Wicked Woman (1954) - Turner Classic Movies

Brief Synopsis

A trashy blonde lures a saloon owner away from his wife.

Cast & Crew

Read More

Russell Rouse

Beverly Michaels

Richard Egan

Percy Helton

Evelyn Scott

Robert Osterloh

Film Details

Also Known As

Free and Easy

Genre

Drama

Release Date

Jan 8, 1954

Premiere Information

not available

Production Company

World Films, Inc.

Distribution Company

United Artists Corp.

Country

United States

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 17m

Sound

Mono

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Synopsis

After a Trailways bus delivers voluptuous blonde Billie Nash to a small town, she checks into a rooming house. Her rooming house neighbor is Charlie Borg, who runs a tailor's shop next door and offers her a meal. The next day, Billie gets a job as a waitress, at $6.00 a night plus tips, at a bar run by Dora Bannister and her husband Matt. Needing new clothes, Billie cons twenty dollars out of the lecherous Charlie by promising to date him. Billie discovers that Dora is a secret drinker and decides to go after Matt. She is even more determined when Gus, the cook, tells her that Matt used to work for Dora's drunken father, who owned the bar, and that Matt saved the business. Later, when Matt and Billie are alone after the bar closes, she seduces him. Matt becomes obsessed with Billie and she suggests that he sell the bar and leave with her for Mexico. Later Billie insults Charlie by telling him that she would never go out with him. The next morning, when Matt comes to Billie's room to tell her that he has decided to sell the bar without informing Dora first, he is seen by Charlie. After Matt finds a potential buyer, Mr. Lowry, he and Billie decide to get Dora drunk and have her sign the legal documents. However, a problem arises when Lowry's lawyer insists that Dora sign the papers in his office. Matt then decides to have Billie impersonate Dora at the signing and rehearses her in the details of Dora's life. After Billie signs the deeds in the office of Lowry's lawyer, Mr. Porter, he informs them that he will put the papers in escrow and a check will be issued in three to four days. Although Matt and Billie do not like this unexpected development, they decide to wait it out. At the rooming house, Charlie, who has overheard their plans, goes to Billie and threatens to tell Dora unless Billie is "nice" to him. After work that night, Billie goes to Charlie's room. The next night, when Lowry comes to the bar, Dora is out and Billie continues the deception. Later, when a gas stove in the kitchen explodes, Dora asks Matt for the key to the bank safety deposit box where both the insurance policy and the deeds to the bar are supposed to be and Matt reluctantly surrenders it. Meanwhile, Charlie continues to bother Billie and when Matt goes to her room to tell her about the recent developments, he finds Charlie and Billie in a compromising position. Matt angrily calls her a tramp, pushes her away and leaves. Billie then attacks Charlie and the landlady, who has come to see what has been going on. Later, after Matt confesses to Dora, Lowry agrees to forget the whole deal. Meanwhile, Billie buys a one-way bus ticket to Kansas City. On board the bus, when a male passenger shows interest in her, she seductively smiles at him.

Director

Russell Rouse

Cast

Beverly Michaels

Richard Egan

Percy Helton

Evelyn Scott

Robert Osterloh

William "bill" Phillips

Frank Ferguson

Bernadene Hayes

Ralph Sanford

Richard Reeves

Tristram Coffin

James Parnell

Frank Scannell

Wally Campo

Crew

Buddy Baker

Buddy Baker

Edward Boyle

Don Carstenson

Chief Electrician

Leon Chooluck

Assistant Director

David Commons

Title and effects

Edward Fitzgerald

Director of Photography

Clarence Greene

Clarence Greene

Written for Screen by

Winston Jones

Assistant to prod

Henry Maak

Sabine Manela

Joe Mullendore

Gus Norin

Jack Rabin

Title and effects

Russell Rouse

Written for Screen by

Chester Schaeffer

Edward Small

Jack Solomon

Joseph St. Amand

Production Design

Maurie M. Suess

Prod Supervisor

Film Details

Also Known As

Free and Easy

Genre

Drama

Release Date

Jan 8, 1954

Premiere Information

not available

Production Company

World Films, Inc.

Distribution Company

United Artists Corp.

Country

United States

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 17m

Sound

Mono

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Articles

Wicked Woman

November 28, 2008

You know she's trouble from the moment you see her disembarking from a bus. As the camera slowly travels up her body from her flashy high heels to her bleached blonde hair, you know this woman is going to bring bad luck to anyone she meets. And as the Wicked Woman of the title, Beverly Michaels doesn't disappoint. She promptly checks into a fleabag rooming house where she begins sponging off her fellow boarder, Charlie (Percy Helton). Then she lies her way into a job at a sleazy bar where she seduces the bartender (Richard Egan) and convinces him to leave his wife, sell the business, and run away with her to Mexico. Of course, things don't exactly go as planned but what did you expect from a Wicked Woman?

As part of our salute to Herb Jeffries, Wicked Woman (1954) is a bit of a cheat because Jeffries doesn't actually appear in the film. He does sing the title song though and it sets the down and dirty tone for this tawdry little melodrama. Jeffries, who was quite the black matinee idol in the late thirties, was best known as black America's first singing cowboy. His mellifluous voice can also be heard narrating the Turner Classic Movies' original documentary on director Oscar Micheaux, Midnight Ramble (1994), and more recent appearances include a cameo in The Cherokee Kid (1996), a comedic homage to the black Western genre starring the comedian Sinbad, and Keepers of the Frame (1999), a documentary about film preservation.

Director: Russell Rouse
Producer: Clarence Greene
Screenplay: Clarence Greene, Russell Rouse
Music: Buddy Baker, Josep Mullendore
Cast: Beverly Michaels (Billie Nash), Richard Egan (Matt Bannister), Percy Helton (Charlie Borg), Evelyn Scott (Dora Bannister), Robert Osterloh (Mr. Lowry), William Phillips (Gus), Frank Ferguson (Mr. Porter), Bernadene Hayes (Mrs. Walters).
BW-77m.

By Jeff Stafford

Wicked Woman

Wicked Woman

You know she's trouble from the moment you see her disembarking from a bus. As the camera slowly travels up her body from her flashy high heels to her bleached blonde hair, you know this woman is going to bring bad luck to anyone she meets. And as the Wicked Woman of the title, Beverly Michaels doesn't disappoint. She promptly checks into a fleabag rooming house where she begins sponging off her fellow boarder, Charlie (Percy Helton). Then she lies her way into a job at a sleazy bar where she seduces the bartender (Richard Egan) and convinces him to leave his wife, sell the business, and run away with her to Mexico. Of course, things don't exactly go as planned but what did you expect from a Wicked Woman? As part of our salute to Herb Jeffries, Wicked Woman (1954) is a bit of a cheat because Jeffries doesn't actually appear in the film. He does sing the title song though and it sets the down and dirty tone for this tawdry little melodrama. Jeffries, who was quite the black matinee idol in the late thirties, was best known as black America's first singing cowboy. His mellifluous voice can also be heard narrating the Turner Classic Movies' original documentary on director Oscar Micheaux, Midnight Ramble (1994), and more recent appearances include a cameo in The Cherokee Kid (1996), a comedic homage to the black Western genre starring the comedian Sinbad, and Keepers of the Frame (1999), a documentary about film preservation. Director: Russell Rouse Producer: Clarence Greene Screenplay: Clarence Greene, Russell Rouse Music: Buddy Baker, Josep Mullendore Cast: Beverly Michaels (Billie Nash), Richard Egan (Matt Bannister), Percy Helton (Charlie Borg), Evelyn Scott (Dora Bannister), Robert Osterloh (Mr. Lowry), William Phillips (Gus), Frank Ferguson (Mr. Porter), Bernadene Hayes (Mrs. Walters). BW-77m. By Jeff Stafford

Quotes

Trivia

Notes

This film's working title was Free and Easy. According to the file on the film in the MPAA/PCA Collection at the AMPAS Library, the PCA requested various revisions to the basic script, but the film still encountered some censorship problems after it was released. In Memphis, TN, the film was banned by the censor board, but was subsequently booked into West Memphis, AR, which, according to a Daily Variety news item, "gleefully" booked everything Memphis banned.

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