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She Played With Fire is a low-key little film noir that manages to be filled with all manner of little surprises. It is, to be sure, a little light-hearted as a film noir -- it sometimes can't seem to make up its mind if it wants to be a successor to Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity or to Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes (which producer/screenwriter Frank Launder and director/producer/screenwriter Sidney Gilliat co-authored). But there are enough ominous and suspenseful moments, especially in the middle of the movie, as Jack Hawkins' character starts moving around a manor house that he doesn't realize has been set ablaze, to keep fans of the genre satisfied. And Arlene Dahl is surprisingly good in a role that keeps us guessing until two thirds of the way through. Bernard Miles makes a suitable (and sometimes comically) creepy presence as the blackmailer's agent, and Ian Hunter's smarmy presence adds a few unexpected comical touches at just the right moments, toward the end. And Jack Hawkins is completely in his element as a man whose main "flaws" are his excessive romanticism and a desire not to hurt people. Additionally, the denouement is a genuine surprise, mostly by virtue of the layer-upon-layer of plot developments thrust upon us beginning at about a third of the way into the movie. She Played With Fire is not quite a masterpiece, but it is an entertaining and enjoyable diversion from a pair of filmmakers whose output was equally steeped in comedies, thrillers, and dramas.