Labios rojos (1960)

Two girl detectives known as "Labios Rojos" ("Red Lips") outwit both criminals and a bumbling police inspector.

Director:

Jesús Franco

Writers:

Jesús Franco (screenplay), Manuel Pilares (screenplay)

Stars:

Isana Medel, Javier Armet, Lina Canalejas

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Isana Medel	...	Mari
Javier Armet	...	Pablo
Lina Canalejas	...	Tina
Antonio Jiménez Escribano	...	Alexis Kalman (as A. Jiménez Escribano)
Félix Dafauce	...	Radeck
Nerón Rojas	...	Carlos Moroni
Venancio Muro	...	Carlos
Pablo Sanz	...	Secuaz de Kalman 1
Germán Vega	...	Secuaz de Kalman 2
José Canalejas	...	Paul, el pianista
Enrique Julvez
Guillermo Hidalgo	...	Chófer
Ricardo Meneses
Laureano Franco	...	Ayudante del comisario
Luis Meiral	...	Policía (as Luis Meyral)

Storyline

Two girl detectives known as "Labios Rojos" ("Red Lips") outwit both criminals and a bumbling police inspector.

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Plot Keywords:

wolfman | cat burglar | female nudity | photographer | murder | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Thriller

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Details

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

1960 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Opération lèvres rouges

Filming Locations:

Estudios Ballesteros, Madrid, Spain

Company Credits

Production Co:

Álamo Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

User Reviews

Superb and entertaining Jess Franco's Noir film.

Jesus Franco Manera, also known as Jess Franco, was a film director, actor, producer, writer, composer, editor and director of Spanish photography. It is considered one of the most prolific directors of the landscape of European cinema and one of the leading figures of the Spanish horror scene of the 70s with names like Paul Naschy, Narciso Ibáñez Serrador, Amando De Ossorio. Here is a Jess Franco's film long unavailable "LABIOS ROJOS", his 1960 comedy noir which looks a lot like a lost Orson Welles film (cf TOUCH OF EVIL-1958).

Franco's highly stylized film employs low key noir lighting and numerous tilted camera angles in telling the complicated story of how two ditzy female private investigators solve a case involving some dangerous criminals, diamond smuggling and murder. Franco sets this delightful yarn in a musical milieu filled with cagey characters, a clueless cop (Manolo Moran) and jazz performances in smoky nightclubs. Spanish horror movie and Spaghetti Western fans will note the first film role of the late Jose Canalejas (FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, THE RETURN OF THE EVIL DEAD) as a nightclub pianist. The songs were written by Jess Franco. During a 2004 interview with the late director he spoke of his admiration for Welles and the noir Cinema of Robert Siodmak (PHANTOM LADY, THE KILLERS) which is apparent in every frame of his second feature, shot in pitch black and white. The emphasis remains on comedy though, with some violence in the third act. Ana Castor and Isana Medel play the amusing detective team, who used guile and seduction to solve the crime.

The real star is the monochrome cinematography of Juan Marine and Emilio Foriscot. Franco immediately named Marine as his favorite DP when I inquired during my 2005 interview with him. The look of the film couldn't be more different than the subsequent Red Lips films, TWO UNDERCOVER ANGELS and KISS ME, MONSTER (both 1967), which are a riot of primary colors. The accomplished noir imagery is impressive, given the budget and production circumstances, but the story is driven by the dialogue, and there's a lot of it for a non-Spanish speaker to navigate. Much about the plot, characters and tone is revealed in the nonstop dialogues which rattle off at the frenetic pace of Howard Hawks' screwball comedies. No doubt that therein are the templates for many familiar Jess Franco tropes, cultural and linguistic satire. This was the first Red Lips film and many Jess Franco character names (Radeck, Kalman, Moroni) were coined here