I Was a Shoplifter

Mona Freeman is the daughter of a judge. She's caught shoplifting, and is made to sign a confession by store detective Larry Keating, in return for not prosecuting... this time. It's standard procedure. What's not standard procedure is she's contacted by a gang of shoplifters who have access to that confession, and who say they will destroy it if she does a few jobs for them.

It's one of those Universal programmers that they produced by the hundreds, played for a few years, and then were forgotten. It's competently directed by Charles Lamont, competently shot by Irving Glasberg, and competent played by the cast. Andrea King is catlike as the manager of the gang, even though it's quite clear from the set-up and a well- focused shot who actually is in charge. Tony Curtis plays a Mexican-American hood in a good-sized role, Rock Hudson a store detective in a blink-and-you'll-miss-him role. Scott Brady and Charles Drake fill out the top of the credit card, and it's another decent time-waster.

Or at least the only film noir in movie history speaking of shoplifting and not bank robbers, drug traffic, racketeers., pimps. The story itself is very easy and predictable to follow, not that unusual on the scheme itself. It is a rare film to catch and directed by Charles Lamont, not used to crime, film noirs, or some lousy ones in the thirties, but more comedy movies, light hearted dramas, such as the Abott and Costello series, or ven FRANCIS the talking mule. Useless to say that Charles Lamont was not a great director, but a prolific one, providing rare gems, which some are available on you tube. Not a bad little movie, I repeat, because of the shoplifting element. It could have been question of folks stealing gasoline in car tanks on parking lots. Why not? Another cute crime film speaking of shoplifting before Andrew Stone's CONFIDENCE GIRL.

Universal released this weak crime movie, very low on entertainment content. It's portrayed as one of those "true stories", as phony as any random Hollywood product.

Mona Freeman stars as the winsome kleptomaniac, whose dad is a judge. She gets caught shoplifting and then gets blackmailed by sleazy criminals led by Andrea King, okay as a femme fatale.

Nearly all the roles are stereotypes, including Scott Brady in the lead role posing as a professional shoplifter. From the Universal stable of young talent, Tony Curtis is prominently featured as Pepe, a one-dimensional lady's man and creep. The Rock Hudson bit part is just that, a nothing assignment.

Directed by untalented comedy director Charles Lamont, whose career dated back to Silent Era short films and ended up with the "Mickey Mouse Club".

Although film noir was very popular in the 1950s in Hollywood, I wouldn't exactly consider "I Was a Shoplifter" to be an example of the genre. It's more a police procedural film...and a darned good one. It's also well worth seeing in order to see two future stars in smaller parts before they became famous, Tony Curtis and Rock Hudson. Of the two, Curtis' role was far larger and meatier...though VERY different from his later roles. He plays Pepe, a guy who is a pusillanimous jerk who loves to stab folks!

The film begins with two shoplifters being picked up by a department store. One (Mona Freeman) is the daughter of a judge...and she seems like a kleptomaniac who has no idea why she's doing it. The other seems like a real hard case...a career criminal who has been stealing for years (Scott Brady). But in reality, he's a detective working a case where they are trying to round up a ring of professional shoplifters as well as determine how and to whom they are selling their haul. Of course, there are lots of possible problems, a few fistfights and a dandy and tense finale.

The film is very well written, never dull and well acted. I noticed some reviewers really disliked this film...but I thought it was excellent from start to finish.

At the end of I WAS A SHOPLIFTER, manipulative brunette crime-syndicate moll Andrea King tells undercover cop Scott Brady that it's too bad he is what he is, right as he's arresting her.. .

Because no matter how great poor little cute-rich-blonde Mona Freeman is with the handsome Brady, helping her out of a crime-ring after being caught thrill-lifting on her own.. he's exceptionally cool and smooth with Andrea, and they would have truly made a fantastic villainous team...

Instead she's saddled with more of a rogue wild card in non-famous whipper-snapper Tony Curtis, flashing a threatening blade at the gorgeous Mona Freeman to remain with this mobile den of thieves... all keeping their operation moving forward without realizing how close the law's moving in...

Overall part film noir, part throwback-gangster and part mainstream action-thriller, director Charles Lamont's I WAS A SHOPLIFTER is a nifty character-driven ride despite the campy, novelty-style title.