LADY OF VENGEANCE and the Rambling Red Herring

LADY OF VENGEANCE (Blu-ray)

1956 / 73 min

From MGM

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Mr. Paws😼

Man, talk about your red herrings! 

I hate red herrings. Hence, 1956's Lady of Vengeance is two-thirds of a decent film noir. I used to teach middle school, and if I were to grade this like an assignment, two-thirds of the possible points is a little over 66%...a D. But if a kid’s work wasn’t quite up to snuff but the effort was there, I sometimes bumped it up to a passing grade (especially if said-kid bestowed me a Starbuck’s gift card at Christmas).

And for a quick & dirty potboiler, this British film reflects some real effort on both sides of the camera. It starts off with a bang, when Melissa Collins (Eileen Elton) commits suicide by throwing herself in front of a train. Before that, she sent a letter to her estranged guardian, newspaper magnate William Marshall (Dennis O’Keefe), asking him to exact revenge on the man who ruined her life, presumably irresponsible, womanizing musician Larry Shaw).

"No need to pack your bags, good sir...I only have One Ticket to Paradise."

Headstrong and accustomed to getting what he wants, Marshall hires/blackmails master criminal Emile Karnak (Anton Diffring) to develop a flawless plan to make Shaw suffer at-length, after which Marshall will shoot the man himself. The scenes with these two men are intriguing, with cool calculating Karnek providing a neat contrast to Marshall’s vindictiveness. Neither character is particularly likable, but since when has that ever mattered in film noir?

Unfortunately, the story dedicates way too much screen time to Shaw, who does little but blow his trombone, belittle women and complain about his life. If it weren’t for a single brief scene he shares with Karnak, he’s not really even part of the ongoing narrative. And when the film reaches its climax, we realize why. Out of the blue, with absolutely no foreshadowing, the story throws in a plot twist that feels more like a suckerpunch.

I don’t want to give anything away because, up to that point, Lady of Vengeance is kind of fun, especially its well-conceived partners-in-crime. But not only does it end with a whimper, we suddenly realize the film didn’t play fair by wasting time on a rambling red herring. Still, two-thirds of a decent movie at least reflects some effort, so I guess I can give it a pass.