There are three things you should know if you were unfortunate enough to read the review currently given prominence by IMDb: 1) Rag Doll has fine performances from such terrific character actors as Hermione Baddeley (Scrooge), Kenneth Griffith (1984), and Patrick Magee (A Clockwork Orange), as well as yet another ingratiating turn from the lovely Christina Gregg; 2) Gregg's character (Carol) was not nearly as naive as another reviewer claims, as she's aware of what Joe is from the moment she sees him; and, 3) 17-year-old girls are and have always been the most naive and reckless creatures on God's green earth, which means that the screenwriters went far too easy on Carol. I suppose they could have gotten a better choice for the J.V. than Jess Conrad, but it's always fun to see an AYBS alumnus in an older film. Rag Doll is an example of the many modestly effective, medium-length program fillers prevalent in Britain at the time. In addition to Lance Comfort, some directors to look for include Henry Cass, Montgomery Tully, John Gilling, and Charles Saunders.

A naive teenage girl, Carol (Christina Gregg), runs away from her unhappy life with her alcoholic guardian (Patrick Magee) and their truck drivers café to London. Alone and vulnerable in Soho, Carol is taken in by nightclub and arcade owner Mort Wilson (Kenneth Griffith) and a fortune teller, the Princess (Hermione Baddeley) who give her a place to live and a job. Carol falls hopelessly in love with pop singer and Soho crook, Joe Shane (Jess Conrad), after hearing him sing at Wilson's club. Despite warnings from Wilson and the Princess about his criminality, Carol gets pregnant with his child and marries him. Carol thinks she can settle him down by getting him to focus on his musical talent but, as she is about discover, with Joe its a case of once a criminal, always a criminal. He tells her that he can lay his hands on a lot of money and that they can begin a new life together in Canada. He gets Carol to be his alibi by having the pair of them go to a cinema and, instructing her to retain their ticket stubs, he slips out during the film and breaks into Wilson's house and steals his money. But, Wilson catches him and shoots him in the shoulder fatally wounding him. But, Joe who is also armed, fires back and shoots Wilson dead...An enjoyable second feature crime drama from b-pic veteran Lance Comfort. While it is undeniably a very minor offering and no classic it survives as a time capsule into an era of British filmmaking that has long since gone. Conrad, who had some minor pop hits back in the early sixties but found greater success as an actor, is suitably cocky in the role of the young thief and Christina Gregg, who appeared in another of Comfort's better b-features, The Break, is very good as the young, vulnerable and naive teenager who thinks she knows best and ends up paying a terrible price for falling in with Joe despite being warned before hand. Other notable members of the cast include Patrick Magee - a familiar face to fans of British horror films and veteran British actress Hermione Baddeley (Brighton Rock, Room At The Top). Some of the rock and roll styled incidental music composed by Martin Slavin isn't actually bad and music buffs will observe that the backing band in Wilson's club are no other than The Dave Clark Five who would soon go on to become one of the era's top beat groups. Although most of these films tended to be studio bound, Comfort manages to give the seedy Soho setting a real sense of place and atmosphere and he is most ably assisted in this by the excellent b/w camera-work of Basil Emmott who shot several of these films for directors like Comfort and Vernon Sewell.

"Rag Doll" is just a little "B" (only 63 minutes) and its director, Lance Comfort, tended to grind this kind of thing out rather than give it much in the way of style. It does however have some interesting assets.First, for those curious about what London (especially the West End) and its night life looked like in the early 1960s, when this was made, there is much location footage. Later in the story the gangster musician, when he needs an alibi for a break-in he's about to commit one night, gets tickets for him and his girlfriend to see the John Wayne movie "The Alamo," which we see on a marquee. Second, there are several well known performers. Patrick Magee, famed for his roles in Samuel Beckett plays, appears early on as the heroine's stepfather, a small town bar proprietor, whom she soon deserts.(Though he is rather wasted.) When she gets to the big city, she's accidentally befriended by Princess Sophita,a fortune teller in a downtown arcade who later calls herself Auntie, this provides a nice role for one of the great British character actresses, Hermione Baddeley. Auntie also works in one of four coffee bars owned by the middle aged Mort Wilson (Kenneth Griffith) who in turn becomes the girl's protector. Partly out of jealousy and partly out of concern for the girl he orders her to stay away from the hunky,leather-jacketed Shane, a young musician who has a gig in Mort's place and who she falls heavy for. In one of the numbers we see where Shane plays, his back up band consists of what would later become the Dave Clark Five! The girl, not knowing much about music, asks Mort what he thinks of them and he quips, drily, "They make a living." Here is where Mort makes one of the moralistic speeches typical in this kind of exploitation film, denouncing the teenagers and making the point that the seductive musician (who we will later find out is a crook) has named himself after a character in a Western! Jess Conrad, who plays this role, was one of several good looking aspiring British rock and roll actors who were modelled at least partly on the success of America's Ricky Nelson. That is pretty blatant as soon as he straps on a guitar and starts to sing. He also looks somewhat, from today's perspective, like the young Tom Cruise. The denouement does not go well. The girl gets pregnant. The cops are on to Shane. The couple escape into the countryside where things go down in one of those Sturm und Drang finales But for what this was meant to be- part of a double bill- there is enjoyment to be had if you don't expect too much.

This little British film begins like a boring drama about teenagers, and their revolt against society. But the following is rather better than that. It tells the story of a young girl who gets away from her town to go to London, to her auntie's home. London, the big city and its high lights. But also its dangers. All kind of dangers. Especially men. All kind of men. The female lead falls in love with a youngster like her, a handsome night club singer who happens to be a petty hood, nothing more. And our young girl is also harassed by an elder man, who is himself in love with her. A wealthy man. And, of course, the young lover of the girl is searching for the big money. Easy money...You can guess the following. After all, it begins like a drama and ends like a real film noir. But it's not THEY LIVE BY NIGHT, GUN CRAZY or BONNIE AND CLYDE.But please don't miss it. This little feature is very rare.