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      Bad Blonde

      Released Apr 10, 1953 1h 21m Drama List
      Reviews 14% 50+ Ratings Audience Score An Italian boxing manager's (Frederick Valk) wife (Barbara Payton) tricks her heavyweight Irish lover (Tony Wright) into helping kill her husband. Read More Read Less Watch on Fandango at Home Premiered Nov 01 Buy Now

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      Critics Reviews

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      David Parkinson Radio Times Payton's revulsion at Valk's pawing gives her gold-digging a pitiable essence. Rated: 3/5 Sep 1, 2022 Full Review Clyde Gilmour Maclean's Magazine A corny sex-melodrama, a low-budget enterprise not only in funds but in taste and talent. Oct 23, 2019 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews A weakly scripted and acted minor film noir about a boxer influenced to go on the wrong path by a femme fatale. Rated: C- Oct 7, 2002 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      Audience Member Hammer Films' 'Bad Blonde' is a below-average noir offering by the studio that later 'Dripped Blood.' Uninspired directing with bland performances all around, including an ending that doesn't so much shock as blandly surface. Of note, this boxing-centric pic features some of the least believable filmed action this side of 'The Three Stooges' - which at least had the courtesy to add sound effects. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member This film came from the Hammer Film Noir Double Feature Collection. I watched this because of Barbara Payto, I'm trying to watch all the movies she started in. Bad Blonde is a great title for a very average movie. It's also the first of the Hammer noirs made in the 1950s I've had a chance to watch. I've always been a fan of Hammer's horror output, so it's a treat to get the opportunity to see what the studio was doing pre-1957. The movie tells the (somewhat unoriginal) story of young up-and-coming boxer who gets mixed up with his promoter's steamy, blonde wife. She bends him to her will and uses him to get what she wants - even if that means committing murder. In a broad, general sense, Bad Blonde kept me entertained throughout. Director Reginald Le Borg keeps things moving at a good pace. The film looks good and the country estate set is a standout. And the movie features a wonderful performance from Sid James. The man carries much of the film on his own. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about some of the rest of the acting. The problems I have with Bad Blonde that make it just barely above average relate almost completely to the two leads. Tony Wright and Barbara Payton, are terribly unconvincing. For Wright, this was his first film, so I can forgive some of his stiffness. But for Payton, Bad Blonde was supposed to something of a return to glory. After only four years of making films, she was already washed-up by 1953. Her story may be a sad one filed with every possible form of self-destruction imaginable, but it doesn't change my opinion of her acting. With the exception of a few memorable moments, she doesn't come across as the smoldering sexpot she's supposed to be. 5 Stars 2-9--13 Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Audience Member An average B-noir from Hammer films about an affair between a boxer and his promoter's wife that leads to betrayal, murder, and revenge. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Audience Member Never heard of Barbara Payton before this. Quite the Femme Fatale. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/10/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Bad Blonde

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis An Italian boxing manager's (Frederick Valk) wife (Barbara Payton) tricks her heavyweight Irish lover (Tony Wright) into helping kill her husband.
      Director
      Reginald LeBorg
      Screenwriter
      Guy Elmes, Richard H. Landau
      Production Co
      Hammer Films
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Apr 10, 1953, Limited
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Jun 27, 2019
      Runtime
      1h 21m
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