If you’ve ever fallen down a rabbit hole of 1950s British cinema, you’ve probably stumbled across the name Arlene Dahl. She was basically the poster child for Technicolor glamour, but in Wicked as They Come 1956, she trades the soft glow for something way sharper. It's a weird, gritty, yet oddly high-fashion piece of cinema that doesn't get nearly enough credit today. Honestly, most people just dismiss it as another "bad girl" trope movie from the mid-fifties. They’re wrong.
The film is a fascinating bridge between the classic noir era and the more cynical "kitchen sink" realism that was about to take over the UK. It follows Kathy Allen, a girl from the slums who wins a beauty contest—rigged, of course—and uses her newfound status to claw her way into the London elite. It’s cold. It’s calculated. And surprisingly, it feels more like a modern "hustle culture" manifesto than a 70-year-old melodrama.
The Arlene Dahl Factor: More Than Just a Pretty Face
Dahl plays Kathy with a sort of vibrating intensity. Most actresses of that era would have played the "gold digger" role with a wink or a visible layer of guilt. Not Dahl. She plays Kathy as a woman who has seen the bottom and decided, quite rationally, that she’d rather be a villain in a penthouse than a saint in a tenement.
British director Ken Hughes—who later gave us Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, strangely enough—knew exactly how to use Dahl's American "otherness" against the drab, post-war British backdrop. She stands out. She's too bright, too polished, and too ambitious for the gray streets of London. This contrast is the engine of the movie.
There’s a specific scene where she’s manipulating a wealthy older man, played by Herbert Marshall, and you can see the gears turning in her head. It’s not about love. It’s barely even about sex. It’s about security. In 1956, that kind of blunt female pragmatism was pretty shocking. The script, based on the novel The Soft Touch by Bill S. Ballinger, doesn't really apologize for her.
Why the 1950s Critics Were Confused
When Wicked as They Come 1956 hit theaters, critics didn't really know what to do with it. Was it a thriller? A cautionary tale? A fashion show? The Monthly Film Bulletin at the time gave it a lukewarm reception, mostly because it didn't fit into the polite "Ealing Comedy" vibe or the prestige dramas of the day. It felt a bit "Americanized" for British tastes.
But that’s exactly why it works now.
The movie captures a specific moment in time where Britain was trying to figure out its own identity after the war. You have the class system crashing into new-age consumerism. Kathy represents that consumerism. She wants things. She wants the Arnel fabrics—the film was actually co-sponsored by a synthetic fiber company, which is why the clothes look so impossibly crisp—and she doesn't care who she has to step on to get them.
The Plot: A Masterclass in Manipulation
Kathy wins a "Miss Soft Touch" contest in New York. The prize? A trip to London. Once she lands, she basically treats the city like a buffet. She meets a series of men, each one a rung on a ladder.
- There’s the photographer who she uses to get her foot in the door.
- The rich businessman who provides the lifestyle.
- The younger, "good" guy who represents the life she could have had if she wasn't so damaged.
Phil Carey plays the American in London who acts as the moral compass, but let’s be real: he’s the least interesting part of the film. The movie belongs to the villains and the victims.
What’s truly wild is how the film handles Kathy’s backstory. We find out she was a victim of a sexual assault in her youth. In a 1956 production, this is handled with a surprising amount of nuance. It’s not used to excuse her behavior, but it explains her deep-seated mistrust of men. She views them as tools because, in her experience, that’s all they’ve ever used her as. It’s a dark, psychological layer that raises the film above its B-movie roots.
Production Secrets and the "Synthetic" Aesthetic
You can't talk about this movie without talking about the look. It was filmed at Columbia-British Studios. The cinematography by Ronald Ames is crisp, high-contrast black and white.
Interestingly, the film had a massive promotional tie-in with Celanese Arnel. If you look at the posters, they often mention "Arnel triacetate." It was a weirdly early version of product placement. They wanted Kathy to look "modern," and in the 50s, modern meant synthetic. This gives the whole film a slightly artificial, plastic sheen that mirrors Kathy's own personality. She’s a manufactured persona.
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The Legacy of the "Bad Girl" Narrative
We’ve seen this story a million times since. From The Girl on the Train to Gone Girl, the "unreliable" or "wicked" female lead is a staple of the thriller genre. But Wicked as They Come 1956 was doing it when the Hays Code (and the British equivalent) was still breathing down everyone’s necks.
The ending—which I won't spoil, though it's decades old—is a bit of a compromise to the censors. The "wicked" must be punished, or at least shown the error of their ways. But the preceding 90 minutes are so focused on Kathy’s triumphs that the "lesson" feels tacked on. You spend the whole time rooting for her to get away with it because the society she’s navigating is just as corrupt as she is.
What Modern Viewers Get Wrong
People often watch these old noirs and laugh at the "overacting." With this film, that's a mistake. The performances are actually quite restrained for the period. If you watch closely, Dahl’s eyes are always moving. She’s scanning rooms. She’s calculating the cost of the jewelry. It’s a very physical performance.
Also, the "British Noir" subgenre is often overshadowed by its American cousin. While US noirs are about shadows and rain-slicked streets, British noirs like this one are often about the rot underneath the "proper" upper-class facade. It’s about the tea parties and the boardrooms where the real crimes happen.
How to Watch It Today
Finding a high-quality print can be a bit of a chore. It’s one of those films that occasionally pops up on TCM or Talking Pictures TV in the UK. It hasn't received a massive 4K restoration (yet), but the grainy, late-night TV quality actually suits the mood.
If you’re a fan of:
- All About Eve (but grittier)
- Leave Her to Heaven (but in black and white)
- Mid-century British social history
...then this is a must-watch.
Actionable Insights for Film Buffs
If you want to truly appreciate Wicked as They Come 1956, don't just watch it as a popcorn flick. Look at the framing. Notice how Kathy is often positioned in the center of the frame, literally pushing the men to the periphery.
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Next Steps for Your Deep Dive:
- Compare the Fashion: Research the "Arnel" tie-in. It’s a fascinating look at how the textile industry influenced 1950s cinema wardrobes.
- Contextualize the Director: Watch Ken Hughes’ The Small World of Sammy Lee right after. It shows his evolution in capturing the seedy underbelly of London.
- Source the Original Text: If you can find a copy of Bill S. Ballinger’s The Soft Touch, read it. The book is even more cynical than the movie, stripping away the "glamour" to show a much more desperate version of Kathy.
- Check the Supporting Cast: Look for David Kossoff and Ralph Truman. These are quintessential British character actors who provide the "weight" to the London scenes, making Dahl's American energy feel even more disruptive.
The film serves as a reminder that the "femme fatale" wasn't just a caricature; in the right hands, she was a critique of a world that gave women very few ways to win. Kathy Allen chose the only path she saw. Whether that makes her "wicked" or just a survivor is something you have to decide for yourself.