This is an obscure noir film which is seldom seen but will show up at film festivals that celebrate the "B" productions of the 1940s and '50s. That's where I got the chance to see Leslie Brooks weave cinema magic as the coldest babe in town. Her performance ranks right up there with the wonderful Ann Savage's Vera in the greatest "B" of all times, "Detour".
Brooks plays a newspaper columnist who goes from one wealthy victim to another, kills, inherits the money and moves on. A blackmailer gets in her way so she dispatches him as well. All the while, her ex-boyfriend, played by Robert Paige, a familiar face to movie buffs,is hanging around on the fringes of her life. He becomes the main suspect in the murders and complications arise.
Brooks should have gone on to bigger and better things but, here again, her career mirrors the aforementioned Ann Savage. The low budget films were not always a stepping stone to stardom.
This is an unusual film with a totally unrepentant and psychologically twisted main character who, in a word, is a bitch. The supporting cast is strong and the cinematography is quite good. Now that I have said that, I must admit that this is definitely a "B" film and can sometimes be rather hard going. But it is Leslie Brooks that makes it worthwhile. The film was made by Film Classics, originally a releasing company, which tried it's hand at it's own productions, with some limited success. The company disappeared early in the 1950s, as did most of the Poverty Row studios, much to the chagrin of all aficionados of the genre. "Blonde Ice" is one of the stars in the crown of low budget film making due to Brooks. Make an effort to find it.
Brooks plays a newspaper columnist who goes from one wealthy victim to another, kills, inherits the money and moves on. A blackmailer gets in her way so she dispatches him as well. All the while, her ex-boyfriend, played by Robert Paige, a familiar face to movie buffs,is hanging around on the fringes of her life. He becomes the main suspect in the murders and complications arise.
Brooks should have gone on to bigger and better things but, here again, her career mirrors the aforementioned Ann Savage. The low budget films were not always a stepping stone to stardom.
This is an unusual film with a totally unrepentant and psychologically twisted main character who, in a word, is a bitch. The supporting cast is strong and the cinematography is quite good. Now that I have said that, I must admit that this is definitely a "B" film and can sometimes be rather hard going. But it is Leslie Brooks that makes it worthwhile. The film was made by Film Classics, originally a releasing company, which tried it's hand at it's own productions, with some limited success. The company disappeared early in the 1950s, as did most of the Poverty Row studios, much to the chagrin of all aficionados of the genre. "Blonde Ice" is one of the stars in the crown of low budget film making due to Brooks. Make an effort to find it.