A criminal gang conspires to steal a big sum from one of its members through an elaborate plan to return him from the dead.Margot (Gillie) doesn't explode until the end when we find out what a psychopath she really is. No doubt about it, she's in the same vicious league as Annie Laurie Starr of Gun Crazy (1949). The storyline here is about as unrelenting as a windstorm in Chicago. No, there's no redemption for any of this crew. Credit screenwriter-actor Nedrick Young for the unregenerate character concepts. I suspect no studio of the time would touch such uncompromising material. Likely, the lurid content also kept the crime drama off Late Shows, as was apparently the case.Margot is one heckuva spider woman, with the car keys or without them. If she isn't playing games with her dead husband (Armstrong), she's ruining the life of Dr. Craig (Rudley, in a fine performance). Then too, the doc really should be ignoring her well-turned ankle instead of lusting after it. Too bad he realizes this too late. The movie's not a complete success. Some plot developments, like returning from the dead through better chemistry, are a stretch, while director Bernhard adds little to the styling. At the same time, supposed gang leader Edward Norris makes little impression. But maybe that was supposed to be since he's not really the leader. Anyhow, the noir's a sleeper, with something of a wacked-out screenplay, but definitely worth catching up with.(In passing—good to see the Runyonesque Sheldon Leonard playing it straight and picking up a payday, even as a cop, no less.)

Being in the mood for a short burst of Film Noir a month ago,I decided to take a look at a title that a very kind IMDber had sent me.Finding myself really enjoying the movie,I got a disappointing surprise,when my DVD player stopped playing the film 45 minutes in.Trying on 3 other DVD players,I as shocked to find that none of them were able to play the full feature.Desperate to see the full film,I started to search everywhere online for the title,and was delighted to recently stumble on the title,which led to me getting ready to see the full decoy finally take place.The plot:Rushing into the flat as Dr. Lloyd Craig drops to the ground from a gunshot,police officer Joe Portugal finds Margot Shelby taking her final breaths,as Shelby attempts to get hold of a sealed box laying on the side.Picking up the box,Portugal asks Shelby to tell him how she got hold of the box.The past:Successfully robbing $400,000,gangster Frank Olins soon finds the law catching up with him,and showing their appreciation over Olins refusal to reveal where the cash is hidden,by sending him to death row.With her boyfriend only having a few days to go before he's sent to the gas chamber, Margot Shelby begins making plans on how to get Olins out of jail,and also get him to reveal where the cash is hidden.Catching the attention of small time gangster Jim Vincent,Shelby using all of her cunning skills to make Vincent believe that if he helps her to find the location of Olins cash,then he will get half the amount.As Olins takes his finally steps to the gas chamber,Shelby begins to talk to a Dr working at the morgue called Lloyd Craig,who tells Shelby about a drug that can bring the dead back to life.View on the film:Burning down the good ol' country gal image she had shown in the British Comedy Tawny Pipit,the graceful Jean Gillie (who tragically died of pneumonia 3 years later,age 33) gives a tremendous performance as Margot Shelby,with Gillie showing a red mist to cover Shelby's eyes,as she gets closer to tracking down the money.Along with the red mist,Gillie also shows a real skill in keeping Shelby's cards close to her chest,as she begins to put her plan in to action.Wrapped around Shelby's fingers, Edward Norris gives a masterful performance as Jim Vincent,with Norris showing Vincent's low-life roots to become brittle,as he is taken in by Shelby's charms,whilst Herbert Rudley gives an excellent,twitchy performance as Lloyd Craig,who Rudley shows is desperate to get back to his comfort zone.For the superb screenplay by Stanley Rubin and Nedrick Young give the title a distinctive Gothic Horror edge,which allows for the writer's to create a deep feeling of the characters entering a sinister world.Strongly linked to the Gothic Horror edges,the writer's inject a deep decaying root into their Film Noir world,by showing the relationship between Shelby,Vincent and Craig to be one that is built on a pack of lies,which lead to an extremely cynical final note.Returning to the US with his then-wife Jean Gillie,director Jack Bernhard gives the title a real sense of elegance,thanks to Bernhard closely working with cinematographer L. William O'Connell to cover the movie in shimmering low-light,which along with showing the characters attempting to hide their true motives,also allows Gillie to look like a ravishing Femme Fatale.Digging into the titles Gothic Horror streak,Bernhard gives the film a harsh,cold atmosphere,by allowing the 'red mist' from Shelby's eyes to be cast across the screen,as Decoy shows itself to be a marvelous Film Noir,that the viewer won't want to recoil from.

I have to say that Decoy was one interesting cinematic experience. The story had a lot of holes in it and the plan that was made by the bad guys had a lot of faults in it.But what makes this film get as high a rating from me as I give it is the presence of Jean Gillie who made only one more film after this one before dying at 33. Just like another British beauty Kay Kendall.Gillie is one devil woman and she's got one devilish plan to $400,000.00 of stolen loot that Robert Armstrong has hidden away. She's been Armstrong's moll for years, but he's going to the gas chamber. Never mind Gillie's found a way to beat the gas chamber. But it involves getting a doctor and another hoodlum to pull it off.The key is Dr. Herbert Rudley who supervises the executions. There's a chemical if administered within a short time that can counteract the effects of cyanide. Gillie puts on quite a campaign to vamp Rudley and soon he's just putty. Her other hoodlum boyfriend Edward Norris is amused at Rudley, but he's also thinking with his crotch.Even Sheldon Leonard playing a cop instead of gangster for once is also not immune to Gillie when she turns it on. If some company could have bottled what Gillie had and sold it to the government it would be quite a formidable weapon.The script isn't all that great, but Gillie and the cast of sex struck males really put this Monagram classic over.

What a great little film noir! The plot, casting, acting, direction and cinematography are excellent, making this relatively unknown noir a minor classic.The ingenious plot to resurrect an executed criminal from the gas chamber falls into the realm of sci-fi but is actually based on good science. Methylene Blue was used as an antidote for cyanide poisoning during the 1940s, but must be administered to a living person, not a corpse. Nevertheless, the resurrection drama gives the plot a lurid Frankensteinian twist that adds to its appeal, especially when the resurrected criminal is killed a second time in the same day!Jean Gillie delivers a sensational performance as the ultimate femme fatale -- a gorgeous, sophisticated fashionista -- who is also a brutally manipulative and murderous villain who stops at nothing to satisfy her materialistic ambitions and get her greedy little hands on $400,000 from a bank heist.Herbert Rudley is effective as the prison doctor caught in a moral dilemma between professional ethics and his infatuation with Gillie. The other main characters -- Edward Norris as a cynical gangster and Sheldon Leonard as a slimy cop -- give convincing performances and balance the ensemble. There is some sharp dialog and a surprise ending. This is a terrific film noir loaded with goodies and not to be missed.