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Daughter Of Darkness
[Redemption]
1948; b&w
Directed by Lance Comfort
Starring: Siobhan McKenna, Anne Crawford & Honor Blackman
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Although I should probably know better at this point, when I glanced at the DVD cover I assumed this was a vampire film of some sort. (A la the almost identically titled and previously reviewed Daughters Of Darkness.) Not true. Made in the UK during the late '40s, Daughter Of Darkness is a bit more "TCM" than our normal buffet fare; which is more of an observation than a complaint. On the other hand, I figured I should mention it since those of you in the audience waiting for the point where our troubled heroine, Emmie, strips out of her clothes or makes out with one of the church ladies will be disappointed. Personally I was not disappointed in this realization. I love a black and white movie from the '40s, especially anything that doesn't fall into the comedy, romance or western category. (And actually I'll watch anything in those categories as well if the outfits are interesting. I just turn the sound down.) I particularly enjoy something a bit Noir, something a bit Gothic and / or something a bit moody and atmospheric; this movie is kind of all things to all people in that regard with a little bit of sexual innuendo, implied violence, not one but two visits to a traveling carnival, subtle and not so subtle social commentary about appropriate and non-appropriate female behavior... so, yeah. This was right up my alley! The plot revolves around a poor unfortunate woman, the aforementioned Emmie. We the viewer know very little about our heroine at the beginning of the film. At first she seems like an innocent, almost pitiful character, albeit a relatively pretty young thing; a lonely little churchmouse who just wants to be left alone to play her creepy organ music, style her fabulous yet frizzy hair and gaze at people with her head tilted at an odd angle. Sadly it would seem the whole town wants to stick it to poor Emmie - some literally, some metaphorically. In this uber moral Irish community either impulse angries up the blood so thanks to pressure from a group of Catholic church going mean girls, and after Emmie's first traumatic visit to the carnival, the local priest (who seems to have a slightly unholy attraction towards his pretty young charge) ships her off to a new home in England to work as a maidservant for a nice British family. Before long all of the trouble that followed her around and about her previous home village finds her in her new spot - again, literally and metaphorically - and soon we start to wonder if our innocent ingenue is really all that innocent after all. Especially when random men who fancy her start to wind up meeting unfortunate fates of their own. I'd elaborate but I don't want to spoil the whole thing. Rounding out the package are some trailers for other Redemption DVD releases, a still gallery and a wonderful short entitled "Kiss Of Death: Film Noir & Femme Fatales."
—Bunny
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