Hit and Run, Cleo Moore Seeks Wealth and Passion

Sultry blonde femme fatales!  We love them and cheer for them, even though they are up to no good. Still, they are sultry and therefore, we pull for them. As far as hot blonde femme fatales go, we think of many sirens, but of late, I have been diving into Cleo Moore films. She does not disappoint in this one, even being introduced with a shiny, revealing, tight showgirl outfit in the first minute of today's Hugo Haas film 1957's "Hit and Run."

Yep, showgirl, and hoping for a rich guy, Julie (Moore) finishes her show at a night club. So taken by her beauty, and moves on the stage, the almost middle-aged Gus (Haas) insists she have a drink with him. Julie was holding out for more of a hunk, but when she finds out he's loaded, she accepts. All decked out in a shiny evening gown, Gus drools at her presence. Not drooling is Gus' buddy, the hunk Frank (Vince Edwards). Frank warns Gus that Julie is just a hussy and Julie sneers at Frank. Gus proposes, and since he has a lot of dough, Julie accepts. Gus? He owns a filling station/garage, and lives on that property. Hey, guess what! Julie makes a good housewife until Frank comes by, insults her, and soon the two are locking lips and grinding themselves against one another. Gus? He's oblivious. Frank so loves Julie he begs her to run off with him. Julie feels ashamed and insists she stay and be wife to the older Gus.

Murder? Right! More of Frank's idea than Julie's, but Frank forces Julie not to go to the cops or he will implicate her. Twists? Ha! You said it.  Murder is never clean and now a cacophony of plot twists terrorize our guilty lovers. The murder was perfect...or was it?  All of a sudden, Frank and Julie are forced to answer uncomfortable questions...by the sheriff...and by...well, you'll see. Now Frank and Julie seems destined to be caught for the so-called perfect murder they pulled off. But wait!  Their home, which is now owned by Julie, is invaded by...well, you'll see, and Julie and Frank seem to be at the mercy of this new mysterious character.

Will Frank and Julie get away with Gus' murder?  Who is this mysterious character that will invade the home of Julie?  Is this film a poor man's "The Postman Always Rings Twice," and is Cleo Moore a poor man's Lana Turner? Cleo Moore is no poor man's anything, but her performance on screen in this film will have you men drooling and you women wanting to scratch her eyes out and pull her hair off. See "Hit and Run" and be seduced by the blonde bombshell femme fatale, Cleo Moore.

Angel Face, Dangerous Dames and Sucker Men

Oh yes...she's beautiful.  She's 19.  She has an agenda. Now a schmuck comes into her life. He's toast. I don't care if the schmuck is the manly Robert Mitchum, he's toast. Two years earlier, Mr. Mitchum made an incredibly similar movie, in which he played...a patsy. However stupid his decisions, Robert Mitchum was a hunk and we like him.  Sure we like Jean Simmons as the evil teenager, too...but there is no doubt Mitchum's character is not evil...he's just stupid.  This was the case the the 1950 film "Where Danger Lives," and it is true with today's film, 1952's "Angel Face," directed by Otto Preminger and made by Howard Hughes.

Wealthy socialite, Catherine (Barbara O'Neil) almost dies as someone fills her bedroom up with gas while she sleeps.  Her husband, Charles (Herbert Marshall) smelled the gas and turned it off. Saving her life, a question bubbles to the surface, "who wants Catherine dead?" Right!  Her sultry stepdaughter, Diane (Simmons). Ambulance driver Frank (Mitchum) responds, but Catherine is now all right. The 19 year-old beauty makes Frank out as a schmuck and seduces him. Diane is conniving and finds out Frank is also engaged to the beautiful Mary (Mona Freeman).  Diana pays a visit to Mary and now Frank is no longer on a path to marriage with her. With Mary out of the way, Diane uses Frank to...to...well, to take care of some unfinished business.

As much as Diane tries to get Frank to murder her stepmother...Frank is not a killer.  Of more interest, Diane is really falling in love with Frank.  Frank is smart enough to know Diane is trouble, but her beauty keeps him around.  Diane has a plan B...and it is a brutal and horrific one.  Her Plan B will not be good for anyone...but Diane is transitioning from a potential homicidal maniac to a young teenager in love.  Frank?  he's a guy and Diane is quite a dish.  He should have run when he had the chance.  He didn't, thus what happens next is kind of deserved.  

Will Frank have deserved his fate as it is revealed just before the end credits?  Is Diane too beautiful to throw in jail for the rest of her life for murder?  Does Diane also have a Plan C, and is it more psychotic than A and B? This is an arousing film that will offer great beefcake with Mr. Mitchum, and great cheesecake with Ms. Simmons  Watch "Angel Face" and see what happens when the brain shuts off and the heart speaks.