Beautiful Stranger (aka Twist Of Fate) (1954)

An ex-actress (Ginger Rogers) now residing in the south of France is the mistress of a shady but wealthy businessman (Stanley Baker). When she falls in love with an impoverished pottery maker (Jacques Bergerac), she finds it isn't as easy to break off with the brutal lover as she had hoped. A messy tale of mixed identities and murder follows. Directed by David Miller (MIDNIGHT LACE), this has an interesting set up that never reaches its potential. It would have played better if shot in Technicolor to take advantage of the French Riviera location, produced by Ross Hunter with Lana Turner instead of Rogers (who doesn't have Turner's knack for this kind of lush melodrama). As it is, it's an eminently watchable potboiler lacking the necessary glamour. Rogers looks rather matronly but Stanley Baker and Herbert Lom as pathetic loser of a scam artist make an effective pair of criminal types. Released in the U.S. as TWIST OF FATE. With Coral Browne, Ferdy Mayne, Margaret Rawlings, Eddie Byrne and Marianne Stone.