TCM Noir: Wicked Woman

Wicked Woman was a TCM Noir Alley selection last weekend. I almost passed it by but decided to record it. I'm so glad I did. It's far from a classic, but I can't stop thinking about it.

Billie Nash arrives in a small town on a Trailways bus. A tall, long-legged blonde dressed in white, she makes quite an impression, especially on local tailor and rooming house neighbor Charlie.

Billie gets a room in low-rent boarding house. She cons a dinner, $20 "loan," and free tailoring job from Charlie. She gets a waitress job at a local bar owned by Matt and Dora Bannister. The first night on the job, Billie hits on Matt. She learns that Dora inherited the bar from her father, but it was Matt who kept it from going under. Dora's a heavy drinker, and Matt disapproves.

Billie and Matt plan to sell the bar by forging Dora's signature and running off to Mexico with the proceeds, but things go awry. Don't they always.

The plan is foiled because Charlie hears Billie and Matt talking. Charlie forces Billie to spend "time" with him. Matt finds them in a compromising position and freaks out. He tells Dora what happened (off-screen) and  manages to cancel the sale of the bar with no legal repercussions. Billie leaves on a bus to Kansas City. She immediately attracts the attention of another passenger, smiles at him, and here we go again.

That's the gist of the plot. Here are some things that interest me.

Could Billie and Dora have become friends? Dora is the one who hires Billie, despite her lack of references. Dora seems to like Billie, especially when Billie slips her drinks behind Matt's back. Maybe it's Dora's drinking habit that keeps her from catching on to Billie. Besides, Billie probably hasn't had a woman friend since she hit puberty.

There were mentions of a problem with the stove; the cook was afraid it would blow up in his face. I  expected it would blow up in Dora's face. Would that help or hinder Billie's and Matt's plan? I guess it would depend on the timing.

The stove did blow up, but no one was hurt. There was just a lot of smoke and Matt closed the bar early. I thought of Chekhov's gun.

An unusual thing in this noir is that no one is killed. At one point, Billie says Matt wants Dora dead, but Matt shuts that conversation down quickly.

Some commenters on imdb.com thought it was unrealistic for Dora to forgive Matt so easily. I don't think she did. I think she's smart enough to know that she can't hold on to the bar without Matt. She's also smart enough not to let him get close to another waitress. Dora will never forgive or forget.

The movie isn't subtle about Billie--just look at the title. It's also known as Free and Easy. Billie is described as a trashy blonde and drifting floozy.

Here's what the film's posters had to say.

"She was born for trouble."
"She uses sex the way a hoodlum uses a loaded gun!"
"They called her 'wicked' but they didn't know the half of it!"
"She's nothing but trouble...Every voluptuous inch of her..."
"She lives up to every scarlet letter of her name!"

We don't learn anything about Billie's back story. We know she likes to smoke and drink and is into astrology. She has a favorite song that she plays over and over on her record player, and she wants to return to Mexico. At one point, Matt says they have to call off the plan to sell the bar and go away later. Billie says there is never a later. It made me wonder if Billie was always wicked, or if something happened that changed her.

The acting was pretty good across the board, but Percy Helton as Charlie was incredible. Helton acted in films and TV from 1915 to 1978 (237 credits.) If you don't know his name, you probably know his face. Charlie's longing for Billie comes off the screen in waves, and he has some creepy overtones when he has something on her.

I recommend this film for noir fans and fans who love to see a character actor's best performance.