Good-Time Girl (1948)

★★★★★ · Excellent · bearpuf · 2011-03-14

As tame as one might think movies would be during the '40's the storyline gets pretty raw. Engrossing not only for the plot but because the acting is so good. Well worth watching.

★★★★★ · Strong medicine. · skyhook · 2013-04-10

This is a tough, hard movie, from England in 1947 (well, that's the copyright date on the opening screen anyway). There's no swearing, no sex or gratuitous violence, but the grip of danger and injustice underpinning the screenplay wrings out more, dramatically, than buckets of S,S and GV ever could. It's the kind of post-war movie which will inevitably be described as 'Noir', but that's a pretty loose fit to my mind. The flaw in the film is that it's wrapped up as a morality play within a play. At the beginning, a young tearaway is shown (Scrooge-like) what became of someone just like her…

★★★★★ · Great British flick · Dr Feel Rotten · 2011-03-14

Acting and script are top shelf for the time and you'll want to root for the young woman till the very end to make good choices and yet she never manages even though she is always the victim in nearly every bit of her troubles. They juxtapose innocence and arrogance, rebelliousness with naivety..Ruthlessness with kindness. Well done movie.

★★★★ · Grade-A Noir/Melodrama · lgeubank · 2011-11-08

I agree with other reviewers, that this noir-ish movie is exceptionally good, with top-shelf acting and script. It has something I can't really define, but which means a lot to me -- a certain tone or mood (or maybe "ambiance") created by the dialog, scenery, EVERYTHING. Modern movies can't duplicate that 30's and 40's tone. This movie has it perfectly. Plus it's an interesting story, well-acted and directed. It's nice to see a very young Herbert Lom (Peter Sellers' / Inspector Clouseau's superior officer) as the nightclub owner. The music score even stands out -- at one point a solo violin…

★★★★ · cautionary tale · evilgenius13 · 2011-03-14

Thanks jayneekay0807 for posting this film. The image was a little distorted, but fairly clear. A story within a minor framing story, kind of like the arabian nights story. Great costumes and characters, and a good albeit sanitized and euphemistic view of female juvenile delinquents as victims of social structures and institutions. The mid-century prequel to Precious, maybe.

★★★★ · British Noir · kingfast · 2011-07-03

Exceptionally good, as close to American noir as the British variety gets. You have to admire the courage of this girl who gets involved with a series of hoodlums but fights her corner all the time. Fast moving and engaging.