clanciai A brilliant thriller with above all a splendidly intelligent script leading constantly further down into deeper mysteries of spurious handlings of young beautiful women in Soho. You never can guess what to expect next in this labyrinth of erring mistakes, as the police has nothing to go on in their search for a serial killer that makes all his young lady victims vanish without a trace. This is a treat for everyone and must especially have been so for the actors, who all are inspired to do better than their Best - George Sanders in a role that couldn't have suited him better, Lucille Ball in her freshest prime, Alan Mowbray as one of his many doubtful double-dealers with a hidden agenda, Charles Coburn more direct than ever, Cedric Hardwicke for once carefully concealed behind thick glasses as the perfect second hand dealer, and Boris Karloff in a brief but unforgettable display of exasperating horror. I was surprised that Douglas Sirk could make such an exquisitely many-faced film with so many surprising turns to it, which effectively promoted him in my esteem.

bkoganbing Producer Hunt Stromberg of Lured wanted to make very sure his audience couldn't possibly suspect whoever the elusive strangler of young women might be in post World War II London. So he gathered a cast together any one of the men could have been that strangler who gets his victims through personal ad columns in London's papers.Lucille Ball is an American entertainer there who is raising quite a row with Scotland Yard over the disappearance of a friend. So Chief Inspector Charles Coburn decides to use her as undercover bait. A risky business, but Lucy has moxie.So Ms. Ball has a couple of adventures and even uncovers a white slavery ring, but no strangler. One of the cast is arrested, but he's not the right guy. At the very end we learn who it is without a few harrowing moments for our leading lady.When you've got a cast with people like George Sanders, Cedric Hardwicke, Joseph Calleia, Alan Mowbray, George Zucco, Alan Napier and Boris Karloff that could be any one of them. Stromberg and director Douglas Sirk counted on the movie going public's instinctive reactions to these people.It works nicely too. Even Coburn has seen some villainy on the screen. Lured is a nice mystery to it. I will give you a hint, it's the most cultured character in the cast.

LeonLouisRicci There are a few things here that may attract the casual Movie Viewer. The big and certainly eclectic Cast, the title, and those looking for vintage Film-Noir. They may find all but the latter. This is a scatterbrained affair that changes tone many times and its 107 Minute Running Time can seem like an eternity to some.Not without flashes of interest, like the First Act, a bizarre Cameo by Boris Karloff, and an almost mind-boggling way it goes about being true to its Mystery Premise and then abandoning it for syrupy Romance and Upper-Crust Pageantry, and then returning. There are many unnecessary diversions and it is frankly overfilled with fluff and is certainly not Film-Noir.Not a bad Movie, but a strange one, and as a whole it is weighted down with an overload of side steps, and pieces that don't fit comfortably together. Lucy Fans might want to take a peek but others are warned.

st-shot 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.