The Lady in Red (1979)

Memorable, crazy movie

Let's be realistic.

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

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

This one mainly stands out in my memory because it stars Pamela Sue Martin of Dynasty fame in the title role in a trashy delight. I'm writing this from my 25-30 year old memories of this film's appearance on HBO, so forgive any errors on specifics. Polly Franklin (The lady in red) is a rather naive rural Depression era girl when the film opens who is a victim of one set of harsh circumstances after another. She gets kidnapped by gang of bank robbers, beaten and thrown out by her father when she gets home late that night as a result because he assumes she could only be late because she was sleeping with some guy, arrested when - homeless and hungry - she has to resort to supporting herself via the world's oldest profession and her first john turns out to be a cop, meets up with the world's meanest and most corrupt prison guard while in jail, and on and on it goes. Ultimately, she ends up as Dillinger's girl - the famous "lady in red". The big coincidence here - Dillinger was the bank robber whose gang kidnapped her and started her life on its downhill slide in the first place. Of course this film is complete fiction, but ultimately Mr. Dillinger is in for a big shot of Karma for ruining this girl's life, and that wasn't even her aim. That's only fair, since I'm sure he didn't mean to ruin her life when he kidnapped her as a human shield way back on the farm.If you're 50 plus and remember when HBO, independent studios, and even the big studios used to make all kinds of small trashy treasures such as this, smile and say "cheese", I think you'll like it. I will warn you there are some very violent scenes, though, and I'm not just talking about machine guns. I'll put it this way - you'll probably never look at big electric salon-style hairdryers the same again after you see this movie.

I first saw this film on TV and with the commercial breaks, it suffered. However, I later saw it without the commercials and it's so much better. It's the story of Gangster John Dillenger and his last girlfriend. Pamela Sue Martin as the moll and Robert Conrad as Dillenger both deliver great performances. I don't know much about John Dillenger, but I wonder if he was as "gentlemanly" as Conrads' portrayal was. Just a thought! However, it is a strong story, with enough violence to be realistic (those were violent times). There's also the romantic element that gives a softness to Dillenger. As I said, I wonder if he was a romantic at all. Anyway, a decent enough flick and well-acted.

If they had called it "The life of a Gun Moll", nobody probably would have gone to see it. So they went with the Dillinger angle, but forget it this is Pamela Sue's film.If you ever wondered how "good little" girls end up being window dressing for some of the most notorious gangsters that ever lived, this film gives a good look at her rebellion against her strict religious up bringing and her descent into crime and prostitution.Pamela Sue is so cute, you have a hard time believing she is a hardened criminal, but she just about pulls it off.

Clearly a product of the Corman School, Sayles's first major screenplay shows that he already knew how to tell a great story from an interesting angle, something he has never forgotten how to do.Director Teague keeps the pace rattling along, and hammers the message home fast (he was an occasional assistant to Sam Fuller, of course).The plot's quite straightforward, and all the better so - this packs something of the punch of the 30's classic gangster films, but with distinctly 70's sensibilities to violence.Where the film becomes more interesting than your average low-budget 'gangster-exploiter', however, is in the telling of the story through her eyes, rather than his (a distinctly 70's approach). Yet it's wonderfully ambiguous, on reflection, as to whether the film champions her willingness to break away and start acting for herself (she's a great strong character), or whether she just goes from one woman in peril situation to the other (which is the plot, basically).I've probably over-analyzed it already, but if you've got a spare hour and a half on your hands, give it a chance. A classic of its kind.