Phillim . . and incites this humble reviewer to an extended rhapsody.'Born to Be Bad' is yummy fun for film buffs, fans of Joan Fontaine, film noir and Nick Ray, as well as students of Gay history. Released the same year as 1950's 'All About Eve', with a similar theme: scheming wallflower breezes into town and proceeds to steal another woman's fabulous life.Here the setting is not the Broadway crowd, but a subtler, more spacious and brightly-lit counterpart in the cosmopolitan circles of post-WWII San Francisco. You got the richest (and most naive) young man in town, his erstwhile capable fiancée, their snappy-mercenary gay artist pal, a hyper-hetero rough young novelist on the verge of fame, and his diminutive high-power agent -- who invites his poor-relation niece into the mix, who -- wham-bam -- proceeds to s - - t all over everything and everybody.Fascinating to watch Joan play against type as Christabel -- the actress's natural sweetness here contextualized as pure ruthless artifice as she smarms her way to the top. Nobody's terribly nice to anybody else in this film anyway (even the minor characters and extras throw continuous shade), thus, as in 'All About Eve', their less-than-saintly, less-than-solid society is vulnerable to invasion by an ambitious nobody -- who needs do little more than strategically scratch the surface in order to prevail. Juicy, fun cinema of manners! Nobody's fooled by the interloper for very long -- all but her wealthy target are on to her from nearly the start -- but for a variety of reasons: from not wanting to appear unseemly, to raw self-interest -- everybody lets her get away with it. Messy, messy -- just like life. Joan Leslie as the wronged woman is particularly effective at conveying the helplessness of an otherwise savvy and capable person caught in the cross-hairs of an expert predator.Mel Ferrer as the gay artist Gabby (short for Gabriel, which he insists everybody pronounce affectedly as 'Gahbby') is worth noting, in the kind of role usually given to professional crypto-gay aesthete types like Clifton Webb -- suitably neutered by convention so as not to suggest carnality. Ferrer on the other hand is here a butch, young, handsome actor of considerable masculine sex appeal, not to say talent. (Ferrer would later marry and guide the career of Audrey Hepburn.) He's given genuinely-funny bitchy epigrams throughout, and several flat-out declarations of his orientation, albeit in the usual euphemistic language required in that time -- yet, apart from a charming too-graceful hand gesture and giggle in his first scene, Ferrer wisely avoids any hint of camp effeminate stereotype -- he just lets himself be a serious guy running his business who happens to be openly gay -- a singularly revolutionary thing in film at that time, and still elusive in film today.Ferrer's brief scenes with Robert Ryan as the 'lady-killer' man's man, and Zachary Scott as the rich 'sap', indicate that straight guys think he's a fine fellow and enjoy long-term friendships with him, and suggest a couple of other things: Ferrer when sharing the screen with Scott and Ryan, appears equally fit and young, i.e., sexually viable. Zachary Scott's passive softness and his own sometime crypto-gay actor's image cause one particular moment between Ferrer and Scott to speak of a possible personal history beyond friendship. The three of them represent male archetypes, benchmarks on the Kinsey male sexuality scale: hard hetero, in-between, and strickly-d- - -ly, with Joan's 'rich Uncle John' the literary super-agent thrown in, who for all appearances is a self-made gay man sublimating his sexuality into his work. Joan also must escape the passive-aggressive meddling of her countrified cloying 'Aunt Clara', the archetypal 'spinster' cinematic crypto-lesbian.It's that kind of movie -- subtext, subtext, subtext -- or why Nick Ray matters! As with other masters -- Douglas Sirk and Michael Powell come to mind -- nothing in the frame is ever there by accident. Ray's cinematic language to convey, within 1950 restrictions, when illicit sex acts actually take place in the story -- which is often -- is so raw and original one feels the need for a hot bath afterward, as Joan's character in fact does at one suspenseful point. Robert Ryan deserves much credit for this -- his character is unapologetically bestial -- a priapic satyr -- practically swallowing Joan whole in every scene they are in together.The DVD I saw included an alternative ending in the extras. It has its good points, additional tawdry humor, etc. Recommended. (Glad they went with the one they went with though.)

Leofwine_draca BORN TO BE BAD is a film featuring the lovely Joan Fontaine in the role of a femme fatale who works her way between various male figures, destroying each of them in turn. She's the original adulteress - the character is a thoroughly vindictive one despite the outer niceties - and it's clear from the very beginning that Fontaine just isn't right for the role. You could see somebody like Bette Davis playing this, but Fontaine doesn't really convince - you get the feeling she hasn't got a mean bone in her body.Otherwise, BORN TO BE BAD is a fairly straightforward type of melodrama, with solid direction from Nicholas Ray but nothing much else to distinguish it from plenty of others. There are a couple of nice supporting roles for Mel Ferrer and Robert Ryan, but the plot consistently fails to ignite and the ending is more of a damp squib than a real firework.

st-shot Joan Fontaine as proper and delicate country girl Cristobal tramples all before her in Nick Ray's noir that takes place in a a better part of town Born to Bad. It's like the title says and Miss Fontaine does not disappoint. Cristobal has come to the big city to visit but wouldn't you know it shows up a day early, just in time for the party that evening. She captivates and quickly finds herself in the arms of a promising writer but soon sets her sights on roomie Donna's wealthy boyfriend.Ray's opening scene in a hallway of a chic Manhattan walk-up is frenetic and energizing. Longer than wider with people entering offstage via rooms he quickly establishes players, touching it up with telling incidentals like the first indication Cristobal is in the building.. His pace complements Cristobals rise as she rushes to the top and races around trying to control everyone and everything. Fontaine's feigned sincerity accented by her conciliatory beauty is enraging, frustrating and fascinating to watch. She's one classy noir fatale that get's results and doesn't even pack a rod; so much it takes the likes of Robert Ryan to set things straight with her. A supporting set of doormats: Zachary Scott as the weakling husband, Joan Leslie the betrayed ex and Virginia Farmer as befuddled Aunt Clara fall prey while Mel Ferrer as a moocher artist who knows his place and thus on to Cristobal round out this well acted benign noir among the smart set with an off beat fatale as deceptively hard boiled as the best of them.

Jimmy L. I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed BORN TO BE BAD (1950). The plot, about a woman who infiltrates a circle of friends and destroys their relationships, suggests a lot of melodrama. But the movie is buoyed by an excellent cast of characters and a script that sparkles with wit.There is drama, to be sure, but there's some nice humor that comes from the characters and their relationships with one another. Nothing gets so serious that somebody pulls a gun or commits suicide or anything. There are no shrill histrionics. The movie is a little racy for Hayes Code fare, but it's not terribly dark or gritty. It's a rather pleasant tale about a selfish woman who only hurts herself in the end.Robert Ryan is great as the cynical, rough-edged author. Mel Ferrer is great as the witty painter. Joan Fontaine is lovely as always as the maneater who conceals her scheming behind a façade of sweet innocence. This is a sexier, sneakier Joan Fontaine than viewers may be accustomed to. Joan Leslie, still only twenty-five, is fine in her adult role, after years of playing ingenues. Zachary Scott rounds out the principal cast as Leslie's rich fiancé.Nicholas Ray deftly handles the directing duties, in both the busy party scenes and the noir-ish love scenes.The movie isn't very deep or compelling, but it is very watchable thanks to the terrific performances and some wonderfully witty lines. Robert Ryan steals the show.