Lulu Belle (1948)

Dorothy Lamour is quite good in this tale of the avaricious young “Lulu”. She falls for a local young attorney “George” (George Davis) and marries him, but once she has burned through all of his money she moves on to the wealthy “Randolph” (Otto Kruger) via a job at a dodgy nightclub working for “Brady” (Albert Dekker) where she uses a supposed dalliance with prize fighter “Butch” (Greg McClure) as an excuse to send her husband packing. In a fit of jealousy, though, “George” attacks the boxer and impales his face on some cutlery! He goes to jail and she to Broadway where success beckons on stage and off. Will she marry the millionaire or might there still be a lingering sense of affection for poor, hapless, “George”? The romantic elements here are all a bit old hat, as is the plot, but Lamour does show just why she was a star with a solid performance as well as holding her own with some decent musical numbers and generally holding the whole thing together. McClure also chips in quite engagingly as her boxing paramour and it moves along quite well after a bit of a stodgy start. It’s not a film you are likely to recall watching for long, but it passes the time fine.