5 Against the House, Law Students and the Perfect Crime

Yep, law students. Idiots.  So when four think they are pulling off the perfect crime, we know carnage and imperfection will rule the day. Never mind one of the students is an unhinged psycho. Law students? Dullards, indeed. Hence Kim Novak as a sultry nightclub singer. Irrelevant to the plot? Hardly. In slinky evening gown and yearning for love, Kim Novak adds allure and seduction to the plot. Her chances of escaping this one with her perfect face and allure intact will be slim, but we will pull for her. Let us look at the casino-heist film, 1955's "5 Against the House," directed by Phil Karlson.

Al (Guy Madison) is home from Korea and the GI Bill is sending him to law school. His buddy Brick (Brian Keith), same deal. Brick saved Al's life in combat and got pretty messed up doing it. Just released from the psyche ward of an army hospital, Brick is now a law student prone to homicidal rages. They have two law student buddies, the young Roy (Alvy Moore) and Ronnie (Kerwin Mathews). Ronnie is a genius. The quartet drive to Reno and have a night at Harold's Club Casino. Ronnie scoped out the place and when he hears it is impossible to rob, he devises a plan. Okay, Al, back at law school, is romancing sultry nightclub singer Kay (Novak). Brick has a homicidal outburst, or two, and Al tries to get him to go back to the psyche ward. Ronnie thinks too much and now has a surefire plan to hit the casino and lets Roy and Brick in on it. Ronnie's plan to is to rob it, leave the money outside town, and call the casino to come get their money...proving only it can be done.

Brick has other motives and gets a gun. The trio need Al to go along with it, but know he won't. They invite him to go to Reno with them and spring it on him at the last moment. Al decides to marry Kay and bring her to Reno to get married. On the way, Al figures out what his buddies are up to and objects and refuses to be the fourth man. Brick threatens to murder Kay unless Al cooperates. Oh, that perfect plan... genius except for the fact it is so stupid. Brick gets more unhinged.

Will Kay make it to the end credits with her perfect face unmarred?  Does Ronnie's perfect plan have any ounce of perfection in it?  Will Kay ever get the hint and ditch the law student in favor of someone with earning power and personality? This is a good one and the contrast between psycho Brick and the nubile and glamorous Kay, both pulling at Al's heartstrings, is fascinating.  See "5 Against the House" and be reminded those perfect plans you have...they probably stink. 

Man Bait, Diana Dors Of Course

Hot blondes from Film Noir films? Many, but Diana Dors is a big one. The bombshell is introduced in this very film. Not just a Film Noir film but also one of those old Hammer suspense films from England. Yep, Diana Dors is the femme fatale, or one of them in this movie. Sadly, she plays a stupid bimbo and won't survive for the end credits. So sad, the beautiful die so horribly especially when they romance psychos. Our feature today is 1952's "Man Bait" (aka "The Last Page"), directed by Terence Fisher.

The prim and proper book store manager John (George Brent) is battling with insurance companies. His wife (Isabel Dean) is very frail and needs surgery from a specialist in Sweden. The check finally arrives and in a few days will fly there with her for the procedure. Late one day,  his young employee Ruby (Dors) is helping him catalogue books...and she seduces him to kiss her.  Quickly he withdraws and apologizes. No harm done. I know, in 2026 it would be considered rape. Back then, it was a compliment. Ruby is a babe. She catches the handsome Jeffrey (Peter Reynolds) trying to steal a rare book. Jeffrey puts the book back but romances the naive Ruby. Now he finds out about the kiss from Ruby and implores her to blackmail John.  All they want is 100 pounds, but you know where these blackmail schemes go. 

Ruby tries but John throws her out of his office and threatens to fire her. Ruby sends a letter, like she promised to his wife. John's wife reads it, burns it, and drops dead from shock. Uh oh! Murder? Well, Ruby's psycho boyfriend is not into grieving and implores Ruby to go back and demand money anyway. When idiots plot crimes. Yep...Ruby will accidentally die at Jeffrey's hands in the bookstore and now a gorgeous corpse litters the bookstore. John is the murder suspect.  His only ally is co-worker, the beautiful Stella (Marguerite Chapman). She was John's nurse when he went bonkers after the war. John was a POW and escaped the enemy, but not with his sanity. John recovered and now is a stalwart member of London's bookseller community. Big problem...the owner of the store, Clive (Raymond Huntley) is secretly in love with Stella, and having John facing the electric chair increases his chances of getting Stella. Yep, John is screwed...unless...

Will John be able to prove his innocence?  Will Jeffrey step forward and confess to murdering Ruby?  Is Clive at all involved in John's precarious predicament? Blackmail! Dangerous dames! Criminals doing stupid things! Film Noir and Hammer suspense at its best.  See "Man Bait" and pine for the lovely Diana Dors, who met such a brutal death...at least in this film.

  

Wicked Woman, Femme Fatale in White

Beverly Michaels! Whatever you may think of her from watching this film, we should say she was married to the director of this film. Oddly enough, they were wed four years after this film was made and stayed married for 30 years when Russell Rouse died. The couple had two children. Her magnum opus is our film today and she gives a sultry performance of an evil dame looking to chew up and spit out unsuspecting and vulnerable hunks. We do pull for her, not because we approve of what she is doing, but because she is quite the dish, always clad in smart, white outfits.  Our feature today is 1953's "Wicked Woman."

Clad in white, Billie's (Michaels) bus arrive sin a small California town. She is mean to everyone she meets but eventually gets a dive room at a boarding house and a job at a bar owned by Dora (Evelyn Keys) and her husband, the hunk Matt (Richard Egan). Billie's game is to get any man she likes...and Matt is the guy. The patrons love Billie, for the same reason we do.  Her white outfits, smile, and sex appeal. Billie sees that Dora is a drunkard and this bothers Matt.  The seductress then makes sure Dora always has a double-bourbon in her hand. Dora's alcoholism gets worse and Billie has no trouble moving in.  Suddenly, Matt and Billie are scheming, and Dora is not in their plans.

At the boarding house, Billie has a problem. The old, balding, neighbor, Charlie (Percy Helton). The old guy is a pervert and comes on strong.  Billie kind of needs Charlie because he always is quick to lend her money without asking for it back. Billie uses the old slimy guy. Meanwhile Dora's alcoholism gets worse.  Matt kisses and embraces Billie harder and steamier. Now the femme fatale and chump develop an ambitious plan that both are too stupid to see it will never work. Still, passion wins out and the evil duo act on it. Oh, Charlie? He's onto Billie and now is able to blackmail her. 

Just what will Charlie demand from Billie in return for not going to Dora with her plans? Can Matt see past his masculine instincts and save himself from this veritable succubus? What will be Dora's fate now that Billie has Matt under her spell? This is an erotic good time of bacchanal Beverly Michaels allure. For a steamy and moral tale of unfaithfulness and blackmail, see "Wicked Woman." 

The Girl in Black Stockings, Babes Slashed in Film Noir Horror

This is a weird one. I do have to say that however shocking this film is, and however twisted the final reveal is, I guessed the killer in the first five minutes. Be warned...you deviants out there will be less shocked than the sane. The Girl in Black Stockings? Slut! Hussy! Worry not, as the film begins she has been slashed a hundred times. Her face is slashed off...her intimate parts are slashed off...her inner thighs are slashed...  Okay, stop right here. She won't be the last. Our feature today is 1957's "The Girl in the Black Stockings," directed by Howard W. Koch.

In a resort town near Park City, Utah, horror has come. While being romanced by David (Lex Barker), Beth (Anne Bancroft) spots a body at the lakeside...yep, the aforementioned former skank. She screams and Sheriff Jess Holmes (John Dehner) arrives. Suspects? Everyone! Every guy at the resort was two-timed by Marcia, the deceased. Every dame had her BF stolen by her. The resort, Parry's Lodge, is owned by the grouchy Edmund Parry (Ron Randell) and his sister Julia (Marie Windsor). Oh, Edmund? Paralyzed from the neck down...or so we think. Sheriff Jess has his doubts. Paralyzed from what? Accident? Disease? Nope...a broken heart after being jilted by the love of his life. His sister Julia tends to his every need, including wiping his nose. How about the hunk David? He had a date with the deceased but broke it to go out with Beth.  Beth? She likes David and knows what happened when Marcia also liked a guy.

More guests, Harriet Ames (Mamie Van Doren), actress/model, struts around in swimsuits and tries to get in the pants of an older, has been actor, Norman (John Holland). There are more...you'll see. Then another murder...a mysterious stranger from Pittsburgh...huh? Sheriff Jess has suspects but they even begin to get shredded in ways that are equally ungodly. Harriet? She gets drunk and makes a pass at Edmund in his wheelchair. Paralyzed from the neck down, this is awkward for Edmund, and the look on his sister's face is priceless.  More murders.  Every clue points to something incredibly twisted and wrong.

Is Mamie Van Doren too beautiful to be slashed a hundred times? Is the killer a jealous guy or a defensive dame? Is Edmund really paralyzed? The final reveal will cause you to take a shower and clean all the grime off. Oh, did I mention Hoss (Dan Blocker) from "Bonanza" is also in this? Always good to see him, of course not as good as seeing Mamie Van Doren in her white swimsuit. See a prurient Film Noir mystery, "The Girl in Black Stockings."