SLIGHTLY SCARLET is definitely a film that needs more attention, and not only for its successful surgery on its source material. The producing/directing team of Benedict Bogeaus and Allan Dwan is certainly a major part of the reason the film works so well, with Blees' work giving that team the platform to make one of the more notable noirs that gains from the decision to shoot in color (and with John Alton, reapplying his bag of tricks in a scintillating way).

It makes a nice double bill with another Bogeaus-Dwan-Alton film from the same timeframe, ESCAPE TO BURMA--much more an adventure tale than a noir, but with the same attention to detail and with an even better cast at the top of the bill: Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Ryan and David Farrar. It's not the unalloyed success that SLIGHTLY SCARLET is, but the three leads (and some nasty work from the always-welcome Robert Warwick) more than managed to make it work. (Check out the IMDB review from "the red duchess" for a well-written appreciation...)