Reviews
John Chard

John Chard

November 20, 2013
8.0
Can you come down to my level? Decoy is directed by Jack Bernhard and adapted to screenplay by Nedrick Young from a story written by Stanley Rubin. It stars Jean Gillie, Robert Armstrong, Herbert Rudley, Sheldon Leonard and Edward Norris. Music is by Edward J. Kay and cinematography by L. William O’Connell. Margot Shelby (Gillie) is dying on the sofa, a “victim” of a gunshot wound. Sgt. Jo Portugal (Leonard) leans in to hear the story of how she came to be in this situation… Manic, delirious, bonkers, nasty, Decoy is all of those things, and more, wonderfully so. Running at under 80 minutes, this “B” noir out of Monogram spins a cruel tale of greed, fatalism and cold blooded homicide, all propelled by one of the coldest and wickedest femme fatales to have ever worn a pair of stilettos. Plot involves money of course, there’s a pot load of it buried somewhere and Margot Shelby wants it. The trouble is is that her criminal boyfriend, Frank Olins (Armstrong), is going to the gas chamber and he isn’t telling anyone where the loot is. No problem for Margot, she uses her cunning feminine wiles to ensnare a couple of male dupes into her web, and then the three of them resurrect Frank from the dead and put into action a plan that will reveal where the cash is. Easy Peasy! As the brilliant beginning has shown us, we know the fate of Margot, what you can’t be ready for is what she is prepared to do to achieve her aims, and her means and motives sock you right between the eyes. Even as death approaches she still has to have the last cruel laugh. The beautifully sensuous Gillie gives a thoroughly memorable performance, it’s a tragedy that she would die three years later of pneumonia, aged just 33. Elsewhere. Bernhard (who was married to Gillie at the time) is only competent in direction, but along with the performance he gets out of Gillie (which was a veer from the norm for her), he also gets a cracker turn out of Leonard. Kay’s music is inconsistent, even too breezy in the wrong areas, and O’Connell’s photography is standard stuff that doesn’t strive for any mood accentuation. Yes you have to kind of unscrew your brain and black out some of the more dafter elements here, and there’s some unintentionally cheese laden moments, but what an experience it is all told. 7.5/10

Recommendation Movies

6.8
Thriller
View
6.8
Murder by Contract
Murder by Contract1958
5.8
Drama
View
5.8
The Las Vegas Story
The Las Vegas Story1952
5.5
Action
View
5.5
The Ark of the Sun God
The Ark of the Sun God1984
4.4
Thriller
View
4.4
Wishmaster 3: Beyond the Gates of Hell
Wishmaster 3: Beyond the Gates of Hell2001
6.3
Drama
View
6.3
An Ideal Father
An Ideal Father2024
7.1
Documentary
View
7.1
Becoming Led Zeppelin
Becoming Led Zeppelin2025
7.6
Drama
View
7.6
The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice
The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice1952
7.4
Animation
View
7.4
Dune
Dune2020
5.9
Thriller
View
5.9
Eileen
Eileen2023
6
Horror
View
6
Marshmallow
Marshmallow2025
6.5
Horror
View
6.5
The Curse of the Werewolf
The Curse of the Werewolf1961
6.5
Drama
View
6.5
The Successor
The Successor2023
7.3
Drama
View
7.3
Ivan the Terrible, Part I
Ivan the Terrible, Part I1944
5.9
A
A2024
6.8
Action
View
6.8
Bangkok Breaking: Heaven and Hell
Bangkok Breaking: Heaven and Hell2024
4.6
Crime
View
4.6
The Brattt
The Brattt2024
5
Comedy
View
5
The Summer House
The Summer House2018
6.4
Drama
View
6.4
The Last Showgirl
The Last Showgirl2024
5.6
Action
View
5.6
Transmorphers: Mech Beasts
Transmorphers: Mech Beasts2023
© 2025 MoovieTime. All rights reserved.Made with Nuxt