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Vicki DVD

Written by Mariyln Forstot

Vicki (1953), definitely a film noir, includes murder and off-screen violence; beautiful women; doggedly persistent policemen, it's photographed with dark shadows and stark camera angles and you have a typical film noir. The lead character (Jean Peters) is a cover girl whose flame burned hot and fast until her untimely murder snuffed it out. The story unfolds as the suspects tell their stories in flashbacks. Vicki stars Jeanne Crain, Jean Peters, Elliott Reid, Richard Boone and Aaron Spelling.

There are plenty of suspects to her murder. Her press agent, Steve Christopher (Elliot Reid) is definitely the culprit according to police lieutenant Ed Cornell (Richard Boone), but maybe her sister Jill (Jeanne Crain) offed her sibling out of jealousy. After all, Jill is a public stenographer while Vicki was a famous model. Or what about the man (Aaron Spelling) who works at the front desk in the sisters' apartment building? The murderer could also be the newspaper columnist or the actor or the . . .

Cornell is a brutal cop. He beats up Christopher. He walks into people's homes without knocking. He takes evidence without permission and has no scruples against planting evidence if he doesn't find it. No warrants for this angry man. He gets away with police misconduct that would never fly in today's films.

Christopher had discovered Vicki, nurtured her career, and now she was leaving him for greener pastures. Jill recounts how Vicki came to live in the big city with her older sister, and now the model was leaving the stenographer in the dust. The truth eventually comes out, but it's no thanks to the obsessed policeman.

Pop some corn, curl up in your chair and prepare to enjoy not the best film noir has to offer, but Vicki still provides an hour and a half of entertainment. Or better yet, rent Laura which has a similar theme but weaves a spellbinding tale.

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