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5 Feet of Fury

Kathy Shaidle's blog. Est. 2000

This is gonna be awesome… ‘Wicked As They Come’ (1957) airs tonight on TCM

August 28, 2014 By Kathy Shaidle

This basically looks like Darling, which came out almost 10 years later and gets all the love.

In addition to showcasing Dahl as a seductress, Wicked as They Come was somewhat ahead of its time in its attempt to provide a psychological basis for her behavior. The character’s ruthless use of the men in her life and her inability to enjoy normal sexual relations are traced back to a gang rape at the age of 15, a shocking development for a film in the still-pristine ’50s, when rape was rarely alluded to or discussed in movies. Of course, the violent episode is not dramatized here and Dahl’s sexual manipulation of her victims is more amusing than disturbing as she self-consciously telegraphs every move in her deceitful plan.

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Filed Under: Kathy Shaidle

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