Good-Time Girl (1948)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

David MacDonald

Writers:

Muriel Box (writer)
Sydney Box (writer)

Release Date:

11 May 1950 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

And You Can Have Her!

Plot:

A young girl from the ghetto gets involved with some criminals. Driving while drunk, she knocks down and kills a policeman...

Plot Keywords:

Based On Novel

Cast

Jean Kent	...	Gwen Rawlings
Dennis Price	...	Michael 'Red' Farrell
Herbert Lom	...	Max Vine
Bonar Colleano	...	Micky Malone
Peter Glenville	...	Jimmy Rosso
Flora Robson	...	Chairman of the Juvenile Court
George Carney	...	Mr. Rawlings
Beatrice Varley	...	Mrs. Rawlings
Hugh McDermott	...	Al Schwartz
Griffith Jones	...	Danny Martin
Amy Veness	...	Mrs. Chalk
Elwyn Brook-Jones	...	Mr. Pottinger
Orlando Martins	...	Kolly
Renee Gadd	...	Mrs. Parkins
Jill Balcon	...	Roberta

Runtime:

USA:81 min | 91 min (TCM print) | 92 min (TCM print)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #14330) | Sweden:15

Company:

Sydney Box Productions

The Superb Jean Kent

The 27-year-old Jean Kent plays 16-year-old Gwen in this excellent and harrowing British film that looks at the downfall of a good-time girl.

Told as a cautionary tell by Flora Robson (a court officer) to Diana Dors (a possible delinquent), the story of Gwen combines parts of all those Hollywood movies starring Lana Turner or Susan Hayward in which the good girl goes bad---and PAYS for it.

Gwen is a well-meaning girl who comes from a violent home and likes nice things. After a final beating from her father on being fired from a job in a pawn shop, she runs away and gets an apartment in London. There she meets a man who gets her a job in a nightclub. From then on she's on a descent into a world of booze and sleazy men. She never really does anything wrong but she crosses the wrong guy and he gets even by framing her in a jewel heist. She's sent to a reform school, learns to be really tough, and escapes to live an even wilder life of men and booze. The final sequence of events is mesmerizingly horrible as Gwen gets framed one last time.

Jean Kent is terrific and totally believable as the willful teenager and party girl. She's as good as any tough girl in any Hollywood film. Supporting cast offers a few great roles here: Griffith Jones, usually a nice guy, plays a sadistic thug; Jill Balcon (mother of Daniel Day-Lewis) is great as the vicious Roberta; Herbert Lom is subdued as Maxie the nightclub owner; Beatrice Varley is good as the hapless mother; Dennis Price is memorable as Red; and Flora Robson scores again as the court official.

Just a terrific little film.....