Wicked As They Come (1956)

A young woman (Arlene Dahl) from the slums uses her looks and her deviousness to climb the ladder of success by romancing rich and powerful men. Based on the novel PORTRAIT IN SMOKE by Bill S. Ballinger and directed by Ken Hughes (CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG). A rather sordid film noir that never rises above the commonplace. The film uses the main characters' rape when she was a teenager as the reason for destroying the film's male population. This dubious theory only adds to the luridness of the movie. Dahl's neuroticism isn't very convincing, she did much better with a similar role in SLIGHTLY SCARLET but at least her performance holds our attention, something I can't say about the males in the cast. With Herbert Marshall, Philip Carey, Sid James, David Kossoff and Faith Brook.