Girl with an Itch

This B picture, astounding for the 50's is one of the earliest American films to portray nymphomania...and it is not a sympathetic portrayal albeit an effective one. The title character as played by Kathy Marlowe is a cold hearted but sizzling hot schemer who can't let any man pass her by without an attempt to "interfere" with him. She's a vagrant gold-digger looking for a soft-touch so she won't have to work at anything except sexual pleasure. From the very beginning it's pretty obvious what her modus operandi is, but even so she gets away with a lot because of her young and sexy appearance and her instant ability to appear sweet and innocent when necessary. But her totally selfish and nasty character comes out whenever she is sure of her power. When she's given work on a ranch, she immediately comes on heavy in the barn to young Orrie (Robert Clarke) who's wise to her in an eye-popping scene reminiscent of Jane Russell in "The Outlaw". You can practically see her slavering over his sweaty, naked torso. Later, she has a steamy roll in the hay with Jake, the foreman who also has her number. Then she turns her spurious charm on Orrie's father (Robert Armstrong) who, after all, owns the ranch. Viewers will be fascinated watching this woman progress from femme fatale to persona non grata.