Of this film director Nicholas Ray would remark late in life, "'Born to be Bad' and it was." A studio assignment early in Ray's tenure 'Born to be Bad' was based on a best selling book of the 1920's which RKO had twice before attempted to turn into a movie, but it had fallen apart in pre production both times. The intent was to use the property as a vehical for Joan Fontaine, who owed the studio one movie from an expiring contract. Fontaine asked RKO producer John Houseman (a former boyfriend) to recommend a hot new director at the studio, Housman recommended his friend Nic Ray and after Fontaine screened his then still unreleased first picture 'They Live by Night' she agreed.
However Nic and Joan never clicked on set, not uncommon for Ray who tended to forge close connections to his male leads and more or less ignore the women, making him a kind of anti-George Cukor. Ray would gain one of his more frequent collaborators actor Robert Ryan in making this film.
The story, a melodrama about an innocent looking woman (Fontaine) who subtly manipulates those around her, stringing along Ryan and breaking up Joan Leslie and Zachary Scott's engagement, is not a great fit for Ray. The film dosen't play to the directors strengths, ironically cheif among these was making non sympathetic characters sympathetic, the opposite of what he was asked to do here.
I did not enjoy this film, nobody was really likable and nothing very interesting happens. There is a gag with twins at an art show which would be forgettable in most any other film, but here is tragically one of the highlights. *1/2
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