The Man Who Cheated Himself

The question that must arise from the beginning,m and which turns this movie doubtful from the start, is how such an experienced and qualified detective as Lee J. Cobb could allow himself to be lead by such a woman to his own bad end? He must realize from the beginning that it must be impossible at length to get away with such a cover up. All the same, it's an interesting intrigue, the plot is formidable as Lee must perform a complicated double play which is bound to constantly get more difficult, but what saves the film is the tremendous finale. Hitchcock must have been inspired by this set-up at Fort Point under the great bridge with its fantastic opportunities for a thriller finale. There are many details adding to an excellent thriller, like her scarf blowing off in the end, the Italian family incident, the great introductory scene with its opening the door to any possible crime that only can be guessed at - and which leads to crime that no one wanted to commit.

Lee J. Cobb's foolery is questionable, but the film is great in spite of its foibles and should be worth restoring to its original quality indeed.

Andy Cullen (John Dall), the rookie detective and brother of the homicide Lt. Ed Cullen (Lee J. Cobb), is assigned to work with him. Andy will marry his beloved Janet (Lisa Howard) on the next days and Ed will be his best man. Ed is a wolf and is having a secret love affair with the wealthy Lois Frazer (Jane Wyatt), who is divorcing her husband Howard Frazer (Harlan Warde). Lois finds that Howard has bought a gun and suspects he intends to kill her; so she calls Ed to help her. When they are together, Howard arrives and Lois accidentally kills her husband. Ed decides to help her and forges a crime scene near the airport. Soon he is assigned to investigate the case with Andy but his young brother wants to show that he is a good detective.

"The Man Who Cheated Himself" is a film noir with a story of brothers with opposite intentions. The veteran detective wants to cover the felony he committed to protect his lover while his brother wants to prove that he is a good detective. The conflict between brothers is interesting and the open conclusion is a plus. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Por uma Mulher Má" ("For a Wicked Woman")

This is one of the better second tier film noir .... within its limits, it seems to me rock solid: performances,(save one), script, photography, and is surely commensurate with excellent Fleischer B's of the same period such as "Armored Car Robbery"...however perhaps not quite in the same league as the latter's "Narrow Margin"...there are these kinds of films in which, under obvious budgetary circumstances, it is hard to imagine what could be done better, with the exception of Jane Wyatt, who does indeed give a horrible performance...but hey, that's why it's a B...and one often wonders, given more money in the budget, whether the whole thing would have been somehow ruined...this last seems to be to be the best way of defining the undefinable "B" that I have come across. John Dall lends that undefinable air of perversity, of which he was the acknowledged master, and, to the viewer's delight, seems wonderfully and profoundly miscast as a policeman. Dall makes this worth seeing.

Those who love San Francisco locations in films will get plenty of joy out of watching all these shots of how it was in 1949. It is eerily predictive of Hitchcock's later 'Vertigo', especially the Fort Point location at the foot of the Golden Gate, so near to where Kim Novak was later to stand (oh eternal moment of mystery and suspense, in the film that might have been called 'The Girl who Never Was'). It was certainly unusual for heavy-jowled and growly Lee J. Cobb to land a leading man role, but here he is, romantic even, grabbing the gal in his arms whenever the opportunity offers and slobbering his great big bear's mouth all over her pretty, pert lips like the beast that is in all of us. And she loves it, spoilt rich brat that she is. (That's part of the plot.) And so, passion triumphs, the honest cop is compromised, covers up for the hysterical beauty and all that ensues can be guessed. The DVD issue has been made from a print with lots of scratches, hiss, and missing frames, so the negative must have disappeared. But at least this 'nice little noir' remains in some form, and is eminently watchable. There are some nice lines: 'The truth can get you twenty years.' But it is a mild thriller, and its locations are its chief recommendation.

The Man Who Cheated Himself is directed by Felix E. Feist and written by Seton I. Miller and Phillip MacDonald. It stars Lee J. Cobb, Jane Wyatt, John Dall and Lisa Howard. Music is by Louis Forbes and cinematography by Russell Harlan.

Ed Cullen (Cobb) is a cop who is having an affair with wealthy Lois Frazer (Wyatt). When Lois, in a fit of panic shoots dead her husband, it cause Cullen no end of grief. You see, he was there as well, a witness to the crime...

Don't forget to change your will.

This is a film noir entry that contains most of the elements that form that brand of film making. Something of an under seen - and undervalued - piece, it manages to rise above a few minor itches to play out as potent. Cullen (Cobb excellent) gets spun into a vortex of self inflicted trouble on account of his eye for a dame, essayed by a cast against type Wyatt. Both are unfaithful, she's unreliable and he's quick to break his own laws with dishonesty and a corruptible soul.

Things spice up when Cullen's younger brother, Andy (Dall), himself a police officer, joins his brother in investigating the "now" mysterious murder case. So we have a family crisis brewing as the younger Cullen tries to crack the case, all while his elder brother tries to throw him off the scent of his own complicity. Wonderful, because like a few other great noirs (Scandal Sheet, The Big Clock et al) we have a protagonist effectively investigating himself. And with the brothers being polar opposites in life values, it keeps things simmering nicely in the intrigue pot.

The dialogue is often clip like and the police procedural aspects are finely played with believable strokes. Close calls come and go as the detective work lurches from almost solved and closed to "hang on a minute something smells fishy here" , while tricky collusion's smile like a Cheshire cat. The great Russell Harlan (Gun Crazy/Riot In Cell Block 11) continually keeps things moody with shadows and low lights, whilst simultaneously bringing to life the splendid San Francisco locations. None more so than for the finale filmed out at a derelict and decrepit Fort Point, a perfect setting for noir if ever there was one (Hitchcock and Boorman thought so too!).

Wyatt is just about convincing enough as a femme fatale, but you can't help but ponder what one of the true noir actresses could have done with the role. While you can't get away from the fact that really both Cullen and Frazer simply had to front up for a self defence case at the beginning and there would have been no hassle. But as weak as that aspect is, there wouldn't have been this noir tale to tell, all of which is crafted with careful and knowing hands by Feist (Tomorrow is Another Day). 7.5/10