Slightly Scarlet (1956)

Based on James M. Cain's novel LOVE'S LOVELY COUNTERFEIT and a brilliant follow up to his 1940s successes DOUBLE INDEMNITY and POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE. Driven by blind ambition, fast-talking publicity man Ben Grace (John Payne) has found a way to smear the reputation of "reform" mayoral candidate Frank Jansen (Kent Taylor). He will do so by exposing Jansen's red-haired girlfriend, June (Rhonda Fleming), with her man-hungry kleptomaniac sister, Dorothy (Arlene Dahl), who also happens to be a convict out on parole. In the process however, Ben finds himself falling for June and seduced by Dorothy, while crime boss Solly Caspar (Ted de Corsia) is breathing down his neck, expecting him to deliver on his promise. John Alton, the legendary noir director of photography, really shows his prowess here in blazing Technicolor. Bonus Features: Anamorphic Widescreen Enhanced for 16x9 monitors| Commentary by Award Winning mystery writer and filmmaker Max Allan Collins| Original Theatrical Trailer| Widescreen. Specs: DVD9; Dolby Digital Mono; 99 minutes; Color; 1.77:1 Aspect Ratio; MPAA - NR: Year - 1956; SRP - $9.99.

Battle of the Raging Redheads!

The novels of James M. Cain were a true challenge to filmmakers of the 1940s and 1950s. With censorship still very much an issue, screenwriters and directors could only hint, or make oblique reference to the very steamy plots and situations he devised. At least two true Cain-inspired classics came out of this era (DOUBLE INDEMNITY and the original THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE); interestingly, when censorship was no longer an issue, the remake of POSTMAN with its many sex scenes, didn't really work. SLIGHTLY SCARLET is hardly in a class with those two 40s film noir masterpieces, but in its own way, it's a little gem of a melodrama . Misses Dahl and Fleming, two of the screen's most beautiful reheads who are thankfully still with us, battle it out for screen time and glory, and although Ms. Dahl certainly has the flashier part, and gives an appropriately sizzling performance, Ms. Fleming more than holds her own as the "good" sister (the fact that she seems to be sleeping with two men at the same time is never mentioned, but the inference is pretty clear). In any event, both women are extremely effective, as is John Payne, here in his tough-guy period (like Dick Powell, he went from grinning, singing juvenile in the 1930s/early 1940s to become one of the screen's more interesting morally ambiguous men in a series of film noir-type films of the late 1940s/early 1950s). Plenty of violence, and solid direction from veteran Allan Dwan make this a very watchable film.
The VCI Entertainment DVD is pretty good; color is a little washed-out (you can see the more vivid color in the trailer), but it is in widescreen (RKO's answer to Cinemascope, thanks to mogul Howard Hughes, was dubbed "Superscope"), and there are some cool extras, including a still gallery, James Cain bio etc. All in all, worth your time.
May 4, 2008

Very Good Melodrama

"Slightly Scarlet" is an excellent melodrama/film noir. The performances are good and so is the script. I haven't seen Arlene Dahl in many films and was surprised at how good she was in this film.
The colour is excellent but I was quite upset by all the scratches on the print. I don't know if it was just my copy or if that is simply the quality of the old film. About 20% of the film has scratches on the visuals which, to me, is extremely annoying.

Philip Cairns October 19, 2007

Two Torrid Redheads

"Slightly Scarlet" was released in 1956. This was a period when the film industry had been rocked on its heels by what Hollywood insiders referred to sarcastically as that "little black box" that we call television.

Since this was the period before color television or wide screens the idea was to exploit the advantage that the film medium had by supplying viewers with what television lacked. They sought to motivate television viewers out of their living room easy chairs and back into theaters by providing luscious color and wide screen entertainment.

The trailer for "Slightly Scarlet" revealed the marketing strategy of producer Benedict Bogeaus. To use the quote that football coach Paul Brown of the Cleveland Browns used to describe the impact of his superstar fullback Jim Brown in the days before both of them reached the Hall of Fame in their respective categories, "If you've got a cannon you shoot it."

What was revealed in the trailer was the emphasis on the two female stars. They were referred to as "the two most beautiful redheads" in films. There could be little doubt that the torrid redheads starring in "Slightly Scarlet" deserved the accolade. The only injustice was that the other two redhead beauties of the period, Susan Hayward and Maureen O'Hara, were left out of the equation, but because they were not in the film the omission was therefore understandable.

Rhonda Fleming, who had been discovered in her teens by Henry Willson, who would as an agent guide the careers of Rock Hudson, Tab Hunter and Guy Madison, and who was then casting director for David O. Selznick, made an eye catching debut playing a psychopath with nymphomaniacal tendencies who also likes to physically hurt men in the great Alfred Hitchcock hit, "Spellbound."

So impressive was Fleming's beauty that on one occasion a director and his cinematographer tried diligently on one occasion to photograph her at every conceivable angle to see if they could make her look bad in at least one shot. They were impressed to discover that they could not. Fleming's natural beauty prevailed in every instance.

Fleming in "Slightly Scarlet" plays an executive secretary to a man seeking to reform a city riddled with gangland corruption. Fleming's life becomes complicated when her sister gets out of jail and moves in with her.

The devastating Arlene Dahl, one of the few women who could hold her own against Fleming, the actress who was called "The queen of Technicolor" for good reason, is cast as Fleming's sister. She is both a nymphomaniac and a kleptomaniac, so Fleming is naturally kept busy looking after her.

John Payne, after having a falling out with mob boss Ted de Corsia, seeks help from Fleming and quickly falls in love with her. Dahl complicates things by making a move of her own.

Dahl does such a job of investing her part with gusto, performing in a manner reminiscent of Carol Baker in "Baby Doll," that Leonard Maltin in his review of "Slightly Scarlet" credits the Minnesota born beauty with "stealing the film."

Director Allan Dwan, a veteran of films who began in the silents after a stint as an assistant football coach at his alma mater, Notre Dame, knew about the "twin cannons" he had to shoot in this film, the devastating beauty of two torrid redheads. Considering it was the fifties with the Breen Office very much a factor, the film is daring in the manner that Fleming and Dahl are portrayed as well as attired.

Dwan wisely opts for colorful cinema over realism in a film moving in that direction. For instance, when Fleming springs Dahl from jail the sister who has just been released is attired in the manner of a rich man's wife ready to go shopping on Rodeo Drive. February 24, 2007

Great Acting, So-So Story

This is a movie that you will enjoy while watching but will also easily forget. If you like crime films from the classic movie era, this is one you'll enjoy. Rhonda Fleming and Arlene Dahl are great as the good sister/bad sister team, even if Dahl isn't always believeable as the tough chick she's playing. John Payne is also quite effective as the man torn between the two sisters, and also torn between the two sides of the law. Rhonda Fleming is a raving beauty in her prime here, and the force of her looks and personality are the main strength behind the film. This is not The Big Sleep or The Maltese Falcon, but in the world of dime-a-dozen crime thrillers, this gets a place in the top-to-middle of the pack. August 9, 2006

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)...


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...

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.

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....!"

It`s regrettable that this film has little reputation, because it is 90 minutes of excitement, of fun and intrigue.

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...

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.

These films showcase these underrated Norwegian girls and themes THAT SHOULD N O T be neglected or forgotten...


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....

I hope SLIGHTLY SCARLET will find the vast audience it deserves with the likes of LAURA, DOUBLE INDEMNITY and TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT. January 22, 2006

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