El que no volvió

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.

Drifter Kent Smith is hired by lawyer Robert Douglas. His job, if you can call it that, is to impersonate a rich man who has been missing for seven years. Thanks to coaching by Douglas, Smith fools the man's wife, sister, and everyone but the dog. But mysteries abound. What happened to the missing man? How do they keep a huge cliffside mansion spotless and the people fed with no servants? Who is to benefit from this scheme? Could they have made this better by casting George O'Hanlon?

This, after all directed by Richard L. Bare, and at that time he was best known for Warner's Joe McDoakes shorts. After that closed down in 1956, he mostly directed TV shows like Green Acres, although he continued to turn out the occasional feature film with something odd about it, like being done entirely in split screen. Bare directs this one capably enough. The performances are good, the camerawork by Carl Guthrie makes me wonder if, given this script, Bare rolled his eyes and decided to make this a blank-faced burlesque. With Viveca Lindfors, Janet Paige, and Monte Blue.

This Side of the Law is a thrilling ride of twists and turns in gorgeous Gothic settings. Kent Smith plays David Cummins, a bum arrested for vagrancy whose fine is paid by a stranger named Philip Cagle (Robert Douglas), an attorney who offers him a job to impersonate a missing millionaire named Malcolm Taylor whom Cummins resembles perfectly and for whose estate Cagle is executor. Despite not knowing Cagle's intentions, Cummins needs the money so takes the job, returning "home" to the man's clifftop estate to the shock of Taylor's wife, brother, and sister-in-law, who assumed him dead. We soon learn just how much hatred and deceit a household of merely four inhabitants can contain. The acting is mostly excellent, William Lava's score is eerily ahead of its time, especially during moments of heightened suspense, and Carl Guthrie's cinematography beautifully captures the atmosphere of the dramatic settings (cliff, beach, gazebo), especially since most scenes take place at night. Underseen and under-rated. 8/10

Viveca Lindfors Stunning beauty ......was a Swedish-born actress whose stage and screen career in the U. S. and Sweden spanned more than half a century. She was brought to Hollywood in 1946 by Warner Brothers in the hope that she would be a new Greta Garbo or Ingrid Bergman.

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.

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... : )