Born to Be Bad (1950 film)
| Born to Be Bad | |
|---|---|
 Joan Fontaine in the film's trailer |
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| Directed by | Nicholas Ray |
| Produced by | Robert Sparks |
| Written by | Anne Parrish (novel) Charles Schnee Edith R. Sommer George Oppenheimer (addl. dialogue) Robert Soderberg (addl. dialogue) |
| Starring | Joan Fontaine Robert Ryan Zachary Scott Joan Leslie Mel Ferrer |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
| Release date(s) | August 27, 1950 |
| Running time | 94 minutes |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
Born to Be Bad is a 1950 melodrama starring Joan Fontaine as a manipulative young woman who will stop at nothing to get what she wants. It was based on the novel All Kneeling by Anne Parrish.
[edit] Plot
Donna Foster works for publisher John Caine. She agrees to have his niece, Christabel, live with her in San Francisco while attending business school.
Christabel proves to be a scheming, socially ambitious woman. She flirts with Donna's fiance, the wealthy Curtis Carey, at a party for Donna's friend, painter Gabriel Broome. She also attracts the interest of aspiring author Nick Bradley.
While having her portrait done by Broome, a call from Curtis brings her eagerly to a jeweler, only to discover to her disappointment that he merely seeks her advice in buying Donna an engagement gift. After he purchases an expensive one, Christabel plants a seed in Donna's mind that makes her feel guilty over accepting such a lavish gift, giving an appearance that she's after Curtis's money.
Christabel cunningly does likewise to Curtis, convincing him to propose a pre-nuptial agreement. Donna is offended and they break up, which was Christabel's plan all along. She rebuffs a marriage proposal from Nick, whose novel is about to be published by Caine.
A romance develops that leads to Christabel's marriage to Curtis and to her becoming a figure of high society. But her true interest is Nick, whom she begins seeing on the side. She slips away from a resort, telling Curtis that she is going to see her aunt Clara. Her lie is exposed by Caine, her uncle, who informs Curtis that the aunt had died while Christabel claimed to be visiting her.
Curtis reunites with Donna after sending away Christabel with nothing more than a few expensive furs. She gets into an accident and is hospitalized, but promptly begins a flirtation with her doctor.
[edit] Cast
- Joan Fontaine as Christabel Caine Carey
- Robert Ryan as Nick Bradley
- Zachary Scott as Curtis Carey
- Joan Leslie as Donna Foster
- Mel Ferrer as Gabriel 'Gobby' Broome
- Harold Vermilyea as John Caine
- Virginia Farmer as Aunt Clara Caine
- Kathleen Howard as Mrs. Bolton
- Bess Flowers as Mrs. Worthington
[edit] External links
- Born to Be Bad at the TCM Movie Database
- Born to Be Bad at the Internet Movie Database
- Born to Be Bad at AllRovi
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