Blonde Bait

Seeking the whereabouts of international gangster Nick Randall, the US State Department contacts Scotland Yard, as his girlfriend, Angela Booth, is currently in a British prison. Angela has refused to give Nick up to the law, so the combined authorities arrange for Angela to escape, aided by stoolie Gran' Ramsey who is at the same prison. The police will then follow Angela to Nick. Gran' stages the getaway, and the two women, accompanied by a third convict, Marguerite, whose prison-born baby is about to be turned over to welfare authorities. It is up to Gran' to keep the police informed of Angela's movements without being detected by the escapees, until Angela contacts Nick. This film is a reworking of principal footage from the UK film WOMEN WITHOUT MEN (1955), q.v., which, with added new footage (including scenes with original star Beverly Michaels), significantly revises the plot and central characters from a story about a wrongly imprisoned waif to one about a gangster's moll.

Directed by Elmo Williams, Herbert Glazer, Blonde Bait leans on a strong ensemble — Beverly Michaels, Thora Hird, April Olrich — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about crime titles of 1956.