The Girl in Black Stockings

The Girl in Black Stockings
Directed by	Howard W. Koch
Produced by	Aubrey Schenck (executive producer)
Written by	Richard Landau
Based on	the story "Wanton Murder" by Peter Godfrey
Starring	Lex Barker Anne Bancroft Mamie Van Doren
Music by	Les Baxter
Cinematography	William Margulies
Edited by	John F. Schreyer
Production company	A Bel-Air Production
Distributed by	United Artists
Release dates	September 24, 1957 (U.S.) copyright 1956
Running time	73 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Girl in Black Stockings is an American B-movie mystery film released by United Artists in 1957. Directed by Howard W. Koch, it stars Lex Barker, Anne Bancroft and Mamie Van Doren.

Plot

A lodge in Kanab, Utah is where Los Angeles lawyer David Hewson goes for a peaceful vacation. He quickly is attracted to Beth Dixon, a switchboard operator and a former personal assistant to lodge owner Edmund Parry.

The murder of playgirl Marsha Morgan, her throat cut, disrupts the peace and quiet. Sheriff Holmes begins the investigation, starting with the wheelchair-bound Parry, who admits to hating the dead woman, and Parry's possessive sister Julia, who helps him run the lodge. It turns out David once dated Morgan as well.

A new guest, Joseph Felton, checks in. The sheriff's suspects also include guests Norman Grant, a drunken actor, and his ambitious girlfriend, Harriet Ames. A missing kitchen knife believed to be the murder weapon is found by Indian Joe, who works at the lodge.

Beth eavesdrops on a phone call Felton makes from his room. Felton is later found killed by a gunshot, and it turns out he was a private detective. David becomes more and more convinced that the Parrys are behind all this. Ames is seen kissing Edmund Parry, which does not please Edmund's sister or Grant.

To his shock, David arrives as Beth holds a knife to Julia Parry's bloody throat, claiming to have stabbed her in self-defense. It turns out, however, that Edmund had hired the investigator Felton to follow the psychologically disturbed Beth, who is responsible for all the murders.

Cast of characters

Opening credits Lex Barker Anne Bancroft Mamie Van Doren Ron Randell Marie Windsor John Dehner

with John Holland Diana Vandervlis Richard Cutting Larry Chance Gene O'Donnell Gerald Frank Karl MacDonald

End credits Lex Barker as David Hewson Anne Bancroft as Beth Mamie Van Doren as Harriet Ames John Dehner as Sheriff Holmes Ron Randell as Edmund Parry Marie Windsor as Julia Parry John Holland as Norman Grant Diana Vandervlis as Louise Miles

Richard Cutting as Dr. Aiken Larry Chance as Joe Gene O'Donnell as Felton Norman Leavitt as Amos Gerald Frank as Frankie Stuart Whitman as Prentiss David Dwight as Judge Walters Karl MacDonald as Deputy Dan Blocker as Bartender

Production

The movie's working title was Black Stockings.^[1] It was filmed on location in the small Utah city of Kanab;^[2] the lodge in the film is the real-life Parry Lodge in Kanab, which had often served to house movie crews filming in the area.^[3]

The Girl in Black Stockings was Van Doren's first film after the birth of her son and her consequent release from Universal.^[4]

Production began in July 1956.^[1]

Like much of Bel-Air's output,^[5] The Girl in Black Stockings was a low-budget exploitation film released as a second feature.^[6]

Turner Classic Movies showing

Turner Classic Movies presented The Girl in Black Stockings on September 17, 2015 in commemoration of what would have been Anne Bancroft's 84th birthday. Shown after The Girl in Black Stockings was 1957's Nightfall, 1964's The Pumpkin Eater, 1966's 7 Women, 1975's The Prisoner of Second Avenue and 1984's Garbo Talks.

See also

• List of American films of 1957

References

1. "The Girl in Black Stockings". Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved 2015-09-17.
2. "Mystery Made in South Utah Slated for Gem" (Deseret News and Telegram, November 28, 1957, page c11 (includes photograph of John Dehner and Lex Barker in a scene from the film)
3. D'Arc, James (2010). When Hollywood Came to Town: A History of Movie Making in Utah. Gibbs Smith. p. 178. ISBN 978-1-4236-1984-0.
4. Lowe, Barry (2008). Atomic Blonde: The Films of Mamie Van Doren. McFarland. pp. 106–107. ISBN 978-0-7864-8273-3.
5. Weaver, Tom (2006). Interviews with B Science Fiction and Horror Movie Makers: Writers, Producers, Directors, Actors, Moguls and Makeup. McFarland. pp. 210–11. ISBN 978-0-7864-2858-8.
6. Stafford, Jeff. "Article: The Girl in Black Stockings". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 2015-09-19.

External links

• The Girl in Black Stockings at the Internet Movie Database
• The Girl in Black Stockings at the TCM Movie Database
• The Girl in Black Stockings at the American Film Institute Catalog
• The Girl in Black Stockings at AllMovie
• The Girl in Black Stockings at TV Guide (revised form of this 1987 write-up was originally published in The Motion Picture Guide)