Directed by Richard Wallace and written by Ben Maddow, Framed is a taut film noir thriller that showcases postwar paranoia, moral ambiguity, and the seductive danger of trusting the wrong person. Released by Columbia Pictures, it stars Glenn Ford as a down-on-his-luck mining engineer who stumbles into a deadly scheme in a small town.
Plot Summary
Mike Lambert (Glenn Ford) arrives in a sleepy town looking for work and a fresh start. After a barroom brawl and a brush with the law, he’s bailed out by the alluring Paula Craig (Janis Carter), a local waitress with a hidden agenda. Paula and her lover, Steve Price (Barry Sullivan), hatch a plan to use Mike as a patsy in a murder-for-insurance scheme.
As Mike falls deeper into Paula’s web, he begins to suspect something’s off—but not before he’s implicated in a crime he didn’t commit. With the help of a sympathetic bartender and a few lucky breaks, Mike fights to clear his name and expose the truth.
Cast Highlights
- Glenn Ford as Mike Lambert
- Janis Carter as Paula Craig (a standout femme fatale performance)
- Barry Sullivan as Steve Price
- Edgar Buchanan as Jeff Cunningham
- Karen Morley as Beth
- Art Smith as Desk Clerk
Behind-the-Scenes Trivia
- The film was made during the early investigations of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Screenwriter Ben Maddow, and actors Karen Morley and Art Smith were later blacklisted
- Glenn Ford and Janis Carter were born a year apart—and passed away just a month apart in 1994
- The film’s title is a clue: from the start, viewers sense Mike is being manipulated, but the full extent of the setup unfolds gradually
- A quirky moment: a newspaper headline reveals a murder charge, while a smaller headline below reads “Meteorite lands near baby”—a surreal touch that fans still chuckle over
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