Lured (1947)

Director:

Douglas Sirk

Writers:

Jacques Companéez (story)
Simon Gantillon (story)
(more)

Release Date:

5 September 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

A serial killer in London is murdering young women whom he meets through the personal columns of newspapers;...

Plot Keywords:

Personals Column | Serial Killer | Poetry | Dance Hall | Taxi Dancer

Cast

George Sanders	...	Robert Fleming
Lucille Ball	...	Sandra Carpenter
Charles Coburn	...	Inspector Harley Temple
Boris Karloff	...	Charles van Druten
Cedric Hardwicke	...	Julian Wilde (as Sir Cedric Hardwicke)
Joseph Calleia	...	Dr. Nicholas Moryani
Alan Mowbray	...	Lyle Maxwell
George Zucco	...	Officer H. R. Barrett
Robert Coote	...	Officer Barret
Alan Napier	...	Detective Gordon
Tanis Chandler	...	Lucy Barnard
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jimmy Aubrey	...	Nelson (uncredited)
Lynn Baggett	...	Robert's rejected girlfriend (uncredited)
Brooks Benedict	...	Concertgoer (uncredited)
Colin Campbell	...	Wilberforce (uncredited)
Jack Chefe	...	Pierre, the Headwaiter (uncredited)
Ann Codee	...	Matilda (uncredited)
Charles Coleman	...	Sir Charles (uncredited)
James Conaty	...	Concertgoer (uncredited)
Sayre Dearing	...	Concertgoer in Lobby (uncredited)
Cyril Delevanti	...	Medical Examiner (uncredited)
Herbert Evans	...	Fleming's Butler (uncredited)
Alex Frazer	...	Prof Harkness (uncredited)
Gerald Hamer	...	Harry Milton (uncredited)
Sam Harris	...	Old Man at Concert Asking For Whiskey (uncredited)
Mike Lally	...	Mike, Nightclub Bartender (uncredited)
Isabel La Mal	...	Dowager shushing Fleming at Concert (uncredited)
Ethelreda Leopold	...	Blonde nightclub singer (uncredited)
Harold Miller	...	Concertgoer in Lobby (uncredited)
Eddie Parks	...	Oswald Pickering (uncredited)
Jeffrey Sayre	...	Concertgoer (uncredited)
Wyndham Standing	...	Asst. Medical Examiner (uncredited)
Dorothy Vaughan	...	Mrs. Miller (uncredited)
Eric Wilton	...	Ticket Booth Clerk (uncredited)
Florence Wix	...	Bus Passenger (uncredited)

Directed by
Douglas Sirk

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jacques Companéez		story
Simon Gantillon		story
Ernest Neuville		story
Leo Rosten		writer

Produced by
Henry S. Kesler	....	associate producer (as Henry Kesler)
James Nasser	....	producer
Hunt Stromberg	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Michel Michelet

Cinematography by
William H. Daniels		(as William Daniels)

Film Editing by
John M. Foley
James E. Newcom

Production Design by
Nicolai Remisoff

Costume Design by
Eloise Jensson		(as Elois Jenssen)

Makeup Department
Don L. Cash	....	makeup artist
Josephine Sweeney	....	hair stylist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Clarence Eurist	....	assistant director

Sound Department
John R. Carter	....	sound (as John Carter)
H. Connors	....	sound
Joseph I. Kane	....	sound (as Joe Kane)

Music Department
David Chudnow	....	music supervisor
Herschel Burke Gilbert	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Hunt Stromberg Productions (as Oakmont Pictures, Inc.)

Distributors

• United Artists (1947) (USA) (theatrical)
• Bagnall Associates (1953) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Kino Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Kino Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Synimex (1950) (France) (theatrical)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2007) (Germany) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Personal Column (UK)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #12267)

Company:

Hunt Stromberg Productions

Trivia:

The title was changed to "Personal Column" midway through the original U.S. theatrical release because staff at the Production Code Administration thought the word "lured" sounded too much like "lurid". Director Douglas Sirk felt the title change confused potential audiences and led to the film's box-office failure.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Sandra goes to visit Julian towards the end of the movie, they have a conversation, and when Julian says, "That's why he chose death," you can see that Sandra is saying something we don't hear.

Movie Connections:

Version of Pièges (1939)

Soundtrack:

You Stole My Peace of Mind

Lured/Pièges

As an user has pointed out,"lured" is the remake of Robert Siodmak's movie "Pièges" (1939) starring Marie Dea (Lucille Ball's part),Maurice Chevalier (Sanders' part) ,Erich Von Stroheim (Karloff's) and Pierre Renoir (Cedric Hardwicke's) Both versions are good.If ,like me,you've seen Siodmak's version first ,you'll probably find Sirk's work less interesting and vice versa . The differences between the treatments are minimal.

-George Sanders is a better choice than Maurice Chevalier ,cause we do believe he might be a serial killer,which is difficult with the French chanteur.

-On the other hand the scene featuring Boris Karloff is weaker than its French equivalent where Stroheim was more disturbing.

-In both movies,the weakest link is the part of the story where the heroine is a servant in a shady house.