Allotment Wives (1945)

The story of a woman who uses her social status and ill-gotten wealth to front a bigamy racket where dames marry multiple GIs during WW2 to skim the allotment support paid by the Defense Dept to spouses of men on active duty, is predictable but well-made with a snappy script. Noir regular Col. Pete Martin (Paul Kelly) as an army investigator is disappointingly wooden and his performance is underwhelming at best. Whitey Colton (Otto Kruger) is fine as the lady boss’ right-hand man. The climax is brutal with Sheila Seymour (Kay Francis) plugging a dame without qualm or remorse, but justice triumphs in the end. Francis’ flamboyant hats and her hair-do add a juicy camp quality to the goings-on.