Rating: 
Summary: Lucille Ball as a beautiful detec¿ive
Review: "Lured" is a forgotten thriller of a movie, starring Lucille Ball as an American in London who helps Scotland Yard capture a serial killer. The subtle plotting is fast-paced and satisfying. Ball sparkles with wit and sophistication and makes the movie special. You will be kept in suspense until the very end. If you know Ball only through her most famous manifestation as zany Lucy Ricardo, this movie will reveal her ability to fulfill a dramatic/romantic role. Although the real-life chemistry that sizzled between Ball and Desi Arnaz on the tv show is missing here, the supporting cast is splendid, and the city of London as it was in the 40s provides an interesting backdrop. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Lucille Ball as a beautiful detec?ive
Review: "Lured" is a forgotten thriller of a movie, starring Lucille Ball as an American in London who helps Scotland Yard capture a serial killer. The subtle plotting is fast-paced and satisfying. Ball sparkles with wit and sophistication and makes the movie special. You will be kept in suspense until the very end. If you know Ball only through her most famous manifestation as zany Lucy Ricardo, this movie will reveal her ability to fulfill a dramatic/romantic role. Although the real-life chemistry that sizzled between Ball and Desi Arnaz on the tv show is missing here, the supporting cast is splendid, and the city of London as it was in the 40s provides an interesting backdrop. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Lucille Ball as a beautiful detec¿ive
Review: "Lured" is a forgotten thriller of a movie, starring Lucille Ball as an American in London who helps Scotland Yard capture a serial killer. The subtle plotting is fast-paced and satisfying. Ball sparkles with wit and sophistication and makes the movie special. You will be kept in suspense until the very end. If you know Ball only through her most famous manifestation as zany Lucy Ricardo, this movie will reveal her ability to fulfill a dramatic/romantic role. Although the real-life chemistry that sizzled between Ball and Desi Arnaz on the tv show is missing here, the supporting cast is splendid, and the city of London as it was in the 40s provides an interesting backdrop. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: PERSONAL COLUMN
Review: A long over-looked suspence thriller by the once highly esteemed Douglas Sirk - his films of the fifties were better known - i.e. MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION & IMITATION OF LIFE, et. al. I just recently viewed this film last week and now realise my previous review didn't do it justice. Lucy gave a surprisingly good dramatic performance as an American taxi-dancer working in London. La Ball helps the police catch a madman who's out on the loose by posing as a decoy! Lucy co-stars with the elegantly sinister George Sanders and Charles Coburn is super in his offbeat role as Inspecter Temple. George Sanders (as a trivia note, Lucy and Sanders supposedly had a brief affair during this time) is exceedingly suave as Robert Fleming, Sandra's protective nightclub owner boyfriend. Ball, who had already appeared in dozens of films by this time, displays the inimitable spark which she would ignite into dynamite four years later doing I LOVE LUCY. The supporting cast is quite good : Boris Karloff, Sir Cedric Hardwicke and George Zucco. Our Lucyball even gets to sing! (alas, she is dubbed by Annette Warren).
Rating:
Summary: PERSONAL COLUMN
Review: A long over-looked suspence thriller by the once highly esteemed Douglas Sirk - his films of the fifties were better known - i.e. MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION & IMITATION OF LIFE, et. al. I just recently viewed this film last week and now realise my previous review didn't do it justice. Lucy gave a surprisingly good dramatic performance as an American taxi-dancer working in London. La Ball helps the police catch a madman who's out on the loose by posing as a decoy! Lucy co-stars with the elegantly sinister George Sanders and Charles Coburn is super in his offbeat role as Inspecter Temple. George Sanders (as a trivia note, Lucy and Sanders supposedly had a brief affair during this time) is exceedingly suave as Robert Fleming, Sandra's protective nightclub owner boyfriend. Ball, who had already appeared in dozens of films by this time, displays the inimitable spark which she would ignite into dynamite four years later doing I LOVE LUCY. The supporting cast is quite good : Boris Karloff, Sir Cedric Hardwicke and George Zucco. Our Lucyball even gets to sing! (alas, she is dubbed by Annette Warren).
Rating:
Summary: PERSONAL COLUMN
Review: A long over-looked suspence thriller by the once highly esteemed Douglas Sirk - his films of the fifties were better known - i.e. MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION & IMITATION OF LIFE, et. al. I just recently viewed this film last week and now realise my previous review didn't do it justice. Lucy gave a surprisingly good dramatic performance as an American taxi-dancer working in London. La Ball helps the police catch a madman who's out on the loose by posing as a decoy! Lucy co-stars with the elegantly sinister George Sanders and Charles Coburn is super in his offbeat role as Inspecter Temple. George Sanders (as a trivia note, Lucy and Sanders supposedly had a brief affair during this time) is exceedingly suave as Robert Fleming, Sandra's protective nightclub owner boyfriend. Ball, who had already appeared in dozens of films by this time, displays the inimitable spark which she would ignite into dynamite four years later doing I LOVE LUCY. The supporting cast is quite good : Boris Karloff, Sir Cedric Hardwicke and George Zucco. Our Lucyball even gets to sing! (alas, she is dubbed by Annette Warren).
Rating:
Summary: A Good Suspense Thriller
Review: Done in a film-noir style, this movie is entertaining with a neat plot twist. Lucille Ball looks lovely and does a good job as the dancer who ecomes a police decoy to catch a killer. She has great chemistry with George Sanders (it was rumored they had a real-life affair). Boris Karloff also has a small part as a crazy fashion designer. If you're a Lucy fan, you'll want to own this movie.
Rating:
Summary: Lucille Ball is a delightful sleuth!
Review: Douglas Sirk, that magnificent master of melodrama, directed this delightful gem of a mystery almost 10 years before directing the films that would become his legacy: "Magnificent Obsession", "All that Heaven Allows", "Written on the Wind", and "Imitation of Life". But right from the beginning of "Lured" you know that you are in the hands of a major director. Each frame is composed with the eye of an artist; the suspense is carefully built and maintained; and the atmosphere is sophisticated yet full of foreboding. In fact, if you showed this movie to a beginning student of cinema, I don't think it would take much to persuade them that they were watching a film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The experienced cast is a delight to watch with George Sanders as a charming, debonair cad (as usual); Charles Coburn as the methodical but fatherly detective (a bit of miscasting there, but he pulls it off); and Lucille Ball as the shrewd, captivating heroine of our tale in one of her non-comedic roles. I enjoyed watching everyone, including Boris Karloff who plays the odd part of an insane haute couture designer to the hilt, although he is on the screen for only about 10 minutes. (Why, pray tell, is Karloff's photo on the cover of the DVD, when his role in the movie is such a minor one?) Only Sir Cedric Hardwick appears to be dispassionately walking through his part, although the story's denouement may explain why. The print of the film is sharp and crisp for the most part, although a few short scenes appear to have been taken from an inferior source and contain some distracting artifacts. The sound varies from reel to reel, but is generally good and always acceptable. Overall, this is a fine print of an engaging film, and especially interesting because of Lucille Ball who successfully (I think) pulls off a dramatic role with balance and assurance.
Rating:
Summary: Marvelous Rediscovered Noir
Review: Fans of Lucille Ball or director Douglas Sirk are in for a treat with this one. Interesting use of genre conventions in plot (even after you've guessed the killer, still fun), nice cinematography which comes up beautifully in Kino's DVD transfer. Excellent supporting cast, with such stalwarts as Cedric Hardwick and Charles Coburn providing pleasurable backup to star turns from George Sanders and Ball. Nice to see how many subtle small touches Lucy brings to her characterization, and she looks ravishing, even in black and white. LURED is a great Saturday night popcorn movie!
Rating:
Summary: Marvelous Rediscovered Noir
Review: Fans of Lucille Ball or director Douglas Sirk are in for a treat with this one. Interesting use of genre conventions in plot (even after you've guessed the killer, still fun), nice cinematography which comes up beautifully in Kino's DVD transfer. Excellent supporting cast, with such stalwarts as Cedric Hardwick and Charles Coburn providing pleasurable backup to star turns from George Sanders and Ball. Nice to see how many subtle small touches Lucy brings to her characterization, and she looks ravishing, even in black and white. LURED is a great Saturday night popcorn movie!
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