In a way, "Lured" is actually George Zucco's film. Why? Because of his counter-casting, even though there has never been any doubt that this great mostly-unknown English actor (except to horror & comedy-mystery fans) would have pulled it off with his usual style & class, and here, humor (remember, he was a hoot in "After the Thin Man" & "Topper Returns").It's a fun whodunit with a really solid cast from top to bottom, including favorites Alan Mobray, Gerald Hamer, Joseph Calleia, Charles Coburn,and Alan Napier (Alfred the butler on "Batman")."Lured" is about a lady killer on the loose in London, and includes a cast with such leading stars as Lucille Ball, George Sanders, Sir Cedric Hardwicke and George Sanders - but it's Zucco who always demands that the viewer watch.Horror legend Boris Karloff shows up in as a crazed dress designer. His moment is priceless.Hopefully, one or two of the terrific new retro networks will add this to their rotations.

This picture telegraphs every pivotal point in the story, so much so that it ceases to be in the upper echelon of mystery stories or film noir movies. It has a lot to recommend it, including a first-rate cast and a good premise, but lacks suspense and tension - and it telegraphs the unsatisfactory ending. It is a transparent picture which holds your interest to a point.Sandra (Lucille Ball) and her friend Lucy (!) are taxi dancers. Lucy answers a personal ad in the paper, hoping for a better job and more money, but she is never seen again. It so happens there is a murderer loose in London, preying on single girls, and Sandra goes to Scotland Yard to report her friend missing. Chief Insp. Temple (Chas. Coburn) overhears her story and enlists her as a decoy in the case."Lured" is a showcase for Lucille Ball. Dressed up for a nightclub date, she is breathtaking and never looked better. She is the nominal star of the film, and she is good. She just lacks gravitas for such a role, which should have gone to the likes of Ann Sheridan or even one of the Lane sisters. I disagree with a previous reviewer in that I found precious little chemistry between George Sanders and Ms. Ball and their relationship seemed forced. But as mentioned, the support cast is a fascinating mix with Sanders, George Zucco and Boris Karloff. They do their best to bring some menace to a movie which wanders off point and with too many red herrings for a higher rating.

Early directorial effort from Douglas Sirk offers an offbeat role for Lucille Ball, ably playing an American dancer in London who is enlisted by Scotland Yard to catch a poem-writing serial killer who preys on showgirls. Leo Rosten's screenplay (culled from perhaps various treatments by Jacques Companéez, Simon Gantillon, and Ernest Neuville) is loosely-hinged at best, thin at worst. A sequence with Boris Karloff as a delusional designer goes on far too long, as does a tiresome thread with Ball working as a maid for a possible pervert. Entertaining on a minor level, especially for Lucy-addicts (her dryly comic exasperation is very funny, as is her rapport with the inspectors on the case). George Sanders is ideally cast as a wealthy nightclub owner who takes a shine to our heroine--and who wouldn't? Ball may be photographed in black-and-white, but she exudes both sophisticated glamor and attractive street-smarts. She's a peach. **1/2 from ****

Oddball film with a thriller premise—a poetic serial killer is on the loose. However, the movie soon turns into more of a psychological drama than anything else. Sandra (Ball) goes undercover in a house full of suspects to smoke out the culprit. Now, mystery thrillers usually thrive on atmosphere and suspense as we sort through suspects while tension mounts. However, the narrative here meanders, especially after we're tipped off to the culprit, while the photography remains fairly gray and uninteresting. Perhaps the movie's direction isn't surprising. Director Sirk made his name helming high-class soap opera, which the lengthy romantic side here resembles.Nonetheless, Ball is ravishing and gets to play dress-up. Seeing her here reveals a whole different side from the slapstick comedienne. Sanders is smooth and charming as expected. But the movie can't seem to figure out just what his role is. Speaking of roles, the brief Karloff freak-out is a head-scratcher. He's a name star, yet gets only a 15-minute cameo and then disappears. I'm guessing the segment was inserted to spice up the marquee.The concert scene, however, remains an amusing surprise with the bearded man and the clever dialog. But the screenplay itself is just too flabby and the direction too slack to effectively realize the promising premise.