Woodyanders Review of The Lady in Red

The Lady in Red (1979)

Bang-up Depression-era crime action drama winner

[8/10 · 9 December 2010]

Sweet and resourceful farm girl Polly Franklin (delightfully played with infectious charm and exuberance by the lovely Pamela Sue Martin) lives one hell of a lively, eventful, and exciting life in Chicago during the Great Depression of the 1930's: She starts out toiling away in a brutal sweatshop, works briefly as a dance hall girl, does a stretch in prison, gets forced into prostitution at a brothel after she's paroled from jail, and eventually secures a gig as a diner waitress prior to becoming the unsuspecting girlfriend of notorious, but gentlemanly criminal John Dillinger (a credible portrayal by Robert Conrad). Ably directed by Lewis Teague, with a sharp and compact script by John Sayles, a plausibly gritty, vivid, and unsentimental evocation of the period, a ceaseless brisk pace, a jaunty and flavorsome score by James Horner, coarse, crackling dialogue, startling outbursts of raw'n'brutal violence, bright, attractive cinematography by Daniel Lacambre, nice touches of dark humor, a handful of rousing action set pieces, and a generous amount of female nudity, this film manages to effectively transcend its modest B-flick exploitation origins on the strength of its extremely absorbing story, plenty of surprisingly astute and insightful social observations on race, sex, and class, and a hugely sympathetic and strong-willed main character who engages audience interest throughout. Kudos are also in order for the uniformly fine acting from a sterling cast, with especially praiseworthy work by Louise Fletcher as tough, classy, and cagey madam Anna Sage, Robert Hogan as sleazeball newspaper reporter Jake Lingle, Laurie Heineman as Polly's feisty best gal pal Rose Shinkus, Glenn Withrow as eager kid Eddie, Christopher Lloyd as nasty, disfigured mobster Frognose, Nancy Parsons as vicious prison warden Tiny Alice, Alan Vint as top G-man Melvin Purvis, and Dick Miller as slimy and despicable sweatshop manager Patek. Robert Forster has a sizable uncredited role as suave and affable hit-man Turk. Popping up in neat bits are Mary Woronov as a gun moll and Michael Cavanaugh as an undercover vice cop. An immensely worthwhile and enjoyable picture.