''Lady of Vengeance'' is a 1957 British

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by

Burt Balaban Burt Balaban (March 6, 1922 – October 14, 1965) was an American film producer and director. Biography Balaban was born to a Jewish family, the son of Tillie (nee Urkov) from her first marriage, and stepson of Barney Balaban. He was the nephew ...

and starring

Dennis O'Keefe Dennis O'Keefe (born Edward Vanes Flanagan, Jr., March 29, 1908 – August 31, 1968) was an American actor and writer. Early years Born in Fort Madison, Iowa, O'Keefe was the son of Edward Flanagan and Charlotte Flanagan, Irish vaudevill ...

Plot

When 21-year-old Melissa Collins (Eileen Elton) commits suicide, her guardian, the domineering American newspaper publisher William T. Marshall (Dennis O'Keefe), searches (in flashback) for a reason. He finds it in a letter he receives from Melissa, after her death. In this, she asks Marshall to take revenge on her lover, philandering musician Larry Shaw (Vernon Greeves), who caused her such pain he made life not worth living. Marshall hires criminal mastermind, Karnak (Anton Diffring), an avid philatelist. He promises him a rare stamp in exchange for planning the torturous murder of Larry Shaw. Meanwhile, Marshall's loyal secretary, Katie Whiteside (Ann Sears), attempts to calm her boss's obsessive desires for vengeance. Matters become additionally complicated however, when Karnak targets the wrong man.

Cast

as William T. Marshal * Ann Sears as Katie Whiteside *

Anton Diffring Anton Diffring (born Alfred Pollack, 20 October 1916 – 19 May 1989) was a German-born character actor who had an extensive career in the United Kingdom from the 1940s to the 1980s, latterly appearing in international films. He appeared in ove ...

as Emile Karnak *

Patrick Barr Patrick David Barr (13 February 1908 – 29 August 1985) was an English actor. In his career spanning over half a century, he appeared in about 144 films and television series. Biography Born in Akola, British India in 1908, Barr was educate ...

as Inspector Madden * Vernon Greeves as Larry Shaw * Eileen Elton as Melissa Collins *

Frederick Schiller Frederick Schiller (23 August 1901 – 29 September 1994) was an Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federat ...

as Schleigel * Jacqueline Curtis as Penny *

G. H. Mulcaster G. H. Mulcaster (27 June 1891 – 19 January 1964) was a London-born British actor. He was the father of the actor Michael Mulcaster, and the first husband of English actress Diana Napier. Selected filmography * ''God Bless Our Red, White and ...

as Bennett *

Gerald Case (Thomas) Gerald Case (1905 – 22 May 1985) was a British film and television actor known for his role in the 1976 Wodehouse Playhouse episode, 'Strychnine in the Soup'. He was the son of Captain Thomas Elphinstone Case, of the Coldstream Guards ...

as Hawley *

Jack McNaughton Jack McNaughton (22 December 190522 February 1990) was a British stage and film actor. As a character actor he mostly played supporting roles, but occasionally featured in major roles such as playing the male lead in the 1951 comedy ''Cheer the ...

as Coroner * Colin Croft as Bartender *

Andy Ho Andy Ho (born Andrew Chin Guan Ho; 2 July 1913 – 16 January 1992) was a Singapore-born (then part of British Malaya) film and television actor who worked in London and Hollywood from the 1950s through to the 1980s. Biography Andy Ho was born ...

as Houseman * Humphrey Morton as Corbey

Critical reception

Dennis Schwartz writing in ''Ozus' World Movie Reviews'', called the film a "tedious noir crime drama about the insanity of revenge";

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fil ...

also described the film as "tedious"; and ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' noted, "the plot is very confusing, making it hard to follow this picture. Slack direction does little to help."

References

External links

* * 1957 films 1957 crime drama films British crime drama films Film noir 1950s English-language films British black-and-white films Films directed by Burt Balaban 1950s British films {{crime-drama-film-stub