''Lulu Belle'' is a 1948 American

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

musical romance film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

directed by

Leslie Fenton Leslie Fenton (12 March 1902 – 25 March 1978) was an English actor and film director. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1923 and 1945. Early life Fenton was born on 12 March 1902 in Liverpool, Lancashire, England. He emigrated to ...

and starring

Dorothy Lamour Dorothy Lamour (born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton; December 10, 1914 – September 22, 1996) was an American actress and singer. She is best remembered for having appeared in the '' Road to...'' movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing ...

. The film was an adaption of a sensational 1926 hit play by

Charles MacArthur Charles Gordon MacArthur (November 5, 1895 – April 21, 1956) was an American playwright, screenwriter and 1935 winner of the Academy Award for Best Story. Life and career MacArthur was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the sixth of seven chil ...

and

Edward Sheldon Edward Brewster Sheldon (Chicago, Illinois, February 4, 1886 – April 1, 1946, New York City) was an American dramatist. His plays include ''Salvation Nell'' (1908) and ''Romance'' (1913), which was made into a motion picture with Greta Garbo. ...

, about a mulatto songstress, a "man-trap" who bewitched powerful men in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. This convoluted but heavily Code- sanitized film version of the play was about a Caucasian songbird who could not be true to her boxer beau. Although the film offered a change of pace for its star, Dorothy Lamour, it was not a success at the box office.

Plot

Famous Broadway singer Lulu Belle (

) and Harry Randolph ( Otto Kruger), her rich suitor, are found shot and severely wounded in her dressing room one night after the show. They are discovered by Lulu's best friend, Molly Benson (

Glenda Farrell Glenda Farrell (June 30, 1904 – May 1, 1971) was an American actress. Farrell personified the smart and sassy, wisecracking blonde of the Classical Hollywood films. Farrell's career spanned more than 50 years, appearing in numerous Broadwa ...

), and taken unconscious to the hospital. Lulu's ex-husband, George Davis ( George Montgomery), is accused of the shooting, since he has been previously convicted of attempted murder of another man who got too close to Lulu. During George's interrogation he tells the story of how he met Lulu for the first time. She was performing in a dodgy place called the Natchez Café, and he was so taken with her that he left his fiancée and law practice to elope with her to New Orleans. They lived a wild life of luxury for awhile until his money ran out. She left for another man, high-stakes gambler Mark Brady (

Albert Dekker Thomas Albert Ecke Van Dekker (December 20, 1905 – May 5, 1968) was an American character actor and politician best known for his roles in ''Dr. Cyclops'', ''The Killers (1946 film), The Killers'' (1946), ''Kiss Me Deadly'', and ''The Wild Bun ...

) to support her expensive lifestyle. George realizes that Lulu is bad news and leaves her. It doesn't take long before they get back together again. Lulu is offered a job by Mark, as a singer at a club he is starting, and George starts drinking heavily to drown his sorrows. He tries to get Molly to help stop Lulu's way of life. Lulu wants to divorce him to set him free. That night a wealthy man named Harry Randolph comes to visit the club with his wife (Charlotte Wynters). He is immediately smitten with Lulu, and decides to help her become a star on Broadway. George picks a fight with boxer Butch and is beaten black and blue. George manages to stick a fork in Butch's eye and put an end to his fighting career. For this he is convicted and sentenced to prison. Lulu goes with Randolph, her new benefactor, to New York and Broadway. Randolph puts a lot of money and effort into building Lulu's career and a theater. After five years of working close together, Randolph asks Lulu to marry him. Lulu finds out that George has been released from prison and asks him to come her apartment. Mark turns up later in the evening at the theater and tries to force Lulu to come back with him, but she refuses. George meets Lulu right after the show that night and is sucked into her beam of charm again, when she proclaims her love for him. They decide to start a new life together. Without hesitation, Lulu tells Randolph that she won't marry him and he is upset. Then comes the night of the shooting. Returning to the present, police commissioner Dixon ( Addison Richards) gathers all the persons involved in the story, including Mrs. Randolph, at the dying Randolph's bedside. He asks Randolph to tell them who the shooter was, and he reveals it was his wife. George is vindicated and freed of all charges. He stays by Lulu's side long enough to make sure she will recover, then returns to his hometown alone.''Lulu Belle'' details
tcm.com; accessed October 3, 2015.

Cast

as Lulu Belle * George Montgomery as George Davis *

as Mark Brady * Otto Kruger as Harry Randolph *

as Molly Benson * Greg McClure as Butch Cooper *

Charlotte Wynters Charlotte Wynters (December 4, 1899 – January 7, 1991) was an American stage and film actress. Biography A native of Wheeling, West Virginia, Wynters appeared as a leading lady in a number of B pictures during the 1930s. During the 1922-19 ...

as Mrs. Randolph

References

External links

* {{Charles MacArthur Films set in New Orleans 1948 films 1940s musical drama films American black-and-white films Films about race and ethnicity Films based on works by Edward Sheldon American films based on plays Columbia Pictures films American musical drama films 1940s romantic musical films American romantic musical films American romantic drama films 1948 romantic drama films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films