VALUTAZIONE IMDb
6,4/10
682
LA TUA VALUTAZIONE
Aggiungi una trama nella tua linguaA drifter is bailed out of jail by a lawyer, who hires him to impersonate a millionaire until the man can be declared legally dead and the estate settled. However, the man soon finds out tha... Leggi tuttoA drifter is bailed out of jail by a lawyer, who hires him to impersonate a millionaire until the man can be declared legally dead and the estate settled. However, the man soon finds out that things are not exactly how they seem.A drifter is bailed out of jail by a lawyer, who hires him to impersonate a millionaire until the man can be declared legally dead and the estate settled. However, the man soon finds out that things are not exactly how they seem.
- Regia
- Sceneggiatura
- Star
Edgar Dearing
- Cop
- (non citato nei titoli originali)
Michael Mark
- Vagrant
- (non citato nei titoli originali)
Forbes Murray
- Bailiff
- (non citato nei titoli originali)
Edward Van Sloan
- Judge
- (non citato nei titoli originali)
Recensioni in evidenza
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A vagrant is bribed into impersonating a millionaire as part of an inheritance scheme. The trouble is he gets more than he bargained for.
I'm not sure why this little noir-- and it is a noir (hand of fate, a web of intrigue, a spider woman, & dark atmosphere)-- remains so obscure. This Warner Bros. entry may not be top-flight, but it is respectable. That opening scene with the pin-light on Cummins' (Smith) ravaged face is a grabber. Several other moody scenes emerge along the way, plus a neat plot twist, that makes this thriller an entertaining 70-minutes.
I'm guessing one reason for the film's obscurity is the cast, especially the lead, Kent Smith. He performs well enough. The trouble is he lacks screen presence, almost fading into the background at times. On the other hand, Lindfors and Paige split the women's time, such that neither is able to establish much presence of her own. John Alvin, however, comes across vividly in the thankless role of the weakling brother. Also, I'm surprised director Bare manages the dark material as well as he does, given that his previous career was exclusively with comedy shorts. (Note, for example, how Cummins has to work at getting a name off the ID bracelet—a good realistic touch.)
Nothing memorable here, just a solid little noir.
I'm not sure why this little noir-- and it is a noir (hand of fate, a web of intrigue, a spider woman, & dark atmosphere)-- remains so obscure. This Warner Bros. entry may not be top-flight, but it is respectable. That opening scene with the pin-light on Cummins' (Smith) ravaged face is a grabber. Several other moody scenes emerge along the way, plus a neat plot twist, that makes this thriller an entertaining 70-minutes.
I'm guessing one reason for the film's obscurity is the cast, especially the lead, Kent Smith. He performs well enough. The trouble is he lacks screen presence, almost fading into the background at times. On the other hand, Lindfors and Paige split the women's time, such that neither is able to establish much presence of her own. John Alvin, however, comes across vividly in the thankless role of the weakling brother. Also, I'm surprised director Bare manages the dark material as well as he does, given that his previous career was exclusively with comedy shorts. (Note, for example, how Cummins has to work at getting a name off the ID bracelet—a good realistic touch.)
Nothing memorable here, just a solid little noir.
Lo sapevi?
- QuizProduced in October and November of 1948, but not released until June of 1950.
- BlooperPatience is a virtue - unless you killed a guy for his $3 million dollar fortune (worth $40 million in 2025) and are just waiting out the 7 years till the "missing man" can be declared legally dead. And then what...? Kill some more folks? As crooked lawyer Philip Cagle was going to have to, as no way *he* was the beneficiary of Malcolm's will, nor was anyone just going to endorse the inheritance check over to him with a "Thanks for thinking about Malcolm all these years! You're a pal. You can have it all!" Exactly what was his plan? In one more week the widow Evelyn would have gotten the money (as the seven years waiting period would have been up). She was not about to just hand the whole wad over. The spineless shrew of a brother (Calder) and his malicious wife (Nadine) were only going to get whatever crumbs either Malcolm or shystering Cagle would have left for them in Malcolm's will. What did Cagle need Nadine (who was having an affair with Malcolm, and never knew Cagle had murdered him) for? Why would he be splitting the take with her? And Cagle was going to have to kill off hired impostor Cummins (as if he was really a bad apple afterall he'd immediately blackmail Cagle to death, and if he was a good one he'd turn him in to the cops). So Cagle would have had to have killed Malcolm to get the ball rolling (and clock ticking), killed Evelyn to make sure she didn't get the money, killed Calder (so he didn't inherit it once both Malcolm and Evelyn were dead), then killed Calder's wife Nadine (since she'd've been next in line). That only would have left the dog standing. Maybe the whole thing seemed like a good idea when Cagle first dreamt it up, but realistically, it's just not very practical.
- Citazioni
Philip Cagle: [encountering Cummins as he has just been released from jail for vagrancy] Better out here, isn't it?
David Cummins: You paid my fine.
Philip Cagle: You're abrupt, Mr. Cummins, but true.
David Cummins: Is there any reason I should thank you?
Philip Cagle: I talk better over a cup of coffee, how 'bout you?
David Cummins: That depends on what I have to talk about.
Philip Cagle: I paid fifty dollars to get you out here, the least you can do is let me tell you why I did it.
Philip Cagle: Fifty dollars for me? Inflation's here to stay.
[gets into the car]
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- Tempo di esecuzione
- 1h 14min(74 min)
- Colore
- Proporzioni
- 1.37 : 1
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