Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Roman Sampson One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Haven Kaycee It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

bent-mathiesen I was intrigued by the title, expected to see an old black and white movie with drama.Instead, it started with 16 minutes of dull, gossip, characters that talk in clichés, know and don't know each other - no point in the dialogues.I suspect the "bad" person is the soft talking "angle", who looks rather old in my opinion but hardly can be bad compared to what you experience nowaday 67 years later.It is boring, take too long before you (only me) can get head and tail on what this film is about. The title is misleading.

seymourblack-1 This entertaining but over-the-top melodrama is based on Anne Parrish's novel called "All Kneeling" and features a malicious woman whose lust for wealth and power is so strong that she doesn't care who she hurts as she strives to achieve her selfish ambitions. Christabel Carey (Joan Fontaine) leaves a number of casualties in her wake and is certainly not the type of woman to see the error of her ways. In fact, by the end of the story, it becomes very clear that the reason that she acts as she does, is simply because she's hard-wired to do so.When his niece, Christabel, is due to attend Business School in San Francisco, publisher John Caine (Harold Vermilyea) arranges for her to live with his assistant Donna Foster (Joan Leslie). Christabel is a small town girl who was brought up by her aunt Clara (Virginia Farmer) and gives the impression of being rather innocent and demure. Christabel soon gets to know Donna's fiancé, Curtis Carey (Zachary Scott), her artist friend Gabriel "Gobby" Broome (Mel Ferrer) and Nick Bradbury (Robert Ryan), a novelist who's under contract to John Caine's firm.Christabel is powerfully attracted to Nick and his feelings for her are just as passionate but she also recognises that Curtis' considerable wealth could enable her to leave her modest background behind forever. In order to achieve her aim, Christabel tricks Curtis into suspecting that Donna is only interested in him for his money and his lack of trust in his fiancée soon leads to the end of their engagement. Shortly after the break-up, Curtis and Christabel get married and Nick, who recognises her for the duplicitous gold-digger that she is, leaves for Boston.Christabel revels in her newly found wealth and social status and immerses herself in charity work. Her commitment to this leaves little time for her and Curtis to develop the more intimate side of their relationship and Christabel's continuing interest in seeing Nick only makes matters even more complicated. Bigger problems follow when the extent of her scheming and her cruelty to Aunt Clara are fully recognised but typically, this doesn't lead to any form of contrition from Christabel."Born To Be Bad" has a great title, some amusing dialogue and a lively pace. Joan Fontaine lacks credibility in her role as it's impossible to ignore that she looks too old for the part she's playing. Robert Ryan, on the other hand, is convincing as "no-nonsense Nick" who knows precisely how two-faced Christabel is, but still finds her irresistible. Joan Leslie and Mel Ferrer are particularly good in their roles and the remainder of the cast also provide creditable performances.

dougdoepke Unscrupulous Christabel uses her wiles to break up her cousin's engagement to a wealthy man so she can marry him herself.Considering the talent involved, the movie's a disappointment. The plot turns on the scheming Christabel and her ability to attract men. The trouble is Fontaine looks more like a wallflower than a temptress since neither costuming nor make-up has done her rather plain looks any favors. Thus, having her out-compete the vibrant, young Donna (Leslie) for Curtis's (Scott) affections, becomes a real stretch. Then too, Fontaine underplays the role, perhaps to a fault, such that it can't be her winning personality that gets the men. So what we're left with in the movie's middle is a credibility gap where there should be a compelling presence. At the same time, the results suggest any one of a hundred Hollywood directors could have helmed the workman-like production. Looks to me like cult director Ray found nothing to engage his formidable talents and simply went through the motions. I suspect he took the script on assignment, viewing the project mainly as a vehicle for its celebrity-star.On the other hand, is the colorful array of male cast members— a commanding Robert Ryan, a shrewd Mel Ferrer, and a sympathetic Zachary Scott (for once). In fact, Ryan's dark features and towering masculinity as Nick almost blot out Fontaine's recessive presence in their scenes together. As Christabel's secret lover, he's totally believable even when she isn't. Add to them, the lovely young Leslie, who shows an impressive range as both trusting soul and wronged woman, and the movie does have its compensations, including a well-calculated ending.Nonetheless, the film as a whole fails to gel, suggesting that Fontaine the actress is much better at playing the innocent rather than the wanton.

Billie "Born To Be Bad" is basically a really bad variation on the classic Bette Davis film "All About Eve", without the theater background, and it is not a good movie. It's a really bad film in fact, but bad in a great way. It's a cheesy 1950's B-film, hilarious without intending to be - the best kind of classic camp."Born To Be Bad" has a surprisingly stellar cast, including Joan Fontaine (in the lead as the conniving Christabel Caine), Zachary Scott, Robert Ryan (at his hunky bad-guy best), Joan Leslie, and Mel Ferrer. The story centers around Christabel Caine, who seems innocent on the outside...but is pure opportunistic bitch on the inside.That's about all the plot line you need.Joan Fontaine is her usual melodramatic self, complete with her signature eyebrow antics - her left eyebrow always seemed to have a mind of its own - also apparent in her performances in films such as "Rebecca", "Suspicion" and well, every film she was ever in, come to think of it), but her role in "Born to Be Bad" suits her mannerisms well. She makes a great little sweet-faced bitch. The dialogue is completely over-the-top, and coupled with the melodramatic mannerisms of most of the cast (Robert Ryan and Joan Fontaine's scenes together are some of the best), makes for a very entertaining camp film.Nicolas Ray (who 5 years later directed the classic "Rebel Without A Cause") has created a total bomb, a classic of camp film that is worthy viewing for lovers of the genre.