Review of No Orchids for Miss Blandish

Film is laughably behind the times, using "gangster" dialog from early 1930s films, even though it's set in 1941 (based on a license plate on a car). "Miss Blandish" could qualify as a satire of films from 15 years earlier, if it didn't take itself so seriously. Every 1930s gangster cliché can be seen here. "See?", "Yeah", "See?", "Yeah" said with Edward G. Robinson-styled sneers is used constantly. In-between the horrid dialog & clichés, there's a seriously evil Bad Guy expertly played by Jack La Rue, who exceeded even Pre-Code standards of Badness (except for his own turn in "The Story of Temple Blake"), & the film is worth seeing for his role alone. Lilly Molnar has an especially non-intentionally funny role in the over-clichéd part of Gangster "Ma". Jack Durant is actually funny (intentionally) as a comic imitating dialog between Peter Lorre & Sydney Greenstreet. Michael Balfour & MacDonald Parke are good in their roles. On the plus side, "Miss Blandish" was indeed far ahead of its time in terms of violence, & unrepentant crime, & it's hard to imagine how it got past the censors of the day in its 104 minute form. All in all, I got many laughs while watching this, but they were mostly laughs at the film, not with the film. This film set the record for the most Hollywood clichés I've ever seen in a film (aside from true satires), quite an accomplishment for a British movie.