El que no volvió

Kent Smith, Viveca Lindfors, Janis Paige, Robert Douglas, and John Alvin star in "This Side of the Law," a 1950 film directed by Richard L. Bare. Smith plays David Cummins, a vagrant who is baled out by an attorney named Phillip Cagle (Douglas) who wants him to impersonate a missing millionaire in order to divide a $3,000,000 estate. Cummings agrees to do it for $5,000, but he walks into a hornet's nest: a wife (Viveca Lindfors) who doesn't seem to like him much, a brother (Alvin) who detests him, and a sister-in-law (Paige) who likes him a little too much. It's all pretty confusing, as Cummins tries to do the right thing by the millionaire's obviously hurt wife. Then murder complicates the situation further.

The story is told in flashback, as we see in the beginning that Cummins is in grave danger -- as he tries to save himself, he goes over the events that brought him to his present problems.

Fairly interesting story. I'm sure for Lindfors, a wonderful actress brought over from Sweden, this was hardly the stuff of star-making, but she does a good job. Paige is gorgeous.

All in all, fast-moving and satisfying.

I really liked this one. I wasn't steeped in dark, shadowy style like many of the Noir films of the time were. And, there aren't any real stylistic flourishes really.

However, being a lover of all Film Noir I must say that the story is a solid little Thriller, well written and acted by all concerned.

I'm not familiar with the director and I don't know if he did many films, but I felt he did an excellent job setting up the situation and then slowly and steadily building the suspense and tension as you begin to realize what is happening.

I'm also not familiar at all with the star, but he really did a great job and portrayed his character in a very believable and sympathetic way. The dialog was not forced or overly 'Noirish' at all, but very natural and fit well with the ongoing story.

So, although I usually prefer the more Dark, Moody, stylish Noirs of the period, I must say that this simple little story was very effective and quite entertaining.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My Particular Way of Rating:

5 - Flawed, but perhaps with some entertainment value.

6. A decently passable story maybe worth a watch.

7. A solid film, well made, effective, and entertaining.

And, obviously, you can probably figure out what above and below these would mean... : )

Get out of that of you can. Kent Taylor (David) is at the bottom of a covered well at the film's beginning. We go to flashback to tell the story of how this has come to pass. The story develops gradually so that you are not given all the information as to what is really going on. We learn what is happening as our lead man Taylor discovers things. Lawyer Robert Douglas (Cagle) holds the strings as to what is really happening and reveals things when necessary. It is his plan to have Taylor turn up at an Estate and pretend to be the long-lost owner so that the Estate's money does not get passed on to any undesirable characters who currently live on the premises.

It's an entertaining film with a good cast and scenery that gives you a spooky vibe. It's well filmed and keeps you guessing at the mysterious relationships and who is colluding with who. It's a small cast with a special mention to Janis Paige (Nadine) as my favourite character who plays the not-so-dumb relative of Taylor.

One reviewer has focused on the cliff aspects of the film and makes a good contribution. A good cliffy location for this film to play out. An enjoyable film with a good technique for getting out of a well should you ever fall into one.

At the beginning, a narrator speaks as we are shown a residence and the dog named "Angel" that guards it. The viewer is shown the top of a cistern, with "David" the narrator (played by Kent Smith) at the bottom of the cistern. Here's the flashback to tell his story...

When David is picked up for vagrancy, someone pays his fine, and has a proposition for him: He is to pretend to be a millionaire, who had disappeared several years prior. Even the millionaire's wife can't tell he is an impostor, but things start to go wrong. The man he is impersonating wasn't very well liked, and David must find out why. Viveca Lindfors gets top billing as "the wife", but it's Janis Paige as the sister- in-law who (rightfully) steals the show. Watch for Monte Blue as the Sheriff. The acting isn't anything special, but the story is mildly compelling, and since we know right from the start that David ends up in the well, we get hooked on finding out how he ends up there.

Written by Richard Sale, who had several novels and screenplays made into films. This one IS available on DVD, although you can catch it on Turner Classic Channel about once a year. Directed by Richard Bare, who wrote a book on the proper technique on film directing.

This noir begins with a man trapped in a cistern berating himself. We learn that he is David Cummins (Kent Smith), a self proclaimed drifter, who was picked up by the police and subsequently bailed out of jail by a lawyer who he didn't know. The lawyer explains that he wants to hire him to impersonate his wealthy client for an inheritance case. It would be for just a short period of time and he would make $5,000, but he can't ask any questions.

David must fool the man's brother, sister-in-law, and wife...oh! And his dog, Angel. Angel is a beautiful dog too, who is only kept at bay by the smell of her owner's clothing and the non-threatening nature of David.

It's clear from the minute he sets foot on the property that things aren't as they seem...this is both a missing person and a murder mystery, but the biggest question is can David get out alive?

I enjoyed this mysterious noir. I appreciated that they answered all the questions in the end. This is a recommendation to noir fans. It may not be in the top tier but it was a great house and a good watch.