Another noir film starring of all people Lucille Ball. A serial killer is on the loose in England who uses the personals column to lure his victims. Ball, who is an ex-pat in Blighty working as a dancehall companion, has a friend who goes missing so while giving her account to the local constabulary, the chief investigator strikes upon an idea to have Ball go undercover to see if the killer can be caught. Directed by the future king of the 50's melodramas Douglas Sirk, he manages to make a light noir feel fun & engaging w/o the prerequisite baggage which usually comes w/this sort of material. Aiding Ball admirably are the supporting cast of actors which includes George Sanders, Charles Coburn, Cedric Hardwicke & a scene stealer from Frankenstein himself, Boris Karloff.

Much surprising and over-looked crime drama. Lucille Ball in Film-Noir. Miss Ball, fresh, leggy and lovely, plays Sandra Carpenter, an American living in London and working as a taxi-dancer. Her friend Lucy(Taris Chandler)goes missing after answering a job offer in the "personal" column; just like several others who've vanished without a trace. After being questioned by Scotland Yard, Sandra is talked into being a decoy undercover cop by Chief Inspector Temple(Charles Coburn). Not knowing that Sandra left her dancing job, she is squired by a mysterious and wealthy Mr. Fleming(George Sanders). Miss Carpenter hopes to lure the killer by answering personals herself.

Very nice Black & White photography with a brisk moving story and strong supporting cast that includes: Boris Karloff, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, George Zucco and Alan Napier. Ball is very impressive and strong in this roll; almost a shame she had to turn to comedy.

Early directorial effort from Douglas Sirk offers an offbeat role for Lucille Ball, ably playing an American dancer in London who is enlisted by Scotland Yard to catch a poem-writing serial killer who preys on showgirls. Leo Rosten's screenplay (culled from perhaps various treatments by Jacques Companéez, Simon Gantillon, and Ernest Neuville) is loosely-hinged at best, thin at worst. A sequence with Boris Karloff as a delusional designer goes on far too long, as does a tiresome thread with Ball working as a maid for a possible pervert. Entertaining on a minor level, especially for Lucy-addicts (her dryly comic exasperation is very funny, as is her rapport with the inspectors on the case). George Sanders is ideally cast as a wealthy nightclub owner who takes a shine to our heroine--and who wouldn't? Ball may be photographed in black-and-white, but she exudes both sophisticated glamor and attractive street-smarts. She's a peach. **1/2 from ****