"I was sitting on my
favorite stool, nursing a double of Kentucky's finest, and
dreaming about the girl I left behind me. I was good at it. It is
all I had been doing since getting out of Army Intelligence after
the big one, and hanging out a shingle as a private dick. The Los
Angeles air was muggy, and had an odor that told me trouble was
coming -- the sort of trouble only a dame can cause. Then she
walked in the door with a face cute as a fortune cookie and the
kind of legs that go all the way up. She was looking for a man.
When two sailors tried to volunteer, she easily returned them to
their seats. She was looking for me.
She slipped me a c-note to come outside and talk to her boss.
Her boss was blonde, and all class. She told me a story of a
husband about to kill her for life insurance money, then she
dropped the bombshell. He was the head of the L. A. Mafia. Sure, I
was interested in the dame, who wouldn't be, but I was interested
in many more evenings in my favorite stool too. I told her to take
a hike.
The next day while I was rubbing a hangover out of my eyes and
drowning it with a beer, she walked into my office with a shiner.
Seems she had gone home early and caught her husband with a
hooker. If she thought this would change my mind, she
overestimated my death wish. I was placing a bet based on a hot
tip in the 6th, when she told me my horse didn't have a chance.
She told me a different nag would win, and bet me big money
against me taking her case. We went to the track to watch.
Don't bet against a Mafia wife when her husband has a
horse in the race. She won the bet -- I never welch -- so I was on
her payroll.
The first step was to find out what he was up to, and while he
was off nailing a new canary at one of his clubs, I searched his
office. He had just hired a lowlife -- one who could and would do
what she thought her husband wanted done.
Maybe she really was in trouble, but there was no doubt I was."
That's the way the lead character might have described this bit of couples erotica
in the form of a noir detective thriller set
in LA just after WW II. Only two things keep it from being a
mainstream effort. First, the sex scenes are a little long for a
standard
detective story; second, some of the acting could be better.
Nonetheless, the plot is very strong, and the set design and costuming evoke the proper
era and mood.
The cinematography is particularly impressive. In the opening scene, the hero is dreaming about his
prewar girlfriend. The director went with a lovely desaturated
look to indicate a flashback, and it was highly effective.
Overall, a surprisingly good noir thriller which also happens
to be a softcore sex film. Given that there are brief pube closeups and extensive full
frontal nudity, I can't award more than a high C+ on our grading
system,
because it just won't crossover to your religious granny even if
she loves Bogart, but the grade
goes with my enthusiastic recommendation. If you want a little flesh in
the context of a plot, and enjoy softcore films, this is an
excellent bet.
