Wicked Woman (film)

This article is about the 1953 film noir. For the 1934 film, see A Wicked Woman.

Wicked Woman is a 1953 American film noir starring Beverly Michaels, Richard Egan, Percy Helton, and Evelyn Scott. Directed by Russell Rouse, the film was written by Rouse and Clarence Greene.^[1][2]

Wicked Woman
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Russell Rouse
Screenplay by	Clarence Greene Russell Rouse
Produced by	Clarence Greene
Starring	Beverly Michaels Richard Egan Percy Helton Evelyn Scott
Cinematography	Edward Fitzgerald
Edited by	Chester W. Schaeffer
Music by	Buddy Baker
Production company	Edward Small Productions
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date	December 9, 1953 (1953-12-09) (United States)
Running time	77 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Plot

An attractive blonde drifter, Billie Nash (Beverly Michaels), arrives in town on a bus and gets a job as a waitress at a local bar. She sets her sights on the bar's handsome owner, Matt Bannister (Richard Egan), who is married to Dora (Evelyn Scott), who inherited the bar from her alcoholic father and is an alcoholic herself. Nash seduces Bannister and they scheme to sell the bar without Dora's knowledge and skip to Mexico together.

They succeed in executing the paperwork with Nash impersonating Dora, but there is an escrow period before the sale is final. Charlie (Percy Helton), a boarder at the rooming house where Nash is staying, has overheard the plot and attempts to blackmail Nash into being his girlfriend. Bannister discovers them together and calls Nash a "tramp" and a fight ensues. The fraud and forgery is laid bare but Dora arranges for the sale of the bar to be canceled. Nash leaves town on a bus.

Cast

• Beverly Michaels as Billie Nash
• Richard Egan as Matt Bannister
• Percy Helton as Charlie Borg
• Evelyn Scott as Dora Bannister
• Robert Osterloh as Larry Lowry
• Frank Ferguson as Bill Porter
• Bernadene Hayes as Mrs. Walters

Production

The low-budget film, produced under the working title of Free and Easy, was the first leading role for Richard Egan.^[3]

Reception

A contemporary review in The New York Times called the film a "misguided little melodrama" that "manages to squander some persuasively realistic upholstery".^[4]

In 2004 The Village Voice praised Michaels's performance as "wonderfully lurid," and included the movie in a list of the 25 most memorable cult films.^[5]