No Orchids for Miss Blandish – 1948 | 98 mins | Drama, Crime | B&W

Plot Synopsis

Based on the lurid novel by James Hadley Chase, No Orchid’s for Miss Blandish’s mixture of sex, violence and low morals made it one of the most controversial films of the late 1940’s and outraged the establishment with The Observer newspaper commenting that “it has all the morals of an alley cat and the sweetness of a sewer.” Contrastingly, George Orwell defended the book and Time Out praised “the sets, the acting, the smoothly effective direction are all good” whilst Fadley Chase’s novel was alleged to be the most popular book amongst serving British troops during WWII. The well-crafted homage to Hollywood was financed by the US and filmed by Renown at Twickenham studios. The film is letdown by one-dimensional characterisations and ludicrous plot development.

Pampered heiress Miss Blandish (Linden Travers) is abducted for ransom by sadistic gangster Slim Grissom (Jack LaRue) after he beats her playboy fiancé Foster Harvey to death following a roadside hold-up. His intentions are far from honourable, but given the cruelty of the rest of the Grissom gang, Miss Blandish finds herself attracted to the boss. They plan to run off together and start a new life in Cuba but after a shoot-out with Eddie Schultz the misfit couple are forced to go on the run with the police in hot pursuit.