Blonde Bait

For U.S. release the british film "Women Without Men" was retitled Blonde Bait and reedited with new scenes (with additional American actors) and notable differences between the plots. TCM: Blonde Bait comprises a combination of added footage with an earlier British film produced by Hammer Films, Ltd. and released in England by Exclusive Films, Ltd. under the title Women Without Men. The 1956 British Monthly Film Bulletin review listed the running time of Women Without Men as 73 minutes, with a length of 6,572 feet, and provided screenplay credits for Val Guest and Richard Landau, and assistant director John Elphick. The review also listed the song "Long Ago Guy," composed by Douglas Gamley. However, this song was not heard in the viewed print of Blonde Bait. Although most of Blonde Bait was filmed on location in London and at Bray Studios in Windsor, England, the added American footage, which takes place primarily in an office setting, was most likely shot in the U.S. Although both films share cast members, the Monthly Film Bulletin review of Women Without Men credits actor Paul Carpenter for the role of "Nick Randall," but Jim Davis plays Randall in Blonde Bait. In addition, the British review does not include Davis or Paul Cavanagh. There were also notable differences between the plots of Blonde Bait and Women Without Men, including the following: There were no sequences involving American characters mentioned in the British review. In Women Without Men, "Granny Rafferty" and "Angela Booth" escape under their own volition, without police intervention. In the viewed print of Blonde Bait, however, the escape is a set-up arranged by "Kent Foster" and "Inspector D. N. Hedges." The British film appears primarily to have been a crime drama from the point of view of Angela, rather than the police. In the British version, Angela returns to prison at the end of the film after meeting with Randall, who assures her that he will wait for her. The American film ends with Randall's death followed by Angela's release, after which she returns to performing. Finally, Blonde Bait opens and closes with a framing sequence in which Kent describes the events of the case in a report to his boss. Neither this section nor scenes with Hedges appeared in Women Without Men. No further contemporary production information has been located about Blonde Bait. A modern source lists Herbert Glazer, who is credited on the viewed print as assistant director, as the director of the American sequences. (Source: TCM - Turner Classic Movies)