Beware, My Lovely premiered in New York City on 12 September 1952 (on a bill with eight vaudeville acts).
Mel Dinelli adapted his 1945 short story, “The Man “(which he had adapted in 1950 as a stage play) for the screen for Collier Young’s production company, The Filmakers, which was also co-owned by Young’s then wife Ida Lupino (the couple divorced shortly after Beware, My Lovely had finished filming). The film was Harry Horner’s directorial debut.
Cinematographer George E. Diskant had worked with Lupino and Robert Ryan in On Dangerous Ground, and is known for his work in film noir: They Live by Night (1949), The Narrow Margin (1952), Kansas City Confidential (1952).
Beware, My Lovely was shot in under 3 weeks in July/August 1951 and was ready for release, but RKO owner Howard Hughes refused to release the picture (Robert Ryan believed the delay was due to Ryan’s outspoken liberal politics). After the New York screening, Hughes released it on “programmer status,” which meant that theaters could determine how to show the film (as either the “A” picture, or “B”). Mostly it was ignored.
