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Overrated

Absolutely the worst movie.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Believe me, Lured is one truly preposterous "serial killer" movie (even for the 1940s). And nothing makes me cringe more than to read someone referring to this dumb-ass "Chick Flick" as being "Film Noir" - 'Cause if that's the category they place this film into, then they really don't know what the heck they're talking about.And, besides that - I'd say that Boris Karloff's over-the-top portrayal of the eccentric fashion designer, Charles van Druten, has got to be one of the absolute, most embarrassing moments ever recorded in the history of a big-budget, big-name Hollywood production.Here are a couple of things that, in my books, lost Lured some significant points - (1) Scotland Yard's laughable procedure for recruiting the gold-digging, dance-hall girl, Sandra Carpenter, as a "lure" to trap the infamous "Poet Killer" (and, yes, they even went so far as to equip her with her very own pistol).(2) The "real" identity of the killer was shamelessly given away about two-thirds of the way into the story, and yet this tale was dragged out for another 35 minutes, putting this annoyed viewer through pure hell as I foolishly stuck it out to the very end.And, finally - Speaking about Lucille Ball - Not only did I think that she was totally unconvincing and ill-suited for her part - But I sure got sick & tired of seeing this tiresome clothes-horse strut out, in scene after scene, in yet another smart and/or elegant outfit.*Trivia Note* - Even though Lured was set in London, England, it was actually filmed entirely on an indoor set in Hollywood, California.

A "homicidal maniac" known as the "Poet Killer" is loose in London, preying on pretty young women. Due to her good looks and detective skills, inspector Charles Coburn (as Harley Temple) gets dancer Lucille Ball (as Sandra Carpenter) to answer personal ads in an attempt to capture the killer. While investigating, Ms. Ball is swept off her feet by suave George Sanders (as Robert Fleming). He becomes a suspect, of course, along with several other suspicious-looking character actors. "Lured" jumps around, changing moods and situations abruptly, but it has an entertainingly mixed cast of characters.****** Lured (8/28/47) Douglas Sirk ~ Lucille Ball, George Sanders, Charles Coburn, Cedric Hardwicke

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.

In spite of some miscasting in key roles this mystery about a London serial killer never flags much in part to the energetic direction of Douglas Sirk. Sirk doesn't allow the viewer to rest a moment as he fills his scenes with sumptuous compositions of detail and action that give hint or distract from the murder trail. It is a work of superb craftsmanship and a very entertaining one at that.Sandra Carpenter (Lucille Ball) is a streetwise taxi dancer at a club in London whose co- worker and friend disappears raising suspicion she may be the latest victim of a well read serial killer partial to Baudelaire who enjoys taunting the police. She brings her concerns to police inspector Temple (Charles Coburn) who hires her on the spot to work undercover to trap the killer. She then gets involved with well known cad about town and prime suspect Robert Fleming (George Sanders) which totally confuses her handlers. Fleming is eventually charged with murder but Sandra remains torn.Lured is one suspenseful fun ride of a whodunnit with Sirk and top tier cinematographer William Daniels filling each scene with fluid, pertinent detail and camera movement that doesn't waste an inch of the frame. It does get convoluted in moments but even that can be rewarding as in the scene with Sandra believing she's luring the killer (a wonderful cameo by Boris Karloff) who instead turns out to be a demented eccentric into psycho drama. George Sanders as the rake is perfectly cast. Being one of the few actors capable of playing heel or hero convincingly he extends the guessing game. Cedric Hardwicke does exactly the opposite however with a tell tale staginess. It may be unfair to single out Lucille Ball as being miscast given the fact that their is no more famous a fictional character and actual person melding in entertainment history. What Daniels did for Garbo he does for Lucy (see) and she starts strong but then goes in and out with a wide eyed naive the rest of the way that doesn't fit a noir fatlale. Then again it may well have been Sirk's intention to give the film a lighthearted spirit while still making biting observations and giving a master class in mise en scene.