The Depraved
The Depraved
| 01 November 1957 (USA)
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Fed up with her wealthy but abusive husband, Tom (Basil Dignam), young English homemaker Laura Wilton (Anne Heywood) conspires with her lover, American Army captain Dave Dillon (Robert Arden), to have her boozy spouse meet an "accidental" demise. But a nosy copper (Denis Shaw) suspects foul play, and soon the lovers' crafty scheme deteriorates into fear, distrust and betrayal. Paul Dickson directs this vintage noir thriller.

Reviews
jamesraeburn2003

US army officer, Captain Dillon (Robert Arden), runs out of fuel on a country lane on his way back to base. He goes to a nearby mansion and meets the glamorous Laura (Anne Heywood). He asks to use the telephone to call for help and takes an immediate liking to Laura who is suffering abuse from her alcoholic husband, Tom Wilton (Basil Dignam), who beats her up. The local army base is about to go on maneuvers and, in order to keep the local people happy, the army decides to hold a party at the base. Dillon sees an opportunity to see Laura again by offering to deliver the invitations, which he does and it is then when Laura persuades him to murder her husband so that they can be together. At the party, Dillon gets Wilton drunk and when he leaves alone in his car Laura is waiting down the road and flags her husband down. Meanwhile, Dillon has slipped away from the party and they knock him out, put him in his car and drive it into the lake to make it look as if he lost control of it in his drunken state and drowned. But is their perfectly planned murder as foolproof as it appears and is Laura the innocent, long suffering wife she claims to be?If ever there was an example of a British film to prove that we could not come anywhere near to doing American film noir then this is certainly it. But, taken on its own merits, this is still an above average crime thriller from quota-quickie specialists The Danziger Brothers. Its tautly directed by the talented Paul Dickson and, despite the shoestring budget, succeeds in creating an engaging little film. The screenplay is by Brian Clemens who would go on to produce and write many classic episodes of the classic spy series The Avengers and here he ensures that the audience gets an unexpected twist at the climax.The Depraved was as the support feature to Richard Widmark's wartime courtroom drama, Time Limit, on the Gaumont-British circuit in 1957.

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ihshils-649-173072

Although this is less than a minor "noir", with poor acting, the story has an unsuspected twist (which I won't reveal). It contains some of the elements of "noir", but falls short. The main male character does become involved with a beautiful women who lures him into a fatal situation, but it is poorly done and contains many of the errors described in other reviews. I also noted the odd arm bands worn by the MP's One can always cite this film in a discussion of B (or C) movies. "Body Heat" and "Double Indemnity"(mentioned by others above) are successful. This one is OK for a few minutes while doing some exercise on your stationary bike or treadmill.

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Dr. Ed-2

This film sounded promising but was a total dud. The script is terrible, a ripoff of 40s American noire classics like "Double Indemnity" and others. There is no continuity in dialog at all, with characters jumping all over the logic board. The acting of Anne Heywood, Robert Arden and Basil Dignam is atrocious. Over-the-top acting can be fun in the right genre, but this ain't it. On another note, the set decoration is among the worst I've ever seen, especially the front door/foyer area of Heywood's country house. UGH!!!!

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John Seal

Wow, with a title like that you can't go wrong! And it was Brian 'The Avengers' Clemens first screenwriting credit! And...uh oh...it's, erm, another dreadful quota quickie from the Danziger Brothers. Except for a little visual flare in the first reel, Depraved depressingly displays the Danziger's desparately drab demimonde. Avoid.

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