Noir "three in one" Attorney William Colby works for a gangster, but is about to leave his employer and practice law. Meanwhile, his lover, restaurant singer Flaxy Martin, is suspected of murder, and William takes the blame, hoping to justify himself at trial. However, this is not part of Flaxy's plans.
Richard L. Bare's film makes you remember three classic noirs at once - "The Maltese Falcon", "Black Stripe" and "Girl from the Party", filmed, however, a decade later. Flaxy Martin shares the theme of a lawyer who decided to tie up with a criminal past. With "Black Stripe" - a chance meeting with a lonely independent woman who took up to help the hero. And finally, straight from the "Maltese Falcon" was Elisha Cook Jr., who appeared in Bare in a similar image of the evil "six" on the errands of a gangster.
Speaking of the main actors, Zachary Scott clearly does not quite understand who he plays - whether an intelligent, albeit stumbling lawyer, or the same criminal as Cook's character; this is especially evident in William Colby's relationship with Nora Carson (Dorothy Malone). Virginia Mayo is absolutely organic in the role of insidious Flaxy, even if we do not hear a single song in her performance - the heroine is a singer after all. And finally, Dorothy Malone perfectly plays a woman who found her happiness under very unusual circumstances.
Flaxy Martin is a little-known, but quite worthy noir with a fascinating dynamic plot and a strong cast. It will give pleasure to connoisseurs of the genre.
7 out of 10