Day 5 of Noirvember: Charlie Borg in Wicked Woman (1953)

Today’s Noirvember post shines the spotlight on the skeevy, slimy, but unforgettable Charlie Borg in Wicked Woman (1953).

WHAT’S WICKED WOMAN ABOUT?

Our first Charlie sighting.

The “Wicked Woman” of the film’s title is Billie Nash (Beverly Michaels), a kind of distaff drifter who, at the film’s beginning, is arriving by bus in Somewhere Ville, USA. She finds a place to live and a job as a waitress at the local watering hole, where she catches the eye of her hunky – and very married – boss, Matt Bannister (Richard Egan). As their affair steams up and boils over, Billie makes plans for their future, but she runs into a little (no pun intended) stumbling block by the name of Charlie Borg (Percy Helton).

INTRODUCING CHARLIE BORG:

Our first Charlie sighting comes as Billie is strolling down the street toward the boarding house where she plans to rent a room (and, by the way, you haven’t seen strolling until you get a load of Billie!). Charlie, who lives at the same boarding house, works at the tailor shop next door and spies Billie as she passes by. After giving her legs an extended gaze, he’s compelled to step outside to the sidewalk to get a better look as she ascends the boarding house stairs.

Charlie would do anything for Billie.

As it happens, Charlie’s room is directly opposite Billie’s, and he’s tickled pink when she accepts his offer for a glass of sherry (not realizing that she’s more interested in consuming the steak he’s cooking on his hot plate), or when she suggests that they go out for dinner and dancing some night (unaware that the proposal is just a prelude to her request to borrow 20 bucks), or when she generously tells him that he can pick the club where they go out (while he’s doing a rush tailoring job on her skirt). But his fond feelings toward Billie make an abrupt transformation when he finds out that she’s doing the horizontal hokey pokey with Matt Bannister, if you know what I mean. And when you get on Charlie’s bad side, you’d better watch out.

WHY DID I PICK CHARLIE?

He’s so oily, so sleazy, such a sneaky creep – he’s not above leering, eavesdropping, or even blackmail. And I can’t keep my eyes off of him.

FROM THE MOUTH OF CHARLIE:

“You were trying to avoid me tonight, weren’t you? You shouldn’t do that, you know, Billie. You should be nice to me. Real nice.”

PLAYED BY PERCY HELTON:

Percy Alfred Helton was born in Manhattan on January 31, 1894; his father, Alf Helton, was a native of England and a stage actor. Percy began acting at the age of two, appearing in vaudeville acts with his father, and made his Broadway debut in 1906 in Julie BonBon. He honed his craft in stock theater and other Broadway productions, including Three Live Ghosts, Go West, Young Man, and Shoot the Works, in a cast that included future star Imogene Coca. He also appeared in several George M. Cohan productions, and he made his film debut in the silent film The Fairy and the Waif, starring Mary Miles Minter (Minter was the fairy and Percy played the waif.). After World War II (during which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross), Percy returned to the stage, but one of his roles required him to scream during much of the play, which permanently damaged his vocal cords, resulting in the actor’s unique raspy voice. His 1947 appearance as a drunken Santa Claus in Miracle on 34th Street signaled his career shift from the stage to the big screen, and he entered the realm of film noir the following year, with an uncredited part in Call Northside 777. He went on to appear in 10 more noirs over the next decade; Wicked Woman was his favorite. (And mine!)

Join me in the shadows tomorrow for Day 6 of Noirvember!

~ by shadowsandsatin on November 5, 2021.