Russell Rouse, Clarence Greene (original screenplay)
Eddie Fitzgerald
Buddy Baker
Joseph St. Amand
Chester W. Schaeffer
Beverly Michaels, Richard Egan, Percy Helton, Evelyn Scott, Robert Osterloh, William Phillips, Frank Ferguson, Bernadene Hayes
One of the most deliciously trashy films of the noir cycle, Russell Rouse’s Wicked Woman stars the wonderfully cynical Beverly Michaels as Billie Nash, the eponymous femme fatale who drifts into town, causes hurricane-force havoc in a few lives, and drifts right out again. After spending all her money to rent a filthy room in a dilapidated boarding house, bitter Billie is hired without experience or references by kindhearted dipsomaniac Dora Bannister (Evelyn Scott) and promptly repays her by stealing her hunky husband Matt (Richard Egan) and defrauding her of her assets. The sexual heat between Michaels and Egan is immediate and palpable, particularly in contrast with the ugly, little man across the hall (Percy Helton) who knows Billie’s secrets and blackmails her to have sex with him multiple times. Nobody does sleaze better than Beverly.
By Michael Bayer
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Matt Bannister (Richard Egan) and Billie Nash (Beverly Michaels) plan their escape to Mexico.
