The Flame ** (1947, Vera Ralston, John Carroll, Robert Paige, Broderick Crawford, Henry Travers, Blanche Yurka) Classic Movie Review 12,397

‘A Double Life… A Double Love!’ Vera Ralston can’t make up her mind which brother she loves, in the 1947 film noir crime drama The Flame.

Producer-director John H Auer’s 1947 Republic Pictures black and white American film noir crime drama film The Flame stars Vera Ralston, John Carroll, Robert Paige, Broderick Crawford, Henry Travers, and Blanche Yurka.

Vera Ralston stars as greedy nurse Carlotta Novak, who weds a rich, supposedly terminally sick man (Robert Paige) so that she and his brother (John Carroll) can get their hands on his money. Unfortunately for the couple’s plot, when Paige unexpectedly gets well, Ralston falls for him, but then someone who found out about the plot blackmails Ralston.

The Flame is a tolerable, but unsurprising and far-fetched melodrama, which, after a promising film noir-style start, flickers out early on, with no flamingly fiery talent burning brightly in the production, though that is quite impressive, with Reggie Lanning’s cinematography attractive.

With their convincing performances, Broderick Crawford, Henry Travers, Blanche Yurka, Constance Dowling and Hattie McDaniel help more than the main stars, though Vera Ralston is extravagant fun as the woman who ‘played a dangerous game and found she could double-cross a man but not her heart!’

Also in the cast are Victor Sen Yung, Harry V Cheshire, John Miljan, Garry Owen, Eddie Dunn, Vince Barnett, Hal K Dawson, Jeff Corey, and John Albright.

The screenplay is Lawrence Kimble, based on a story by Robert T Shannon, though the plot has an antecedent in the novel The Wings of the Dove by Henry James.

It was released on 24 November 1947.

It runs 97 minutes.

The cast are John Carroll as George MacAllister, Vera Ralston as Carlotta Duval, Robert Paige as Barry MacAllister, Broderick Crawford as Ernie Hicks, Henry Travers as Dr Mitchell, Hattie McDaniel as Celia, Blanche Yurka as Aunt Margaret, Constance Dowling as Helen Anderson, Victor Sen Yung as Chang, Harry V Cheshire as the Minister, John Miljan as Detective, Garry Owen as Detective, Eddie Dunn as Police Officer, Jeff Corey as Stranger, Vince Barnett, Hal K Dawson, and John Albright.

© Derek Winnert 2023 – Classic Movie Review 12,397

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