La femme aux cigarettes

Richard Widmark, Ida Lupino, Cornel Wilde and Celeste Holm are all in the "Road House," a 1948 film noir directed by Jean Negulesco. Widmark, fresh from his career-making role of Tommy Udo, plays Jefty, who owns a road house. His friend from the service, Wilde, runs the place. Jefty is gone on Lily (Lupino) but can't get to first base and hires her as a singer. Unfortunately, she falls for Pete. Jefty frames Pete for robbery to keep him and Lily from leaving town to get married, and then arranges with the judge to have Pete paroled to him. To say he's up to something is an understatement.

The revelation here is Lupino as a sexy torch singer. She does her own singing here, husky, seductive, very stylized and smoking. She's wonderful. Widmark is vicious as only Widmark could be, and Wilde repeats his "Leave Her to Heaven" nice guy as victim role. Celeste Holm looks great and does her usual excellent job as a woman attracted to Pete who takes pity on him and Lily just the same.

My only criticism is that there is a scene where Lily turns on the radio to a classical station where a soprano is singing "Einsam im Truben Tagen." She tells Pete that she studied opera, and her father had great ambition for her. With that whiskey and cigarette soaked set of vocal cords - I doubt it.