Joan Fontaine plays a rare villain, who pretends to be as demure as Joan's more typical roles, in 1950's "Born to Be Bad." Fontaine's passive/aggressive schemer is more like Eve Harrington! Strong supporting cast includes Zachary Scott, Robert Ryan, Mel Ferrer, & Joan Leslie, all of whom Joan's shady siren tries to manipulate. This film noir soap is campy fun, here's my equally fun look:
Loved her dizziness in “The Women.”
| by Anonymous | reply 1 | March 22, 2024 10:18 PM |
One of the few Joan Fontaine movies I can stand to watch.
| by Anonymous | reply 2 | March 22, 2024 10:30 PM |
Joan neatly uses her genteel persona here... though she's hardly the wildcat as described in the ads!
| by Anonymous | reply 3 | March 22, 2024 10:37 PM |
Here's a fun bit of Carol Burnett as "Christinabelle" in "Raised to Be Rotten!"
| by Anonymous | reply 4 | March 22, 2024 10:41 PM |
In OP's photo- Joan had that look of the one raised eyebrow down to a science. She used that over and over.
This movie starts out strong - in that RKO way, and I think it's in San Francisco - which seems to be the setting of many RKO noirish films (or else LA, or Mexico). Though it doesn't get out on the streets very much.
The movie doesn't have a satisfying payoff - the ending had to be changed, I forget why. Very weak.
Mel Ferrer's character is obviously gay.
| by Anonymous | reply 5 | March 22, 2024 10:56 PM |
Joan Leslie became a really good actress as she got older - but her stardom had faded already. Too bad.
| by Anonymous | reply 6 | March 22, 2024 10:57 PM |
Wow, she was only 33 here…
| by Anonymous | reply 7 | March 22, 2024 11:00 PM |
Those '50s hairdos made even younger stars look matronly. BTW, on Archive. org you can read the book this was based on, called "All Kneeling," by Anne Parrish.
| by Anonymous | reply 8 | March 23, 2024 12:53 PM |
"Born to Be Bad" is showing on Tubi currently...
| by Anonymous | reply 9 | March 23, 2024 3:33 PM |