Satan in High Heels (1962)

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Better Late Then Never

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

*Borderline Spoiler* Stacey (Meg Myles) works as a burlesque dancer in a carnival. When her ex-con, (ex?)junkie, ex tries to reunite with her and start anew she tricks him out of his money and flies to New York, wearing a trench coat over her burlesque outfit. She picks up another man on the plane. Hoping to become a nightclub singer at Pepe's she is willing to use and be used by such men (and women?) to do so. Pepe (Grayson Hall), the manageress who grooms her, is portrayed as a then-stereotypical lesbian, just as the piano player is shown as effete. Arnold (Mike Keene), the club's crooked owner, has paid off his last mistress (played with some dignity by Nolia Chapman) and sees Stacey as her replacement. Laurence (Robert Yuro), his Fredo-like son, falls for her. She tries to juggle the two.When the ex, high, knife in hand and initially intent on revenge, finds her she sees the chance to play him for a sap yet again. Get him to kill the father supposedly so they can be together, then get the son, the father's money and the ex back in jail. Why a six? This is a competently made, if unexceptional, low-budget film with a noir feel to it. The characters are sordid but not portrayed in a sleazy fashion. There are elements of titillation, the femme fatale spends a lot of time in lingerie and/or leather and the British actress Sabrina, famed in her day for her natural Barbie-like figure, appears as herself as Stacey's rival in a series of glamorous outfits.

"Stacey Kane" (Meg Miles) is a sexy and talented woman who has been reduced to performing as a stripper at a traveling carnival in California. She is also very selfish and manipulative. So when her ex-husband comes along with $900 dollars and asks her to go away with him she takes the opportunity to steal his money and flies to New York to start a new life. As luck would have it she meets a talent agent on the flight who convinces her to audition as a singer at a high-class nightclub and manages to get hired quite easily. She then becomes the mistress of the owner which results in all kinds of drama and intrigue from that point on. Now rather than reveal any more I can honestly say that I initially didn't expect too much from this film but that I was pleasantly surprised afterward. I especially liked the performances of Grayson Hall (as the nightclub manager "Pepe") and the previously mentioned Meg Miles who was quite attractive as well. That said, I recommend this film for those who might enjoy a movie of this type and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Satan IN HIGH HEELS treads the same "noirish" territory as Beverly Michaels' 1953 WICKED WOMAN -so much so it could be considered an unintended upscale remake. Stacey Kane ruthlessly uses men and women alike to rise from Midwest carnival burlesque queen to Manhattan jazz club diva but, like BLAST OF SILENCE's Frankie Bono (made the same year on location in NYC), a semblance of tender feelings can prove disastrous. Tired of bumping and grinding on the midway, Stacey steals her junkie ex-husband's bankroll and heads for New York and a new lease on life. On the plane she seduces a man who introduces her to the lesbian manager of a Greenwich Village jazz club where she's hired on the spot after a smoky audition and the voluptuous vixen wastes no time ensnaring the club's wealthy owner in her sexual web as well. Things get complicated when his teenage son also falls for her but Stacey, forced to choose between love and money, sees a way to have it all when her hell-bent for revenge ex-husband reappears brandishing a knife...The early 60s NYC jazz club scene provides an atmospheric background for the rise and fall of a wicked woman with the lesbian club manager (Grayson Hall from DARK SHADOWS fame) and gay pianist lending an air of "adult" authenticity. Pneumatic pin-up queen Meg Myles as the predatory Stacey makes a memorable sociopath and gets to growl "Deadlier Than The Male" decked out in leather breeches and riding crop. As a compliment to the breast and leather fetishes, British sexbomb Sabrina is also on hand as the club's star attraction and she warbles as well. What's not to like?

The movie is well enough done, and for what it was, a kind of cinema noire sexploitation, one of the better ones, even though it is now distributed by odd-ball outlets . Myles is a very competent actress,but her generous figure has been her worst enemy , as far as being taken seriously. She got a similar rap in 'The Phoenix City Story". But Myes forte is as a sensuous singer and she can hold her own with O'Day and the rest. The most interesting thing about this movie is the liberal use fetishism. An alternate title was straight out of Sacher-Masoch, " Venus in Furs" Meg Myles has a shapely foot and the director and the cameraman know it and pander to the fetish in several scenes. and the skillful Sado Masochistic leather slant is handled nicely, as well.; I've seen it bungled badly in some recent high budget stuff of recent years. I think the supporting cast was good, and credible with special kudos for Grayson Hall. I knew the club scene in Baltimore and NY in the 50 's and this flick captures it better than most.