Lured (1947)

Lured (1947) is a moody mystery female seeker hero investigatory London-set serial killer thriller outré film noir, made by Douglas Sirk and perhaps as far as the Sirk toes get into the fascinating dark and complicated world of noir drama.

In its way, Douglas Sirk’s lurid Lured (1947), an example of the lurid noir, reimagines hard enough upon Robert Siodmak’s 1939 film Pièges, that it must surely be classed as a remake, capturing the essence of a film noir thriller with an impressive cast and smoke machine moddiness and soundstage London-effect cinematography. 

The plot follows and does trail the female seeker hero type Sandra Carpenter (Lucille Ball), a sassy American dancer in London who is roped into a police investigation as a decoy for a serial killer targeting women through newspaper ads. 

Lurid photography and ladies lurid are not just lured but abjured.  It is a lurid lady's lurid world of lurid ladies, all to lure, and all with allure.

The notion of the stronger female lead is often a noir signpost in the 1940s and Lucille Ball is quite a catch here, noir's loss perhaps, she has at least power in her style. The movie unfolds and generally unravels if more clothing and cloth type imagery be appropriate in post-World War II London with an air of suspense, humor, and romance that balances its noir underpinnings with lighter, melodramatic moments.

The kind of outré  humour and excess that Lured (1947) does embellish upon the dark style does from start to finish give this film the feeling of an historical noir, that this is a late Victorian noir piece in which Laird Cregar is going to hove into view at any second.

Were this film layered with any Cregar, given the presence of George Sanders and many a posh setting, it seems sure at most points, a viewer will contend, that they are watching historical noir. This could barely be post-war England as it is, without the rubble and the trouble, but this is no rubble film. It is an entertainment of the moody kind, and a London recreate.

Odd then, to periodically jump to semi-modern policing as Lured (1947) does. Within it too, the perils of want-ads, there is something still Ripper-esque about it all, that at times confuses the styles and offers up that unique Douglas Sirk flash, the one that Rainer Werner Fassbinder worshipped upon so hard, hard enough to make a long career of homage.

Comparing Lured with Pièges shows both the strengths and weaknesses of each film. George Sanders brings a darker, more mysterious edge to his character, Robert Fleming, making him a more plausible suspect in the serial killings than Maurice Chevalier in Pièges.

Sirk’s casting of Sanders adds a layer of ambiguity and tension, making audiences wonder if he might, in fact, be the killer. Conversely, Boris Karloff’s character, a mad dress designer, is less unsettling than Erich von Stroheim’s portrayal in Pièges, where von Stroheim’s eerie presence and dramatic flair bring a greater sense of danger to the role.

Maybe everyone expects Boris Karloff to be a villain, and this is one bonkers turn, offering up that early outré as the ridiculousness brings its own odd taste.

One of the film’s notable features is its excellent cast, including Lucille Ball, who is most unnoirly with her comedic timing and ability to shift between the witty repartee with George Zucco and her damsel-in-distress moments. 

Ball’s on-screen chemistry with Zucco offers much-un-needed but outré-just-the-same comedic relief, adding lightness to an otherwise dark story. George Sanders as Fleming and Cedric Hardwicke as a genteel, sinister suspect, enhance the mystery, while Karloff, Charles Coburn, and Joseph Calleia each bring depth to their roles, creating red herrings and diversions to keep the audience guessing.

But this is Sirk and Sirk’s every flight strays into melodrama and if you think this serves to dilute the tightly wound tension of the first half, you would not be thrown from film school. Sandra’s initial independence is dampened by her romantic involvement with Fleming, and Sanders’ character similarly loses his suave edge as he falls for her. 

This shift in tone undercuts the noir feel, making the latter part of the film more akin to a melodrama than a hard-edged thriller. Despite this, Hardwicke’s grotesque and depraved character stays true to noir form and revitalizes the final act, especially as the mystery reaches its climax.

The screenplay, written by a mixed and matched and worked upon patchwork of writers, dashes up suspense with wit, adding a touch of romance that was largely absent in Pièges. Sirk’s direction amplifies the moody black-and-white cinematography by William Daniels, creating a less gritty but polished atmosphere that captures the film’s noir elements. 

The Production Code Administration reportedly pressured for a name change from Lured to Personal Column, with America's strong moral arbitration fearing the darker implications of the original title. While Personal Column is less evocative, it mirrors the film’s stylistic duality, blending elements of romance with suspense. Yes, there is that.

Adding intrigue, the film teases viewers with multiple suspects, red herrings, and plot twists. Even when Sandra appears to be on the verge of unmasking the murderer, the story twists to reveal another suspect, creating a cycle of tension and release. This deliberate misdirection keeps viewers engaged, right up until the killer’s reveal in the final scenes.

Sirk’s Lured incorporates many film noir tropes yet differs from the classic noir tone, blending thriller elements with melodrama in a way that both adds and detracts from the original story’s tension. Lured may not have the socio-political commentary or thematic depth of other noirs, but it shines with a stellar cast, memorable performances, and witty dialogue.

Lured is confusing and good, and weaves about all over the place, threatening to bust into historical melodrama and has in its time provide an entertaining experience for one reviewer of some quite outré madness themselves to put it on a list of Top 25 Film Noirs, weird, and while blending suspense with romance and the occasional comedic moment, you have more of a genre mulch that a pure breed film noir experience, which in all honest fact be more grim than this.

For those who enjoy noir but also appreciate light-hearted mystery, Lured offers a unique middle ground in-flight entertainment between harder cases and is useful as it showcases Sirk’s versatility.

Despite its shift away from pure noir in the latter half, the strong cast, clever dialogue, and suspenseful pacing make Lured an enjoyable film that gives a taste of both the thrills of noir and the warmth of melodrama.

Lured yet shipped with some sauce in printed characters enticing us in and on to what, it is not super-clear, using these catchy tags:

Don't answer this ad... Don't... don't... don't...

She's "K-B" (Killer-Bait) - and her technique is TERRIFIC!

She plays a lone hand against a lone wolf - who lured beautiful girls...to death!

Don't answer that ad - Don't - DON'T or you'll wind up in the river - dead!

Lured (1947) is your noir collector's collector item of noir, an unusual noir that blends crime-thriller elements with romanticism, offering a unique contrast to traditional noir films. Adapted from Robert Siodmak’s Pièges (1939), Lured shifts its focus onto Sandra Carpenter (Lucille Ball), a sharp-witted American dancer in post-war London. 

When her friend disappears, Sandra is enlisted by Scotland Yard to go undercover, responding to personal ads from a potential serial killer. Though the film wasn’t commercially successful—perhaps due in part to its title change from Lured to Personal Column, a move the Production Code Administration thought would soften its darker undertones—it has since gained appreciation for its mix of suspense, humour, and romance.

Lured benefits from what must be a truly impressive cast, but it is Ball who anchors the film with her blend of wit and determination. Known primarily for her later comedic work, here Ball portrays a complex heroine—strong, intelligent, and resourceful. Sandra is a contrast to the ditzy roles that Ball would later make famous. 

She is the female seeker hero of the 1940s, and one of the greatest creations of film noir. She convincingly portrays a woman motivated by loyalty and justice, even displaying genuine toughness in her undercover role as she pursues leads with unfailing optimism and pragmatism. 

While Ball’s future career would highlight her comedic talents, Lured proves her ability to play a noir heroine who is both resilient and heartfelt. Her chemistry with Sanders, is improbable only by the standards that gaze towards the supreme realist traditions of later ages, and do not look back up any vaudevillian or dramatically theatrically styled storytellings, given her character's sharpness, adds a romantic layer that diverges from the bleak tone often expected in noir.

The film’s tone fluctuates between the somber and the humorous, a mix achieved in part through Ball’s repartee with George Zucco, who plays an undercover cop with comedic flair. Zucco’s interactions with Ball add levity, contrasting the darker elements of the story and giving the film a more well-rounded emotional range.

Boris Karloff’s eccentric, tragic, weirdo fashion designer, who stages a bizarre show for an audience of mannequins and dogs, embodies a mix of both absurdity and darkness. Though Karloff’s role in Lured doesn’t carry the haunting intensity of Erich von Stroheim’s in Pièges, his character is still memorable and adds an element of unpredictability to Sandra’s journey.

Sirk, known more for his melodramas like Magnificent Obsession and All That Heaven Allows, moderates the noir elements in Lured, opting for a restrained approach to crime drama. Rather than embracing noir’s typical gritty visuals, Sirk situates most of the action indoors, in well-appointed rooms rather than dimly lit streets. 

Even when noir elements surface, such as Sandra’s encounter with Karloff’s designer in a dim alleyway, Sirk subverts expectations by adding surreal humor instead of intensifying the suspense. This choice contributes to the film’s unique aesthetic, which straddles thriller and melodrama while resisting standard noir cynicism.

A hallmark of Lured is Sirk’s romantic framing of the story. The romantic tension between Sandra and Robert Fleming (Sanders), a suave nightclub owner, balances the film’s darker side. Fleming often appears at opportune moments, turning suspenseful scenes into chances for romantic connection, which shifts Lured from a straightforward thriller to something more nuanced. 

Instead of allowing Sandra to spiral into noir’s typical cynicism or despair, Sirk portrays her as a character driven by optimism and resilience. She is the female seeker, but not in an Amercian underworld, but in a weirdly more cosy Limey sound-staged world, that simply invites submission to the smoke and melodrama. 

This approach lends the story a gentler tone than many of its noir contemporaries, where bleakness and fatalism often define the genre.

Lured’s lack of harsh noir aesthetics is another facet that may keep it off many a list. William Daniels’ cinematography doesn’t rely on stark contrasts or claustrophobic cityscapes; instead, the sets are refined and elegant. 

The film opens with an artful sequence where a flashlight illuminates the production credits along a dark street, creating a sense of suspense that is then softened by Sandra’s lively personality and light-hearted interactions with the detectives. The setting—post-war London—adds a touch of Hollywoodized, quasi-Victorian ambiance, where Sandra’s encounters with seedy characters and genteel suspects alike reflect the city’s lingering duality of charm and vice.

There is a lot of fun in these opening shots, which show what they show and conceal the rest in an oddly safe manner, inviting a cosy entertainment rather than fear.

In the end, the plot’s pacing extends and extends again which could be attributed more to the screenplay than to Sirk’s direction. Still, Lured captivates as an enjoyable noir hybrid that plays on genre conventions without being fully defined by them. The film’s unpredictable shifts in tone and genre, combined with its skillful cast, make it a fascinating filmic noir.

Lucille Ball’s dynamic role, the mix of humor with suspense, and Sirk’s lighter take on noir elevate Lured as a unique entry in 1940s Hollywood thrillers. While it doesn’t fit neatly within the noir canon, it offers a fresh take on the genre, blending suspense, romance, and a bit of humor, making it a film worth revisiting for a look at classical composition of the noir style with excellent referent themes and stylings.

Lured (1947)

Directed by Douglas Sirk

Genres - Crime, Drama, Mystery-Suspense, Thriller  |   Sub-Genres - Detective Film, Film Noir, Neo-Noir, Psychological Thriller Film  |   Release Date - Aug 28, 1947  |   Run Time - 102 min.