Lured: Watch the Entire Movie Here!

I found this on YouTube and would like to share this with all my readers. Fans of Lucille Ball will definitely enjoy this treasure.

WATCH THE ENTIRE MOVIE OF LURED BELOW!

Lucille Ball is so stunning right here! And this movie is the visual evidence that she is not only a phenomenally talented comedic actress, she is also a versatile and exceedingly fantastic dramatic actress. She plays so many different roles in this movie: a nightclub dancer, a detective's assistant, a maid, a classy lady going to the theater, a fiance... everything! Only Miss Ball can pull this off!

Amazingly, I cannot connect the Lucille Ball prior to I Love Lucy and the post I Love Lucy's Lucille Ball. They are just so different, and more importantly, equally fabulous! No actor has ever made me feel that!

Reason I Love Lucy: The Art of Mime

Mime, or pantomime, is the performing art of expressing scenarios or motive without the use of speech. Though to be distinguished from silent comedy, I find the both genres overlapping into a blend of grey area.

It's very sad that the traditional forms of comedy have all vanished, and in replacement are jokes consisting of sex, violence, drugs and swear words, otherwise known as blue comedy. These days, people cannot differentiate what's funny from what's not: they are conditioned to laugh for the sake of laughing, not because of the quality of the jokes.

It is not widely know, but the genres of comedy go far and beyond, back to the ancient times when the aristocratic or the bored needed to be entertained by gladiators or in amphitheaters, the 1800s where vaudevillian performances were popular, the early 1900s where silent comedy, slapstick comedy, prop comedy, physical comedy and pantomime were immensely well-received by people, and the late 1900s, where people had an appreciation for jokes with word-play and punch lines. Now, at least spoofs are still widely popular.  

I remember being vastly terrified by clowns and pantomimists who painted their faces white and their lips blood red when I was a little girl. However, as I got to sit through a particular performance, I was amazed by how these comedy actors could convey a message to the audience without uttering a single word! I gazed around, and realized that all the kids were roaring with laughter! Now, bear in mind that kids are taught what's funny and what's not by their caregivers and peers; how in the world did the comedy artists make them laugh without the kids having prior preconceptions to miming?

Having uncovered this fascinating fact, I became so in awe of these talented people that I was intimidated. Once, a pantomimist talked to me after he removed his makeup, and even then, I stuttered my way through the conversation. I was puzzled by his previous clowning around with his makeup and his total contrasting personality of being deadpanned serious without! Now that I've lived a ripe old age, I still don't think I'll muster enough nerve.

Now, this is why we have to differentiate between a comedy actor and a comic from a comedian. A comedy actor acts comedy out, a comedian creates a persona of comedy. As the famous Ed Wynn once said, "A comic says funny things, a comedian says things funny." That really offered explanations to me why the pantomimist had two split personalities.

If you don't comprehend the importance of the need for distinction of comedy actor/comic from a comedian, take Mr. Bean for example. I'm sure you've all rolled on the ground, overwhelmed by uncontrollable laughter due to the physical comedy showcased in the television series. Would you then believe that in real life, Rowan Atkinson is a dead serious man? He'll be your typical serious politician, stern principal, or reserved banker. Seeing a person with such contrasting personalities on and off screen can be a rather bemusing experience for a clueless stranger. However, we should never create an expectation of wanting them to make us laugh when they're not assuming a particular character. It's not only grossly unfair, it is terribly taxing for them too- imagine the diminishing of pride if they feel that they've let people down. Therefore, the need to distinguish the two genres of acting is critical!

There were other well-known comedy actors back in the late 1800s and early 1900s, where vaudeville was at its peak and then regressed. The unavailability of sound in films really helped to promote silent comedy! In the lasts years of the 19th century, Charles "Charlie" Chaplin, Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton were the three comedic giants. I'm thankful that many of their great films are still available today, though the picture quality sure is poor. When I'm feeling down, I'll just visit Charlie Chaplin and his silly antics have the power to cheer me up. Then, in the early and mid 20th century, Harpo Marx (of the Marx brothers), Red Skelton and Robert "Bob" Hope appeared in films and theaters. Their natural talents helped retain the connection to the old but much revered forms of comedy.

Are men naturally more talented in comedy? Are females more restrained and more afraid to lose their glamor if they get a pie thrown in their faces? For some reason, all the comedy actors are male, with one exception...


LUCILLE BALL!

Before Lucille became known as the ditzy screwball redhead, she was a glamor queen in films. Her roles ranged from serious acting, to femme fatale or detective of film noirs, to the girl who always didn't get her man, to the brass-knuckled burlesque queen, to the bitch who learned her lesson but died. She was one of the most talented people who ever graced the earth. It's like a combination of Nicole Kidman, Angelina Jolie, Rachel McAdams, Sandra Bullock, Christina Aguilera, and Helena Bonham Carter! No Hollywood actors today has even one tenth of the talent that this wonderful lady possessed. No one can combine all these actresses' specialties together except Lucille.

The directors and presidents of film production companies like RKO, MGM, 20th Century Fox, Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, Columbia Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures were perplexed, they did not know where to place her: she fit in everywhere, she was a misfit everywhere. No one, not even Lucille herself, knew her great comedic talent. She only knew she was tired of being the gorgeous glamorous Hollywood actress dressed in mink coats, gowns and jewelry, and was itching to have a pie thrown in her face. Having no future prospects of becoming an A actor, she finally mustered the courage to step out of the movie industry and experiment with television. It was a blessing in disguise, because she was the best and only female comedy artist, ever!

Meet America's favorite redhead:


Lucille Ball was talented in all the forms of comedy. She was a vaudevillian, a physical comedy actor, an accomplished mummer and pantomimist, silent comedienne and a slapstick and prop comedy actor with no prior serious training. She observed, she asked, she learned, she rehearsed, and she became alive!


In my opinion, and with all due respect, no giant of physical comedy, except probably Charles Chaplin was on par with her. Additionally, she was so funny that people conveniently forgot that she was one of the most beautiful women on earth. Buster, Harold, Harpo and Red were all geniuses, but Lucille had something special: when others couldn't, she was the only one who could connect with the audience. They not only laughed at her, with her, they loved her. That's the X-factor that no other giant had.

It's impossible to go back in time, where there were great Hollywood actors who gave their very best in all performances, and who made great friendship and helped one another boost their careers.

It's another issue altogether today...

Lured (1947) Review

I had the fine privilege to watch Lured (1947) starring Lucille Ball, George Sanders and Charles Coburn just hours ago. It's really tough to get hold of this movie because first, it's so old; second, Singaporeans have no appreciation for black and white movies; third, film noirs are even rarer; lastly, I do not have TCM channel and even if I have, I'll probably have to wait a decade before they show this movie.

Synopsis:
Sandra Carpenter (Lucille Ball) travels to London and is supposed to be a performer but unfortunately, the company files for bankruptcy. An all American girl who is broke, Sandra has to work as a taxi dancer in a club. Her friend Lucy (Tanis Chandler) raves about going for a date and goes missing. She is believed to be the 8th dead victim of a famous "poet killer", who writes poems before a murder to taunt the police for being always being one step behind him.

Sandra goes to the police, and is hired by Inspector Harley Temple (Charles Coburn) and associates to act as an undercover to lure the killer out because of her keen observation, wit and breathtaking beauty. The killer sources out these young women by writing personal ads for dates and Sandra. Sandra becomes an employee of the police, and she has to answer these ads by pretending to be interested in these blind dates.

By coincidence or fate, she keeps bumping into Robert Flemming (George Sanders) who is the handsome and wealthy owner of a night club. At first, he wants her to work in his club as a singer and a dancer. However, he falls for her charm and beauty.

Complications arise, and evidence points to Robert being the killer. Sandra does not believe it, and tries to lure out the real murderer. Is there a real murderer, or will Sandra be killed?

Review:
Backdrop appears to be unclear, sound quality is only moderate, but what can we except? This movie was made more than 60 years ago!

I know I'm supposed to discuss the content and the actors' skills, but I have to say that Lucille Ball looked so gorgeous and perfect in this movie that it felt surreal! I simply cannot believe such a flawless female could ever exist! You really have to watch the movie to comprehend what I am saying. And bear in mind that video enhancements and all that technological crap to make people look more beautiful weren't invented yet. What you see is what you get. Lucy was really one hot and classy lady back then. Her features, her hair and her figure were all perfect! She was really one of the most beautiful ladies. Ever. Each time she appeared in a scene, I couldn't take my eyes of her. She also plays a model, housemaid, a glamorous woman and so on as an undercover. 

1947 was a period when Lucy left MGM due to some lackluster interests in her. She had to freelance and it turned out to a good thing because she was given not her usual musicals or stereotypical comedic parts, but to star in a film noir with other superb supporting actors. Her acting was superb. If you divide each shot to 64th of a second and really observe her expressions, you will see some flawless acting, and she wasted no unnecessary expressions. Such a fine actress should have been given more quality movies like Lured. You still see her tough verbal wise cracks in this movie, which is entertaining! I was so thankful that she had a lot of screen time! An A actor like her should have been starred in A movies! Even the toughest movie critiques always praised her and condemned the ever blind movie companies. And bear in mind that movie critiques seldom give rave reviews. They're the toughest ever.

I'm so proud of her and she's worth going through so much trouble to watch the movie! Fans of I Love Lucy should watch this movie because it portrays another side of her which is so different and disconnected from the screwball redhead, it just shows how talented she was!

Du Barry was a Lady

Lucille Ball was photographed so breathtakingly beautifully!

I love it when her hair's long!

1. Love (not) at First Sight

By the age of 28, she had been financially successful. She had achieved all that she could, having risen up from rags to riches, thanks to her strong will, hard work and indestructible determination. However, something was missing from her life, and that something was love- an enduring love, someone to care for, someone who would protect her, someone to build a home with and someone to be the father of her children.

Lucille was going to New York City, and she was told by the studio head to be sure to catch the musical named Too Many Girls on Broadway, because she might be given a starring role in the film version later on. However, she had missed the musical as she had a great fall while doing a stunt on ice for a movie which hurt her sacroliac. She had been warned against doing that stunt, but back then, she felt that she was indestructible. She spent her days in the hospital in New York recuperating from her injury and show business friends who visited her at the hospital told her that Too Many Girls was indeed a great hit, but the greatest hit was a 22 year old Cuban, Desi Arnaz. He was a charming, attractive, extremely talented and modest man and every women in the country had fallen for him. Lucy of course, wasn't impressed. She was someone who had to see it to believe it.

After recovering from her fall, Lucille finally saw the musical. Sure enough, she couldn't take her eyes off him throughout the entire musical...

"Then Desi opened his mouth and began talking in his own peculiar brand of broken English, and a great belly laugh burst out of me. Now it's hard to make me laugh. I observe, I smile, but when I'm really amused you can hear me a block away. Here was a stunning-looking male who was not only thrilling but funny. What a combination!"- Lucille Ball in her autobiography: Love, Lucy.

It is true that Lucy wasn't amused easily. She had the knack of knowing what was funny, and what would tickle people to death. She knew how to make people roar with laughter, but she seldom roared with laughter herself. There were times when even while joining in the laughter, she wasn't really amused. Isn't that amazing!

So you could imagine how intrigued she was with Desi. After 28 years of living, she finally found a potential someone who could make her laugh, laugh with no restrictions, laugh with no worrying about what was going to happen next.

Lucy went back to Hollywood, and was disappointed because she did not get the chance to be introduced to this Cuban musical talent she would later co-star with. It would be months before the director of Too Many Girls would be available to do the film version, and in the meantime, Lucy was given the starring role in a movie called Dance, Girl, Dance. Her role in the movie was a tough stripteaser in a burlesque club who often spoke sardonic remarks that were humorous in a twisted way.

One day after a few months, she was filming a scene where she had just fought with her friend from the movie and her lover had supposedly punched her. You could imagine her outfit: thick make-up, long sexy gold dress, hair down and wild, with a fake black eye.

That was how she looked like when she walked into the meeting room full of cast members, including Desi Arnaz, to say hello to the director of Too Many Girls, Mr. George Abbott. Now the cast members were all disconcerted as they looked at her from the top of her head to her toes. The role that Miss Lucille Ball was to play in the upcoming movie was an ingenue, but as Desi Arnaz described, "she looked like a two-dollar whore who had been badly beaten by her pimp, with her hair all over her face and a black eye, and she was dressed in a cheap costume". How could she play an ingenue?!

(Meaning of an ingenue: an innocent and unsophisticated young woman, according to Oxford. Or according to Desi Arnaz, an ingenue "is usually a very delicate, blond, blue-eyed girl with an innocent, virginal quality about her.")

After Lucille left, Desi immediately asked the director who the hell that woman was.

Mr Abbott answered, "that's the girl who is going to play the ingenue. That's Lucille Ball."

"That's Lucille Ball and she's gonna do the ingenue thing? You gotta be kidding," Desi's voice dripped with sarcasm and disbelief.

"Well, now, wait a minute. She was in makeup for something else right now."

"I think you've blown your top, George.There is no way they can change her back to look like an ingenue. No way."

After Lucille's shooting, she was dressed casually in tight slacks and a yellow sweater, with all traces of stage make-up removed. She had tied her blond hair neatly with a feminine bow. That was how she looked like when she walked back to the meeting room while Desi was rehearsing a song with his piano player.

Desi said to the piano player "Man, what a hunk of woman!"

His piano player was puzzled. "You met her today," he said.

"No, I never met her. I've never seen her before."

"That's Lucille Ball," his piano player said.

"THAT'S LUCILLE BALL?! You gotta be kidding. She sure doesn't look anything like she did this morning."

Desi was mesmerized. He was mesmerized, hook, line and sinker.

"Hello," Lucille said as she walked up to Desi. Of course she knew who he was; she had waited long enough to meet him, since she saw him perform back at New York.

Desi was still shocked and unsure. "Miss Ball?"

"Why don't you call me Lucille and I'll call you Dizzy."

"Okay, Lucille, but it's not Dizzy."

"Oh? How do you say it, Daisy?"

"No, Daisy is a flower. It's Desi, D-E-S-I."

Of course, he used the cheesiest line in history to invite her to dinner ("Would you like me to teach you how to Rumba? It may come in handy for your part in the movie."). She accepted.

He preferred the demure Lucille to the glamorous one, and that was the sweetest thing one could expect from a man.

They went to a nightclub, but instead of joining the conga line with the rest, they danced a while and then sat at a quiet corner and just talked and talked. They were in their own world and instant sparks flew. It was obvious even to the rest of their friends that it was love at first sight. Lucille, however, begged to differ: "It wasn't love at first sight. It took me full 5 minutes." She added on that "there was only one thing better than looking at Desi, and that was talking to him."

The night ended innocently. He drove her home, she thanked him for a wonderful evening and they said good night. 

Friends of Lucille warned her against him, that he was too young and was a playboy, but it was too late. She had fallen completely and irrevocably in love with him, and there was no turning back...

Technicolor Tessie

Back in the old days, having color on the screen was a big thing. Actors' skin tone, hair color, eye color were all important. Today, we can utilize special cosmetics and technology to tweak the lighting and contrasts to make the actors look more flattering. "What you see is what you get" rings true back in the golden era of Hollywood.

Lucille Ball's skin tone and eye color were a cameraman's dream, according to LIFE. Her beautiful red hair also complemented her and the blending of all the bright colors into harmony pleasing to the viewer's eye earned her the nickname Technicolor Tessie. Not everyone can look well in vivid colors, but Lucy sure did.

I wish that I Love Lucy would be colorized. It's perfect in black and white, but I just love Lucy's dresses and I want to look at them with color! Good news: Fans who love to watch Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball in colored action could try watching a movie starring the both of them- which they were so proud of- called The Long, Long Trailer. 

The movie was important to them because Desi had never wanted anything so much than to star in a movie with Lucille. For more than 10 years in their marriage, both Desi and Lucy had campaigned to the movie makers that they would be a success in the movies. It meant the public's acceptance of them as a couple. He need not have worried- they were the public's favorite couple, and still are!

Hell, their bickering and fights were all so adorable!