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Customer Reviews of Slightly Scarlet

BRAVO BRAVAAAA ARLENE DAHL
This is a fastmoving filmnoir in blazing TECHNICOLOR - and the better for it. The photography by John Alton is spectacular as are the set design and costumes(with Arlene Dahl having a finger in even that)... <
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>John Payne(from SUN VALLEY SERENADE-fame) is quite good as the worldweary guy who take what croms that are offered... Unlike Bogart or Cagney he is a believable character with no high drama or over the top macho stuff. Ted deCorsia is brilliant as Sully the hoodlum - the best I`ve seen really... <
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>But it is ARLENE DAHL who steals the show. At first she is just glamour, but she emerges to what surely is a performance of Oscar material. <
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>Her performance is a beauty to behold - as critic Alison DeWytt in the 20th Century-Fox film "All About Eve" would say: "What a PERFORMANCE... Full of FIRE and music....!" <
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>It`s regrettable that this film has little reputation, because it is 90 minutes of excitement, of fun and intrigue. <
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>I have come to love Arlene Dahl over the years. Posterity names her only as a decorative plant, but with other Norwegian girls in US and UK films - GRETA GYNT, SIGRID GURIE and VERA ZORINA - she remains sadly underrated... <
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>At home I have a collection of films starring these women. I call it the "Susan Dahl collection" hehehe - which includes THE GOLDWYN FOLLIES, ALGIERS, THE ADVENTURES OF MARCO POLO(all 1938), THE DARK EYES OF LONDON 1939, THREE FACES WEST, I WAS AN ADVENTURESS(both 1940), LOUISIANA PURCHASE 1941, TAKE MY LIFE, DEAR MURDERER(both 1947), THE OUTRIDERS, THREE LITTLE WORDS(both 1950), SLIGHTLY SCARLET of course - THE VIKINGS(filmed in Norway)1958 and JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH 1959. <
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>These films showcase these underrated Norwegian girls and themes THAT SHOULD N O T be neglected or forgotten... <
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>The Rhonda Fleming/Arlene Dahl chemistry is good and they seem indeed to be the source of many a trash-book cover of any detective story.... <
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>I hope SLIGHTLY SCARLET will find the vast audience it deserves with the likes of LAURA, DOUBLE INDEMNITY and TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT.

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The Film That Should Have Been Noir But Isn't.
"Slightly Scarlet" was adapted from James M. Cain's novel "Love's Lovely Counterfeit". Cain's novels were fodder for some of the 1940s most memorable film noirs, and this one should have been too. But instead of a 1940s hard-boiled, cynical, nuanced film noir in black-and-white, we have a very colorful, sentimental, over-the-top 1950s mishmash. Dorothy Lyons (Arlene Dahl), kleptomaniac, has been released from prison into the waiting arms of her loving, affluent sister June (Rhonda Fleming). June is secretary and girlfriend to Mr. Frank Jansen (Kent Taylor), who is running for mayor on promises to clean up corruption in the city government. Solly Caspar (Ted de Corsia), "the leader of all that is vile and corrupt" in Bay City, employs a man named Ben Grace (John Payne) to dig up dirt on Jansen. When that fails, Caspar kills Jansen's supporter, publisher Norman Marlowe. Ben Grace offers June proof of the crime to tip the mayoral election in Jansen's favor, and June transfers her affections to Ben. But uncontrollable Dorothy wants Ben too. And Ben's murky motives become clear. <
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>"Slightly Scarlet" should have been film noir, but it tries very hard not to be. This is understandable, as the popularity of hard-boiled crime and staccato dialogue had nearly passed by 1956. And it's never quite fair to ask a film to be a different film. But, as I was watching it, I couldn't help thinking that "Slightly Scarlet" has all the material for a good film but entirely the wrong attitude. It would have benefited considerably from being less sentimental, more understated, and adopting a less patronizing attitude toward its female characters. Two of the main characters are women, yet they can't be interesting in ridiculous costumes, cone bras, and a world that thinks "A lovely girl like you, you shouldn't have to worry about a thing -except looking beautiful. And running a home for a man who loves you." Attempts to make June look like a post-war pinup result in some comical wardrobe choices and weak writing. Promiscuous, alcoholic, kleptomaniac Dorothy is underutilized as source of conflict. Ted de Corsia plays Solly Caspar with such over-the-top swagger that he's a parody of a gangster. <
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>And the colors. Low key specialist John Alton filmed "Slightly Scarlet" in Technicolor. To his credit, Alton is able to disguise the film's limited budget with color and light. But it's garish. I never got used to June and Dorothy's fluorescent orange hair. The film's palette is a swirl of 1950s oranges, blues, teals, and pinks. Alton does make use of his trademark shadows, but it doesn't produce the subtle tonality that it would in black-and-white, because the color film doesn't have enough tonal range. So I don't think the low key lighting looks very good. "Slightly Scarlet" isn't a bad film. It just doesn't have the depth that its begging for. Get rid of the ridiculous costumes; hard-boil the gangsters; strengthen Ben and June's characters and delineate them better; use Dorothy as a real threat instead of a joke; let June become a tragic character and the emotional center of the film....and you have an interesting film noir about people who fall victim to their own weaknesses. As it is, "Slightly Scarlet"'s over-the-top approach doesn't suit the subject. It borders on camp. <
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>The DVD (VCI Entertainment 2002): This print of the film is generally good but does have a few instances of white vertical lines and one instance of some dark distortion. Bonus features include a good audio commentary by mystery writer Max Collins. Collins frequently compares the novel to the film, discusses characters, themes, visual style, James Cain's work, and the people involved in the film. Other bonus features are: A "Photo Gallery" (1 � min) slide show of b&w stills. The "James Cain Bio"(2 min) is rolling text and includes and selective filmography. "James Cain Book Gallery" (3 � min) is a slideshow of original book jacket covers. There are trailers for "Slightly Scarlet", "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (1946), and "Double Indemnity" (1947).

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"A dame is a dame. There's bound to be something to nail her on."
Ben Grace (John Payne) is hired by Bay City crime boss, Solly Casper (Ted de Corsia) to get the dirt on mayoral candidate Frank Jansen (Kent Taylor). Frank Jansen--the "Boy Scout" reform candidate--is squeaky clean--but his girlfriend, June Lyons (Rhonda Fleming) isn't. June brings her man-hungry, kleptomaniac sister Dorothy (Arlene Dahl) back home from jail. Ben Grace discovers this tawdry little secret, but hides it from Solly. <
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>Ben Grace falls from favour with Solly who dismisses him with a whack across the face and various slurs about Grace being a "college boy." Ben Grace immediately forms an alliance with June Lyons, and tells her "I'm not a nice man. I know how to win elections. It takes a little dirt." With no way to destroy Frank Jansen, Solly desperately threatens a newspaper editor. When things go wrong, Solly hides out in Mexico until things cool down. In his absence, Ben Grace takes over where Solly left off. <
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>"Slightly Scarlet" is splendid 50s noir. Based on a James Cain novel, the action flows non-stop. While Frank Jansen forms the moral center of the film, Ben Grace is a much more difficult character to read. At first, he seems out of place with Solly's gang, and his motives aren't clear. June is a girl who's trying to clean up her act, and she hovers on the brink of respectability. She knows that Frank is a good catch, and she's willing to play a role to get him. Dorothy, the wild sister, is a degenerate who cannot be reformed, and her behaviour threatens June's plans for a nice quiet, respectable marriage. <
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>"Slightly Scarlet" is a colour film, and the quality is perfect. The sets in the film are striking--the interior scenes are shot in huge open rooms. June's ranch style home, and Solly's mansion both have the same open stage-like style. There are some good minor roles found in Solly's gang, but Arlene Dahl's performance steals the film--Dorothy is vulnerable and disruptive, trouble waiting to happen, and Dahl plays all of Dorothy's flawed angles with confident, competent style. Rhonda Fleming as June wears outrageous mini-mini shorts and tight sweaters at home, and classy business suits for work in the office (this adds a slight camp element to the film). Film extras include: trailers, commentary, photo gallery, a James Cain bio and a James Cain book gallery. Noir fans ... don't miss this one--displacedhuman.