Decoy (1946)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Thanks for the memories!

Powerful

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Stealing a slogan from Gilda to describe such evil woman like Margot Shelby,although the plot was unbelievable,this picture is a real gem and l thrilled when heard that it will be came out shortly,after to watch it didn't disappoint me,in a blood killer woman,greedy femme fatale like few,she behave like a spider,handling every men at your feet,dragging down,pushing, hurting with no feelings at all...apart the methylene blue and another holes that come along in a low budge noir..all remains is fantastic,so sorry for too short time picture!!!Resume: First watch: 2017 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 8.5

I watched "Decoy" on a Friday and barely remember enough about it to muster up this comment on the following Monday.I'm a devoted film noir lover, and it doesn't take much to satisfy me: I just need a bit of that noir atmosphere, hard-boiled dialogue, and moody cinematography to make one watchable. I don't usually expect much from the plot, since in these kind of movies the plot is many times beside the point. But the entire premise of "Decoy" is just too preposterous to bear. I might have been able to get past that if the other elements of the film had been better, but the acting, especially by Jean Gillie, who's given an "introducing" during the film's opening credits, is terrible, and every other aspect of the film is mediocre at best.Maybe worth seeing for a noir completist but otherwise one to pass by.Grade: D

***SPOILERS*** Staggering to Margot Shelby's, Jean Gillie, high rise apartment barley clinging to life Dr. Craig, Herbert Rudley, has a last present to give her for all the trouble that she caused him: A blast from his .38 to remember him by. Coming on the scene is tough Sgt. JoJo Portugal, Sheldon Leonard, wearing a hat at least three times the size of his head-To prevent him from getting sunstroke-to clean up things as well as get a confession from the dying Margot in what put her into the position, Of dying from a gunshot wound, that she finds herself in.As Margot is slowing fading away we get the story of her boyfriend Frankie Olins, Robert Armstrong, who after knocking off an armored car of $400,000.00 and killing the driver was sentenced to be executed in San Quentin's gas chamber. It was Margot with the help of the prison doctor Craig who revived his body with a secret drug that brought him back to life and then had Frankie tell her and her partner Jim Vincent, Edward Norris, just where he had the stolen money is:hidden in a safe box under the base of an eucalyptus tree in the middle of the California Desert!***SPOILERS*** What all those involved-Dr. Craig Frankie Olins & Jim Vincent-don't realize is that Margot is planning to keep all the loot all to herself and have all three knocked off to keep her from splitting it with them. It's after using her last victim Dr. Craig to get through a number of police road blocks Margot blast him away only for Dr. Craig to survive and track her down,while bleeding to death, to her pad in the city to finally do her in. As Sgt.JoJo Portugal was later to find out the late Frankie Oline was on to the double-crossing Margot right from the start and left almost the entire $400,000.00 to cancer research minus for one measly dollar bill that he left, in the box, for her to treat herself to a hot dog fries and soda pop!

What a great little film noir! The plot, casting, acting, direction and cinematography are excellent, making this relatively unknown noir a minor classic.The ingenious plot to resurrect an executed criminal from the gas chamber falls into the realm of sci-fi but is actually based on good science. Methylene Blue was used as an antidote for cyanide poisoning during the 1940s, but must be administered to a living person, not a corpse. Nevertheless, the resurrection drama gives the plot a lurid Frankensteinian twist that adds to its appeal, especially when the resurrected criminal is killed a second time in the same day!Jean Gillie delivers a sensational performance as the ultimate femme fatale -- a gorgeous, sophisticated fashionista -- who is also a brutally manipulative and murderous villain who stops at nothing to satisfy her materialistic ambitions and get her greedy little hands on $400,000 from a bank heist.Herbert Rudley is effective as the prison doctor caught in a moral dilemma between professional ethics and his infatuation with Gillie. The other main characters -- Edward Norris as a cynical gangster and Sheldon Leonard as a slimy cop -- give convincing performances and balance the ensemble. There is some sharp dialog and a surprise ending. This is a terrific film noir loaded with goodies and not to be missed.