THE LIE, a 1954 Vitapix teledrama from "The Golden Age Of Television" was filmed on location at Bavaria Kunst Studios. The short running time, set-bound atmosphere and nightworld milieu give it a "noir-like" ambiance while the melodramatic scenario, with it's dark look at the tangled web of deception, seems ripped right out of a pulp fiction magazine.
Diamond importer John Hammond goes to the circus one night with his girlfriend Marlene, her brother Philip and Philip's fiancée, Margot. The show's star attraction, trapeze artist "The Great Wilheim", knows Marlene and invites everyone back to his dressing room where he organizes an impromptu "men only" bachelor party for Philip. No one notices the sinister man following them as they say goodnight to the ladies and go out on the town. Wilheim and Phil eventually drop a very drunk Hammond off at his apartment and he awakes in the morning to find the police standing over him. The man who shadowed them the night before lies dead on his living room floor, shot with Hammond's revolver. During the trial, Wilhiem and Philip both lie on the witness stand and send Hammond to prison for seven years. Marlene never visits once but Phil's one-time fiancée Margot does and through her efforts Hammond's released after three years. Although his cell-mate advises him to forget the past and he's cautioned by the warden not to seek revenge, Hammond must find out why he was set up. He tracks down those responsible and discovers the twisted truth behind "the lie". The tale ends with the one who set the lies in deadly motion finally brought to justice.
Lee Bowman, the B-movie Zachary Scott (as John Hammond), and 1940's Universal Studio pin-up girl Ramsay Ames (as Marlene) help give THE LIE the feel of a big screen Poverty Row second feature. It's also a little more ambitious than most 1950's teledramas and, with a little more time and effort, could have been a tightly plotted thriller with a few surprises for those familiar with the conventions of the noir genre. The fact Hammond is a diamond importer and is licensed to carry a gun for protection leads the viewer to assume the plot may hinge on theft, deceit and greed. Hammond's boozy recollection of the stranger he (supposedly) killed standing over him saying something about "staying away from her" could peg Marlene as the de rigeur femme fatale. The twist comes when these red herrings only serve to mask the fact the puzzle's solution is keyed around a stalker with a sexual obsession. Ramsay Ames, as the beautiful but selfish Marlene, is a knock-out as the chain-smoking nightclub canary. Smartly coiffed in a Gina Lollobrigida-style Italian poodle cut and fashionably garbed in 1950's get-ups while waving her long cigarette-holder like a wand, the slinky songstress even purrs a blusey torch song at the club where she works. Ames' confidently laid-back acting "style" fits a character who never considers anyone or anything other than herself and good girl with a heart Margot (blonde Eva Probst) provides nice contrast to the callous raven-haired charmer. The reed-slim and pencil-moustached Lee Bowman is effective as John Hammond, a trench-coated average Joe who's life inexplicably spins out of control overnight. Other staples of film noir include the beefy blond acrobat Wilheim (Harald Maresh) going from Lothario to nasty very quickly once he starts to slap Marlene and her brother Philip (Joachim Brennecke) around and the brief but pivotal role of fedora-wearing "Franz the stalker" as portrayed by creepy Laird Cregar look-alike Reinhard Kolldehoff. A fair amount of suspense is generated when a frightened Wilhiem, who always performs sans net, recognizes Hammond in the crowd just before he begins his circus act. He nervously wipes his sweaty brow and palms before taking to the trapeze and falling to his death. THE LIE's satisfying final scene has the villianess casually raising a cigarette to be lit as police handcuffs appear from nowhere to snap around her wrist.
Although it could have delivered more, this semi-suspenseful TV play from 1954 has the welcome presence of Hollywood B-Movie regulars Ramsay Ames and Lee Bowman along with a half-way decent plot-line. Even if only as an early TV curio, THE LIE is definitely worth a look.
Trivia: Harald Maresch was once known as Harald Raymond and was the man actress Lupe Velez committed suicide for in 1944.
Diamond importer John Hammond goes to the circus one night with his girlfriend Marlene, her brother Philip and Philip's fiancée, Margot. The show's star attraction, trapeze artist "The Great Wilheim", knows Marlene and invites everyone back to his dressing room where he organizes an impromptu "men only" bachelor party for Philip. No one notices the sinister man following them as they say goodnight to the ladies and go out on the town. Wilheim and Phil eventually drop a very drunk Hammond off at his apartment and he awakes in the morning to find the police standing over him. The man who shadowed them the night before lies dead on his living room floor, shot with Hammond's revolver. During the trial, Wilhiem and Philip both lie on the witness stand and send Hammond to prison for seven years. Marlene never visits once but Phil's one-time fiancée Margot does and through her efforts Hammond's released after three years. Although his cell-mate advises him to forget the past and he's cautioned by the warden not to seek revenge, Hammond must find out why he was set up. He tracks down those responsible and discovers the twisted truth behind "the lie". The tale ends with the one who set the lies in deadly motion finally brought to justice.
Lee Bowman, the B-movie Zachary Scott (as John Hammond), and 1940's Universal Studio pin-up girl Ramsay Ames (as Marlene) help give THE LIE the feel of a big screen Poverty Row second feature. It's also a little more ambitious than most 1950's teledramas and, with a little more time and effort, could have been a tightly plotted thriller with a few surprises for those familiar with the conventions of the noir genre. The fact Hammond is a diamond importer and is licensed to carry a gun for protection leads the viewer to assume the plot may hinge on theft, deceit and greed. Hammond's boozy recollection of the stranger he (supposedly) killed standing over him saying something about "staying away from her" could peg Marlene as the de rigeur femme fatale. The twist comes when these red herrings only serve to mask the fact the puzzle's solution is keyed around a stalker with a sexual obsession. Ramsay Ames, as the beautiful but selfish Marlene, is a knock-out as the chain-smoking nightclub canary. Smartly coiffed in a Gina Lollobrigida-style Italian poodle cut and fashionably garbed in 1950's get-ups while waving her long cigarette-holder like a wand, the slinky songstress even purrs a blusey torch song at the club where she works. Ames' confidently laid-back acting "style" fits a character who never considers anyone or anything other than herself and good girl with a heart Margot (blonde Eva Probst) provides nice contrast to the callous raven-haired charmer. The reed-slim and pencil-moustached Lee Bowman is effective as John Hammond, a trench-coated average Joe who's life inexplicably spins out of control overnight. Other staples of film noir include the beefy blond acrobat Wilheim (Harald Maresh) going from Lothario to nasty very quickly once he starts to slap Marlene and her brother Philip (Joachim Brennecke) around and the brief but pivotal role of fedora-wearing "Franz the stalker" as portrayed by creepy Laird Cregar look-alike Reinhard Kolldehoff. A fair amount of suspense is generated when a frightened Wilhiem, who always performs sans net, recognizes Hammond in the crowd just before he begins his circus act. He nervously wipes his sweaty brow and palms before taking to the trapeze and falling to his death. THE LIE's satisfying final scene has the villianess casually raising a cigarette to be lit as police handcuffs appear from nowhere to snap around her wrist.
Although it could have delivered more, this semi-suspenseful TV play from 1954 has the welcome presence of Hollywood B-Movie regulars Ramsay Ames and Lee Bowman along with a half-way decent plot-line. Even if only as an early TV curio, THE LIE is definitely worth a look.
Trivia: Harald Maresch was once known as Harald Raymond and was the man actress Lupe Velez committed suicide for in 1944.
