Name: Undercover Girl
Genre: Crime
Duration: 1 h 8 min
Rating: 4.7
Cast: Paul Carpenter, Kay Callard, Monica Grey

Pedestrian crime film with familiar ingredients

Some confusion exists over UNDERCOVER GIRL, as it was released in the US under the equally meaningless title ASSIGNMENT REDHEAD. This happened to be the name of another British crime film, made the previous year and known in the US as MILLION DOLLAR MANHUNT, thus leading to credits for the two productions getting muddled on occasions.

Here, regular 'B' lead Paul Carpenter plays a photographer taking over the investigation into a shady nightclub owner, whom, he believes, is responsible for his reporter brother-in-law's murder. He works for the kind of magazine that mixes glamour photos with articles "lifting the lid off Soho" and exposing gambling rackets - "what goes on behind the net curtains". So much for the supposedly sedate Britain of 1957. Meanwhile Carpenter's girlfriend Kay Callard is concerned about sister Jackie Collins who's also involved with the vicious club owner/gangster, played by Bruce Seton, best known at the time for his portrayal of that exemplar of 1950s law and order, Fabian of the Yard.

Carpenter uncovers a blackmail racket and drug pushing, centred on a dodgy nursing home, but, flatly presented and directed, it's not as interesting as it sounds. Obviously made on a low budget, time is padded out with Carpenter taking photos of Maya Koumani as 'Miss Brazil' while the background score of Bill Trytel further reinforces the resemblance to the kind of 1930s quota quickie of which he was a veteran. As an actress, Jackie Collins doesn't do badly, though inevitably, is more memorable for her sensational figure.

The crime genre features criminal activities, investigations, law enforcement, crimes, and the pursuit of justice. Crime stories often revolve around the planning, execution, and consequences of criminal acts, as well as the efforts to solve and prevent such acts. They explore various aspects of criminal behavior, motives, and the moral dilemmas faced by both perpetrators and those seeking to uphold the law.

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A journalist pieces together clues which lead to the eventual downfall of a sophisticated blackmail ring.

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Twickenham Film Studios, St Margarets, Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK

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Undercover Girl

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