Little-Known Gems: Wicked Woman (1953)
Even classic film lovers who aren’t film noir aficionados have heard of such classics as Double Indemnity, Laura, and Out of the Past, am I right?
But what of those low-budget Bs that no one ever talks about? The ones that rarely show up on the Late, Late Show? Don’t they deserve their moment in the sun?
I’ll say they do! So every now and again in The Noir Nook, I’m going to make it my business to share some of these gems with you. And I’m kicking off the series with one of my all-time favorite guilty pleasures: Wicked Woman (1953), directed by Russell Rouse and starring none other than Rouse’s wife, Beverly Michaels. It’s one heck of a flick that you’ve got to see to believe!
Wicked Woman Lobby Card
As the credits roll, we see the wicked woman of the film’s title, riding a bus through dusty towns, on her way to who-knows-where. And just in case we weren’t sure who this film was about, we’re treated to a jazzy theme song all about her as the credits roll, soulfully belted by Herb Jeffries (who, incidentally, was billed during his career as “Hollywood’s First Black Singing Cowboy” and the “Bronze Buckaroo”). (Just thought you’d like to know.) The words of the song tell us all we need to know about this dastardly dame: “You know that what she’s doin’ is sure to cause you ruin – and still, you listen to her lies.”
We learn that the dame’s name is Billie Nash (Michaels), and when she disembarks from the bus, she finds a rooming house and gives the landlady her last dollar, including a “good luck” coin – “All the luck that’s brought me shouldn’t happen to a dog,” she emotionlessly remarks. There’s something fascinating about Billie – from her uncommon name, to her blonde hair and all-white outfit, which puts you in mind of a poor man’s (I mean a REALLY poor man’s) Cora Smith in The Postman Always Rings Twice. There’s the syncopated rhythm record that she plays over and over (and over!) on her portable phonograph. The nearly empty pint of gin that she drains once she’s settled in her room. The astrology magazine that she reads to pass the time. She’s not beautiful, but she’s attractive in a brassy, I’ll-kick-your-ass kind of way. And she doesn’t just walk – she moves with a slow-motion strut that makes you wonder if she really wants to get where she’s going.
Beverly Michaels and Percy Helton
We don’t know anything about Billie when we meet her, except that she’s flat broke and looking for a job. And also that she’s resourceful – not long after noting the frank appraisal given to her legs by her across-the-hall neighbor, Charlie Borg (the always great Percy Helton), she turns on the charm and winds up dining on the chop he’d been cooking for his own dinner. And then, after landing a gig as a waitress in a bar, she gets Charlie to loan her 20 bucks for a new outfit by suggesting they celebrate her new job by going out for dinner and dancing on her first night off (“I’ll teach you all the latest steps,” she promises with a dazzling smile).
The bar is owned by Matt Bannister (a hunky Richard Egan) and his wife Dora (Evelyn Scott), who’s just a little too fond of the product they’re selling, if you know what I mean. Before long, Billie is casting meaningful glances in Matt’s direction, taking suggestive puffs from his cigarette, and letting her hand rest in his just a couple of beats longer than necessary when passing money from the customers. And before you can say “Bob’s your uncle,” she’s ensnared Matt like a fly in a spider web, drawing him in with her fantasy of going to Mexico: “I want to dance and make love and be serenaded,” she purrs. “And lay out in the sun all day. And get tan. Not too tan, though. They like blondes with fair skin down there.” After lulling him into a stupor with her imagery, she only has to say three more words – ‘’Mexico City. Acapulco…” – and Matt’s a goner. Meanwhile, she keeps poor Charlie panting on the sidelines, getting favors out of him by continuing to dangle the promise of their future night on the town.
Beverly Michaels and Richard Egan
Billie and Matt enjoy a brief interlude of stolen kisses and whispered endearments, but Billie’s soft and sultry side falls away like scales off a lizard when she insists that Matt sell the bar and run away with her south of the border. Matt’s appalled at the notion of leaving his wife in a lurch, and when he turns her down flat, Billie shows her true colors: “You can look for a new girl at the end of the week – I’m quittin’,” she tells Matt. “You stay in this hole you dug for yourself, but don’t expect me to hang around ‘til it’s six feet deep!” And Matt’s not the only one to suffer Billie’s wrath. Charlie encounters her upon her return to the rooming house and makes the mistake of trying yet again to get her to set a date for their outing. Instead, he gets pummeled with Billie’s screaming insults: “Do you think I’d go out with an undersized runt like you? Don’t make me laugh – I wouldn’t be caught dead with you!”
But if you know anything about film noir, you’ll know that this isn’t the end. I don’t want to completely spoil the film – you’ve really got to see it to believe it – but let me just say this: the last 20 minutes of Wicked Woman will leave you bug-eyed and on the edge of your seat.
Wicked Woman Beverly Michaels, Richard Egan and Percy Helton
By the way, in addition to directing the film, Russell Rouse also co-wrote the feature with Clarence Greene. This duo also penned the screenplay for D.O.A. (1949) and, in a complete about-face, they were responsible for the story for Pillow Talk (1959), the first teaming of Doris Day and Rock Hudson. In addition, Rouse was the man behind the camera for another of my favorite noirs, New York Confidential (1955).
If you’ve never seen Wicked Woman, do yourself a huge favor and check it out – you can catch it on You Tube. And if you’ve already had the pleasure of seeing it, there’s no time like the present to it again!
You won’t be sorry.
…..
– Karen Burroughs Hannsberry for Classic Movie Hub
Karen Burroughs Hannsberry is the author of the Shadows and Satin blog, which focuses on movies and performers from the film noir and pre-Code eras, and the editor-in-chief of The Dark Pages, a bimonthly newsletter devoted to all things film noir. Karen is also the author of two books on film noir – Femme Noir: The Bad Girls of Film and Bad Boys: The Actors of Film Noir. You can follow Karen on Twitter at @TheDarkPages.
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Just watched it on You Tube and enjoyed it, That scene near the end in the bar when Robert Osterloh comes in is nail bighting!
And a nice part for Percy Helton.
Thanks for highlighting it.
I’m so glad you liked it, Vienna! I tell you, I like it more every time I see it! And I think it might be Percy’s juiciest role!
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This is one that I have never heard. However, it looks like a sleazy good time. Those classic B-movies are always worth seeing, despite their many flaws.
A sleazy good time — talk about a perfect description!
Watched it on youtube and found Billie Nash a compelling and tragic figure. Given our changing understanding of women’s options from 1953 to now I wonder about the intentions of the filmmakers and how they understood Nash’s options and choices. Thanks for highlighting this film.
You know, I never really thought of Billie as a tragic figure, but you are certainly right, Gloria. I’m glad you got a chance to see the movie and share your insights.
I agree that she is a tragic figure. I also think the film is somewhat mis-titled. Is she really wicked? She is manipulative to be sure — but she has to be manipulative in order to survive. There are many female characters that are genuinely evil but Billie Nash is not one of them.
I love this film. I love how she uses her charm to get her way. Almost kind of reminds me of Constance Towers in “The Naked Kiss.” Beverly Michaels is really compelling to watch – I wish she would have made more films.
I wish she had, too. I missed the opportunity to see her in one last summer, at the Noir City Chicago festival. I’m determined to find one, though!
She accomplished a good deal during her actress career. People have a right to change occupations and she apparently preferred being a housewife to continuing as an actress.
I’ve downloaded all of the Beverly Michaels movies I can find, I also spotted her in Alfred Hitchcock Presents co-starring with George Mathews in “The Big Switch” She’s wearing a dress very similar (only black in color) to her costume in “Wicked Woman” I spent years trying to find a copy of “Wicked Woman” until I finally pieced together clips I found on YouTube. One of the best remarks in the movie is after the off-camera sound of breaking plates. When asked about the upset caused by the employment agent in the bar (played by Tris Coffin) who had just insulted her, she said, “He was reaching for something, and slipped.” She portrays wonderfully “tough” women. A critique I read referred to the movie as a glimpse into Eisenhower era sleaze.
I’ve downloaded all of the Beverly Michaels movies I can find, I also spotted her in Alfred Hitchcock Presents co-starring with George Mathews in “The Big Switch” She’s wearing a dress very similar (only black in color) to her costume in “Wicked Woman” I spent years trying to find a copy of “Wicked Woman” until I finally pieced together clips I found on YouTube. One of the best remarks in the movie is after the off-camera sound of breaking plates. When asked about the upset caused by the employment agent in the bar (played by Tris Coffin) who had just insulted her, she said, “He was reaching for something, and slipped.” She portrays wonderfully “tough” women. A critique I read referred to the movie as a glimpse into Eisenhower era sleaze. Hitchcock also uses the Wicked Woman theme music from time to time in a few of his TV mysteries. “What is a wicked woman, a fascinating dame.” I watch the movie three of four times a year.
I can’t get enough of this movie. I first saw it when I was a young teen and never forgot it. Percy Helton delights me; I will watch anything that has him in the cast. Tough and resourceful, Billy Nash (Beverly Michaels) has two of the best lines rejecting inappropriate flirtations: “That don’t entitle you to no special favors, buster.”, and, after a noisy encounter with her employment agency rep (Tris Coffin), “He was reaching for something and slipped.” Alfred Hitchcock used the music from the movie in a few of his TV shows. Described by one film critic as “Eisenhower era sleaze”, its one of my wicked pleasures; I can’t turn away.
By the way, Robert Osterloh, the guy that plans to buy the bar, plays the part of Cody Garrett’s buddy “Riley” (“don’t shoot, it’s me, Riley) from “White Heat”, and is in the last scene of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” pushing a gurney that came from an accident involving a truck that was transporting a load of strange looking pods.
I DVR’d the movie yesterday (4/26/2020) from Noir Alley on Turner Classic Movies. Watched it, then deleted it from the DVR. A total train wreck of a movie, which I guess was kinda the point. After all, it was depicting characters whose lives were train wrecks. As a gay man I really liked Richard Egan as the tough-guy bartender. The movie took a lot of noir tropes and turned up the volume on them (sometimes literally, during the scenes where the actors shouted their dialogue at each other). I liked Beverly Michaels as the femme fatale (I like the fact that she’s reading Advanced Astrology magazine, not Basic), and Percy Helton was believable as the stereotypical creepy guy in the apartment across the hall. It’s not a cinematic masterpiece by any means, but overall it was a lot of fun.