Although it was made on a shoestring by a small independent company and features some below-par acting, this movie redeems itself because of its lively pace, its outrageous story and the performance of its leading lady. Based on the 1938 novel "Once Too Often" by Whitman Chambers, "Blonde Ice" follows the exploits of an extremely ambitious femme fatale whose pursuit of wealth, power and status leaves in its wake, a lot of collateral damage in the form of broken hearts and dead bodies.
At a ceremony held in his own mansion, wealthy businessman Carl Hanneman (John Holland) marries Claire Cummings (Leslie Brooks) in the company of his guests who include some of Claire's colleagues from the San Francisco newspaper where she's employed as a society columnist. Immediately after making her vows, she leaves her new husband to join her old flame Les Burns (Robert Paige) on the balcony. There she tells the sportswriter that he's still the man that she loves and adds "I'll think of you on my honeymoon".
Whilst on honeymoon in Los Angeles, Carl sees a love letter that Claire's written to send to Les and immediately decides to divorce her and return to San Francisco. That night, Claire hires a charter plane to fly to San Francisco and back and pays the pilot Blackie Talon (Russ Vincent) an extra $100 to ensure his future discretion about the trip. When she returns home after her very brief honeymoon, she arranges for Les to meet her and take her back to her husband's house where they discover Carl's dead body. He'd been shot dead in circumstances that suggest that he'd committed suicide. The police are convinced, however, that Carl was murdered but don't have sufficient evidence to charge either Claire or Les.
A short while later. Claire gets another of her boyfriends to introduce her to a politically ambitious attorney called Stanley Mason (Michael Whalen) who she wants to administer her late husband's estate and soon they become an item. When Mason is elected to Congress, he announces his engagement to Claire but problems then arise when Blackie Talon turns up to blackmail her and Mason's psychiatrist friend Dr Geoffrey Kippinger (David Leonard) expresses strong reservations about her suitability for marriage. Naturally, Claire resolves these problems with her usual ruthless efficiency but further complications follow.
"Blonde Ice" is a film noir with a number of the usual archetypes such as the femme fatale, the weak man who repeatedly gets into danger because of his obsession and the "good girl" who the man consistently ignores. The involvement of psychoanalysis in the plot and the presence of a blackmailer who suddenly emerges from the shadows are also typical noir components. What the story eschews though is the twists and the uncertainties surrounding identities and motivations which often add greater intrigue to some of the best films of this style.
Leslie Brooks exemplifies what's best about this movie as she's bold, brazen and shows no reservations or conscience about her character's actions or crimes. Everything she does is treated as simply the next logical step in her progression to her goal. The remainder of the cast are adequate at best but this doesn't detract from the enjoyment because the uncomplicated nature of the whole undertaking makes all the wickedness on-screen highly entertaining and often comical to watch.
At a ceremony held in his own mansion, wealthy businessman Carl Hanneman (John Holland) marries Claire Cummings (Leslie Brooks) in the company of his guests who include some of Claire's colleagues from the San Francisco newspaper where she's employed as a society columnist. Immediately after making her vows, she leaves her new husband to join her old flame Les Burns (Robert Paige) on the balcony. There she tells the sportswriter that he's still the man that she loves and adds "I'll think of you on my honeymoon".
Whilst on honeymoon in Los Angeles, Carl sees a love letter that Claire's written to send to Les and immediately decides to divorce her and return to San Francisco. That night, Claire hires a charter plane to fly to San Francisco and back and pays the pilot Blackie Talon (Russ Vincent) an extra $100 to ensure his future discretion about the trip. When she returns home after her very brief honeymoon, she arranges for Les to meet her and take her back to her husband's house where they discover Carl's dead body. He'd been shot dead in circumstances that suggest that he'd committed suicide. The police are convinced, however, that Carl was murdered but don't have sufficient evidence to charge either Claire or Les.
A short while later. Claire gets another of her boyfriends to introduce her to a politically ambitious attorney called Stanley Mason (Michael Whalen) who she wants to administer her late husband's estate and soon they become an item. When Mason is elected to Congress, he announces his engagement to Claire but problems then arise when Blackie Talon turns up to blackmail her and Mason's psychiatrist friend Dr Geoffrey Kippinger (David Leonard) expresses strong reservations about her suitability for marriage. Naturally, Claire resolves these problems with her usual ruthless efficiency but further complications follow.
"Blonde Ice" is a film noir with a number of the usual archetypes such as the femme fatale, the weak man who repeatedly gets into danger because of his obsession and the "good girl" who the man consistently ignores. The involvement of psychoanalysis in the plot and the presence of a blackmailer who suddenly emerges from the shadows are also typical noir components. What the story eschews though is the twists and the uncertainties surrounding identities and motivations which often add greater intrigue to some of the best films of this style.
Leslie Brooks exemplifies what's best about this movie as she's bold, brazen and shows no reservations or conscience about her character's actions or crimes. Everything she does is treated as simply the next logical step in her progression to her goal. The remainder of the cast are adequate at best but this doesn't detract from the enjoyment because the uncomplicated nature of the whole undertaking makes all the wickedness on-screen highly entertaining and often comical to watch.