The Company She Keeps (1951)

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

It seems incredible that any man would prefer dowdy Jane Greer to stylish Lizabeth Scott, yet that is precisely O'Keefe's choice in this oddly miscast movie! Miss Scott seems a natural for the parolee part and Miss Greer would not have disgraced the role of parole officer. Yet the casting director has reversed this natural order of succession! Director John Cromwell is below form too. Admittedly, he was not helped by the soap opera script, though he does display some occasional flashes of brilliance in such scenes as the brutal police line-up, and the sequence in which O'Keefe describes the things two can do on the town, illustrated by brief snippets of O'Keefe and Greer in the action. Production values are otherwise up to standard.Some critics complained that the plot and its characters were novelettish and that the movie never came to grips with its subject matter. But personally I feel that's what movies are all about. They're not documentaries about real life. They present characters with which audiences can identify in a fictional world which seems realistic enough to engage viewers' attention. My quarrel is that in this case neither the characters nor plot developments seem quite credible.

The film begins with the parole board meeting at a woman's prison. They are discussing Diane Stuart's case. She's granted parole and moves to Los Angeles. Once there, she's met by her new parole officer, Joan Wilburn (Lizbeth Scott). The p.o. is VERY positive and friendly--unrealistically so, actually. She seems more like a cheerleader than an officer of the court. All this occurs while Diane acts as if she'd rather be anywhere than with Joan. Pleasant, she is not.While Diane does okay on parole, she is a conniver. When she sees Joan with her boyfriend, Larry (Dennis O'Keefe), she decides to get him for herself and slowly he falls for her. However, unexpectedly, she falls for him as well. Here is where is gets more ridiculous--Joan isn't thrilled by all this but is super-supportive and pushes to get the pair permission to marry. As for Diane, she's broken-hearted and expects the worst. What's next?When the film began, I loved Greer's character. She was wonderfully noir--with a bad attitude and a hard edge. But, when she suddenly actually fell for Larry AND her p.o. was so supportive, the film felt very sappy...and lame as well as VERY inconsistent. Up until then, I would have given this one an 8 or 9. How could they have screwed up so badly?!

SPOILERSWhen the movie begins ,we side with Diane/Mildred ,we pity her lack of luck,her miserable childhood;and we think that THAT lady (Mrs Wilburn) will tear her to pieces when she knows the truth about her love affair .The unfortunate ex-convict has fallen in love with her parole officer's squeeze!But it's not what you expect;in fact ,as the movie progresses,the parole officer's morale stature and dignity constantly grows and Lizabeth Scott ,in the second part ,really steals the show from talented Jane Greer.Dennis O'Keefe,on the other hand ,seems too old for the part of a young suitor.This is nonetheless a moving absorbing movie,with a subject which is still topical,even though it simplifies the matters.Recommanded

Scott and Greer are very good in this "woman gets out of prison" movie that could have been awful. Cromwell directs crisply and many shots are well lit and evocative. This may or may not be film-noir, depending on the viewer's perspective, but it holds up well. If you can find it on TV, it is well worth taping, since it is not easy to find on video.