have to give Mr. Haas credit, he does cast sultry blondes nicely.
Mary (Moore), a cranky waitress at a harborside dive restaurant, gets pawed by her drunk customers nightly. One night, after work, she sneaks into the boss' office and takes the cash box with $25K inside. Moments later the cops show up at her door and she greets them with a full confession and a plea to bring her to jail. Surprised, they ask where the money is and Mary tells them it is her secret and will never tell. She also tells the cops to ask the restaurant owner where he got the money, which he declines to elaborate on. Off to jail with a secret...she gets five years. In jail, the pretty blonde is a friend to all and does her jobs well. Everyone at the prison loves her and she receives early parole. Now she is free and determined not to lead anyone to the money, figuring she is being followed. Now she has a new waitressing job and her boss is the gambling crazy Dragomic (Haas). Oh, she meets a guy who works on the docks. Johnny (Glenn Langan), is quite the hunk and aspires to own his own fishing boat someday.
Mary keeps her secret and keeps thinking about what that priest (Anthony Jochim) in prison told her. His advice is good, forget about the money, stolen loot is cursed and will bring no happiness. Ah, but is it stolen. We get a few hints on why this good soul would steal it, and confess right away, and gladly go to prison. For now, Mary is content being a waitress and being pawed by drunken customers, and even beginning a romance with the hunk from the docks. Ah, but now she wonders if that $25K might be put to good use...and mysteriously is given the opportunity to dig it up and put it to use.
What could justify Mary stealing the loot from her employer? Just what reason would she dig it up? Is the dough cursed, and if so, is someone scheming to steal it when she decides to dig it up? We like Mary a lot...she's a babe, honest...and apparently has a lot of dinero. Cleo Moore turns in a sultry performance as both a bathing beauty and an underachieving waitress. See "One Girl's Confession" and treat it as a fable with a good morality lesson.
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