After Dark, My Sweet (1990)

Rachel Ward loves herself some film noir. And thanks to her gorgeous face, statuesque frame and killer curves, the genre loves her too. After nabbing a Golden Globe nomination for playing Dominoe Brittain in the Burt Reynolds crime flick Sharky’s Machine (1981), she gave audiences wood as Juliet Forrest in Carl Reiner’s pulp parody Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (1982). As Jessie Wyler in Taylor Hackford’s neo-noir romance Against All Odds (1984), Ms. Ward became a household name and spank bank fave. Rachel went on to thrill fans in the thrillers Fortress (1985), Shadow of the Cobra (1989), Double Jeopardy and Double Obsession (both in 1992). Of course, we can’t forget After Dark, My Sweet (1990). Based on Jim Thompson’s same-named novel of 1955, the R rated pic follows drifter Kevin “Kid” Collins (Jason Patric). He’s an ex-boxer who killed a man in the ring, and has been in mental institutions on and off ever since. Although two beers short of a six-pack, he is hired by widow Fay Anderson (Ward) to maintain her neglected Palm Springs estate. But all too soon, she and her seedy friend Uncle Bud (Bruce Dern) draw Kid into a kidnapping plot. What could possibly go wrong when the three don’t trust each other? And who cares so long as Rachel shows her wares? During a sex scene with Patric, the English-Australian eyeful reveals her rack in the sack. If that’s not hot enough, the saucy Aussie treats us to a view of her bush down under!