Born to Be Bad

Man hunter Christabel Caine (Joan Fontaine) sets her traps for Nick Bradley (Robert Ryan) and Curtis Carey (Zachary Scott) in director Nicholas Ray's scandalous tale of lust and betrayal, costarring Joan Leslie and Mel Ferrer. If Christabel ever drew an honest breath, she'd probably choke to death. Innocent and sweet on the outside, Christabel is a conniving liar who'll do anything to anyone for her own gain. Stealing away her roommate's fiancé (Scott) so she can marry him for his money, Christabel entices her former lover (Ryan) into continuing their affair, an act of reckless passion that could topple all her schemes. Noted for its biting dialogue and Fontaine's chilling performance as a ruthless femme fatale, Born to Be Bad is wickedly subversive, "a lively, vicious and daring film" (Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader).