From the intense and violent opening scene of a woman being gunned down on a city sidewalk by a gun-wielding blonde, J. Lee Thompson's cinematic masterpiece Yield to the Night grabs a hold of its audience and never lets go. Based on the novel of the same title by Joan Henry, the film offers an intimate look into the life of a woman driven to murder. Told partly in flashbacks, we feel sympathy for Mary Hilton, a woman who has been sentenced to hang and is waiting on death row for her execution. Yet, before we get to the dreaded final act, we're treated to outstanding performances from a mostly female cast, led by our leading lady Diana Dors. Playing against the blonde bombshell roles she was typically cast in, Dors gives a career-best award-worthy complex performance that is both powerful and haunting. Pushing past her stunning aesthetic seems like a lot to ask of the audience. Yet after the first few scenes, you realize that Dors is giving everything she has to tell this woman
This intense and captivating film noir from 1950 feels groundbreaking and significant and deserving of noteworthy acclaim, which unfairly it hasn't received. While watching this remarkable film, I couldn't help but be keenly aware of how ahead of its time Undercover Girl is, not just for its content but cinematically. The story follows a female police officer named Christine Miller (played with mesmerizing brilliance by Alexis Smith in a career-best performance), who is determined to avenge the murder of her father by going undercover to take down the narcotics ring responsible for his death. In so many ways, this feels like a fantastic precursor for Police Woman , Cagney and Lacey , and even Law and Order: Special Victims Unit . Yet, the gender of our main character is not the only celebratory element: this is a damn good movie from start to finish. Giving Alexis Smith terrific on-screen support is Royal Dano in a complex role (his movie debut nonetheless) with which the very