film noir
Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American '' ...
released by
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
Hugo Haas
Hugo Haas (19 February 1901 – 1 December 1968) was a Czech film actor, director and writer. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1926 and 1962, as well as directing 20 films between 1933 and 1962.
Life and career
Haas was born in B ...
who also plays a supporting part in the film.
This film was released on DVD by
Sony Pictures
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acq ...
in 2010 as part of the ''Bad Girls of Film Noir Volume II'' collection along with ''
Night Editor
''Night Editor'' is a 1946 B-movie film noir directed by Henry Levin and based on a popular radio program of the same name. The script for the film was based on a previous radio program episode "Inside Story.".
The movie was to be the first in ...
'', ''
Women's Prison
This article discusses the incarceration of women in correctional facilities. As of 2013 across the world, 625,000 women and children were being held in penal institutions, and the female prison population was increasing in all continents.
'' and '' Over-Exposed''. The tagline for this film was "I'm the kind of girl every man wants ... but shouldn't marry."
The film has been preserved in the
UCLA Film & Television Archive
The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Also a nonprofit exhibition venue, the archiv ...
, and was screened as part of their 2008 retrospective "Cool Drinks of Water: Columbia's Noir Girls of the '40s and '50s."
Synopsis
Mary Adams is a waitress in a waterfront bar run by a man who had swindled her father years before. One night, she climbs in the man's bedroom window and steals $25,000 from under his pillow. The police arrive the next morning, and to escape pursuit and the reprisal of the bar-owner, she confesses to the crime. When the money is not recovered, Adams is sent to prison for five years, but earns early release for good behavior. While on parole, she gets another waterfront waitressing job, working for a Dragomie Damitrof. Mary believes that she is being watched by the authorities still trying to recover the money, and is un-trusting of everyone.
Adams meets Johnny, a fisherman, and soon begins to entertain thoughts of helping her new boyfriend with a business loan. Then Damitrof loses the bar in a card game, and she offers to give him the money to forestall the debtors. Adams draws him a map to the location where she buried the loot. When Damitrof realizes this is the same girl that stole money from her employer at the same dock three years ago, he says he won't report her. When he returns from his trip to the cache, Damitrof bitterly reports that he could not find the money and angrily throws her out of his home.
Some days later, the bar appears to be under new ownership. Upon closer inspection, it develops that the bar is simply under new management, but Damitrof has taken a vacation and moved into a fancy new apartment, apparently finding the money after all. Adams confronts him at the apartment and attempts to recover the money. She strikes him on the head when he clutches her in his drunken stupor, and believes him to be dead. The owner's girlfriend tells her she is mistaken about the money, as she witnessed Damitrof win it gambling. She retrieves her money and donates it to an orphanage, then goes to the police to confesses to the murder of Damitrof.
When they call his apartment they discover Damitrof is still alive, she leaves and attempts to recover the money, but is unscuccessful. Adams and Damitrof cross paths at the dock, but he has no memory of her assault on him, and he offers to reemploy her. When Johnny arrives and professes his love for her, Damitrof advises that she deserves something more solid, and they ship off together.
Hugo Haas
Hugo Haas (19 February 1901 – 1 December 1968) was a Czech film actor, director and writer. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1926 and 1962, as well as directing 20 films between 1933 and 1962.
Life and career
Haas was born in B ...
as Dragomie Damitrof
*
Burt Mustin
Burton Hill "Burt" Mustin (February 8, 1884 – January 28, 1977) was an American character actor.Obituary ''Variety'', February 2, 1977, page 94. Over the course of his career, he appeared in over 150 film and television productions. He a ...
as Gardener
*
Russ Conway
Russ Conway, DSM (born Trevor Herbert Stanford; 2 September 1925 – 16 November 2000) was an English popular music pianist and composer. Conway had 20 piano instrumentals in the UK Singles Chart between 1957 and 1963, including two numbe ...
as Police Officer
*
Gayne Whitman
Gayne Whitman (born Alfred D. Vosburgh; March 19, 1890 – August 31, 1958) was an American radio and film actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1904 and 1957. In some early films he was credited under his birth name. He was born ...
as District Attorney
*
Martha Wentworth
Verna Martha Wentworth (June 2, 1889 – March 8, 1974) was an American actress. Her vocal variety led to her being called the "Actress of 100 Voices".
Biography
Wentworth was born on June 2, 1889 in New York City. After graduating from ...
as Old Lady
*
Glenn Langan
Glenn Langan (July 8, 1917 – January 26, 1991) was an American character actor on stage and films.
Early years
Born in Denver, Colorado, Langan was the son of Thomas Langan and Kate Quinn Langan. He attended schools there. His early training ...
as Johnny
Release
The film was released theatrically by Columbia Pictures in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
on April 6, 1953, and European releases included it as ''Farligt tjuvgods'' in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
and ''Confessione di una ragazza'' in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
.
In October 2000, it had its West German television release as ''Geständnis eines Mädchens''. In 2010,
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home video distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation.
Background
SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures l ...
included it in volume 2 of their ''Bad Girls of Film Noir'' series.