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This Side of the Law

  • 1950
  • Approved
  • 1h 14m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
602
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,439
25,335
This Side of the Law (1950)
Film NoirDramaMystery

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 tha... Read allA 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.

  • Director
    • Richard L. Bare
  • Writers
    • Russell S. Hughes
    • Richard Sale
  • Stars
    • Viveca Lindfors
    • Kent Smith
    • Janis Paige
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.5/10
    602
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    1,439
    25,335
    • Director
      • Richard L. Bare
    • Writers
      • Russell S. Hughes
      • Richard Sale
    • Stars
      • Viveca Lindfors
      • Kent Smith
      • Janis Paige
    • 18User reviews
    • 7Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos1

    View Poster

    Top cast12

    Edit
    Viveca Lindfors
    Viveca Lindfors
    • Evelyn Taylor
    Kent Smith
    Kent Smith
    • David Cummins
    Janis Paige
    Janis Paige
    • Nadine Taylor
    Robert Douglas
    Robert Douglas
    • Philip Cagle
    John Alvin
    John Alvin
    • Calder Taylor
    Monte Blue
    Monte Blue
    • The Sheriff
    Nita Talbot
    Nita Talbot
    • Miss Goff
    Frances Morris
    Frances Morris
    • Miss Roberts
    Edgar Dearing
    Edgar Dearing
    • Cop
    • (uncredited)
    Michael Mark
    Michael Mark
    • Vagrant
    • (uncredited)
    Forbes Murray
    Forbes Murray
    • Bailiff
    • (uncredited)
    Edward Van Sloan
    Edward Van Sloan
    • Judge
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Richard L. Bare
    • Writers
      • Russell S. Hughes
      • Richard Sale
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews18

    6.5602
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    Featured reviews

    7AAdaSC

    Well, well, well....

    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.
    7ksf-2

    pretty good black & white thriller

    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.
    4mls4182

    Below average

    The writer started with a good idea, came up with an ending and packed it with some filler. This couldn't pass as a 70s or 80s made for TV movie. No wonder they held onto it for two years before they released it.
    7cgvsluis

    A resentful brother, a seductive sister-in-law, a reluctant wife and a sinister lawyer...but the best character in this noir is Angel the dog!

    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.
    dougdoepke

    Solid Little Noir

    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.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Produced in October and November of 1948, but not released until June of 1950.
    • Goofs
      While in the garden with Nadine, David takes her hands from around his neck. It is at this point that she notices he has no scar from when his brother used a knife on him in his boyhood. She noticed this in the dark, in the garden, where there are no lights, which is most improbable.
    • Quotes

      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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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 17, 1950 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Streaming on "Great Early Films & TV" YouTube Channel
      • Streaming on "Take2MovieClassics" YouTube Channel
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • El que no volvió
    • Filming locations
      • Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA(Studio)
    • Production company
      • Warner Bros.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 14 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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