The Girl in Lovers' Lane is a 1959 B-Movie thriller directed by Charles R. Rondeau.
The story is centered on two drifters, the experienced Bix Dugan (Brett Halsey) and the young, naive Danny Winslow (Lowell Brown), who arrive in the small town of Sherman. Upon arriving, Bix starts up a relationship with an innocent young waitress named Carrie Anders (Joyce Meadows), who's already being romantically pursued by creepy delivery man Jesse (Jack Elam). Eventually, Bix realizes he's going to have to leave Sherman soon, and attempts to break things off with Carrie. Things take a turn for the tragic, however, when, on the night Bix and Danny are supposed to leave, Carrie is murdered by Jesse.
For the Mystery Science Theater 3000 version, please go to the episode recap page.
The Tropes in Lovers' Lane:
- Abusive Parents: Bix's backstory involves being tormented and beaten by his drunkard father.
- Bad Guy Bar: The pool hall.
- Beauty Equals Goodness: In contrast to the generically good-looking heroes, Jesse, played by Jack Elam, is ugly as sin.
- Big Brother Mentor: Bix.
- Bittersweet Ending: Carrie is dead and Bix is deeply shaken about it, but Danny saves him from being lynched and outs Carrie's real killer. The film ends on a hopeful note as Danny invites Bix to come home with him and get a job working for Danny's father.
- The Corpse Stops Here: Bix discovers the mortally wounded Carrie by the pond and is cradling her when she lets out one last scream before dying. A trysting couple hear the scream, see Bix holding the body and immediately fetch the sheriff.
- Covers Always Lie: The poster makes the film look a lot racier than it really is. On the other hand, it also spoils the ending.
- Deadpan Snarker: About half of Bix's dialogue is snark, especially when his conversation partner is Danny.
- Devil in Plain Sight: Jesse. Carrie and Danny see him as the creep he is, but everyone else considers him harmless until the very end. Bix didn't see it either, but he knew he scared Carrie and that was enough for him.
- Died in Your Arms Tonight: Carrie, after being attacked by Jesse, dies in Bix's arms.
- Distracted by the Sexy: When Bix goes to the cathouse to rescue Danny, he gets distracted by another employee, first by her singing voice, then by her bathing. This scene hangs for a few minutes before Bix remembers what he's here for.
- Dying Declaration of Love: Again, Carrie, to Bix.
- Heroic BSoD: Bix falls into one after Carrie dies. It leaves him in a state unable to tell the sheriff what happened when questioned.
- I Wished You Were Dead: Bix feels responsible for his dad's death due to this trope. What actually happened was that Bix punched his abusive father in self-defense, and the lout died of an alcohol-induced heart attack.
- Idiot Ball:
- Even though the sheriff and his deputy are standing guard, they leave the jailhouse unlocked and have both their guns and the cell keys in easy access for intruders, which the lynch mob very easily takes advantage of.
- Carrie's murder at the hands of Jesse probably could have easily been prevented. Bix never tried to get the police to go after Jesse and he keeps leaving Carrie alone in the Woods at night and this went on even after he already fought off Jesse earlier.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Bix
- Near-Rape Experience: Bix stops one between Jesse and Carrie.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Carrie's father delivers one to Bix, after Carrie's murder. In Bix' defense, this is because he absolutely refuses to fight back due to what happened with his father.
- Police Are Useless: Almost averted. The sheriff locks Bix in the cell to protect him from the lynch mob until he can receive a fair trial, but is useless when it comes to stopping the mob from barging in and taking the keys.
- The Runaway: Danny, who left home when his parents decided to get a divorce.
- Stalker with a Crush: Jesse
- Took a Level in Badass: Danny beating a confession out of Jessie.
- Train Escape: Our introduction to Danny
- Truth in Television: Even though Jesse has been stalking Carrie and she's deeply frightened of him, everyone dismisses him as harmless and no action is taken against him until Danny finally beats a confession out of him for Carrie's assault and murder. Even in the present day stalking is often not taken seriously by authorities, and many women have been raped and murdered by men whom they already reported, yet the police have taken no action to protect them against.
- Victoria's Secret Compartment: Sadie takes a $20 bill from Danny's wallet and stuffs it down her cleavage. Bix takes it back.
- Villain Ball: As Jesse notices the lynch mob attack Bix who accuse of killing Carrie, Jesse got closer to watch and was feeling pretty smug on how Bix was getting blamed for his misdeeds. Good thing Danny showed up at the nick of time to grab Jesse and beat a confession out of him, which he was able to do rather easily.
