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.
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