The peak of American noir was in the 1940s, with films like The Maltese Falcoln (1941) and The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946). But it flourished across the ocean in Britain too, with films like Night And The City (1950) and Cast A Dark Shadow (1955) -- but delayed by a decade, since a war-ravaged England Britain was most concerned with rebuilding. Maybe smarting over those war wounds is also why vengeance, an uncommon motivating theme in American noir, is so popular among films like Lady Of Vengeance. Here, a gruff publisher (American actor Dennis O'Keefe), after learning his pretty ward Melissa (Ann Sears, also of Bridge On The River Kwai of the same year) has committed suicide after being ruined by her no-good boyfriend (Vernon Greeves), becomes obsessed with making the cad pay. A revenge plot that includes stamp collecting auctions contributes to a slow pace that some reviewers described as "totally tedious", but this is an interesting specimen among other British "revenge noirs". (And besides, fellow philatelists will enjoy scenes shot on location at the H. R. Harmer Philatelic Organisation.)

By Violet LeVoit