writtenbymkm-583-902097
POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD. I found this film enjoyable and even suspenseful at times, but ultimately frustrating. First, the good things. Unlike some reviewers, I liked Charles Coburn's aging and ready to retire police detective (except for the weird accent). I don't think it wouldn't added much to turn him into a tough gruff cop. And he was convincingly determined to do the job. Ella Raines, as others have mentioned, was good as the two-faced wife who wanted her husband, Brian Donlevy, dead. The little trick -- spoiler alert -- of having the wife's lover try to murder her husband, only to screw it all up and get himself killed, was good. And, at the very end, Charles Coburn's detective work was enjoyable. Now, the bad things. First off, I never believed for one second that Helen Walker's wife character would be even remotely attracted to Tony Barrett's character. He came across as a sort of low-class punk, someone you'd expect to find hanging out in a cheap bar and maybe robbing booze stores. Second, the husband, Brian Donlevy, is supposed to be this tough savvy business guy, yet he doesn't immediately see though the cheap punk character passing himself off as a "cousin," even with the obvious chip on his shoulder. Third, when the "cousin" is blown up and burned "beyond recognition," why wasn't an attempt made to match up his dental records? Didn't they have dental records in the 1940s? It wasn't even mentioned. Fourth, why was I supposed to believe that husband Brian Donlevy was suddenly transformed from a white-collar business guy to a master mechanic? Did I miss something? Maybe I dozed off. Fifth, the husband's name and photograph were all over the newspapers, he was instantly recognizable to anybody who saw the papers and his photographs, yet he roams around this little town and not one single person recognizes him! "Look, it's Walter Williams, the dead guy!" Sixth, the whole way too long small-town romance thing with Brian Donlevy and the girl (Ella Raines) was boring and unbelievable. It needed MST3K bots saying, "Meanwhile, in a different movie..." Finally, I didn't believe for a minute that Brian Donlevy's husband character would suddenly agree to return to San Francisco, walk into the police station, and say, "Well, here I am, alive and well, and oh by the way, I wouldn't come sooner but I had, er, uh (spoiler) amnesia -- yeah, right. And I didn't believe for a minute that the cops and prosecutors would, instead of thoroughly investigating this amazing new development, just snap their fingers and say, "Oh, wow, okay you're under arrest for murder, somebody get his wife out of jail." So, there were way too many problems with what could've been a pretty good (but not noir) crime suspense story.
wes-connors
After scoring big points with his board of directors, wealthy San Francisco businessman Brian Donlevy (as Walter "Walt" Williams) plans a romantic vacation with his beautiful, well-dressed wife Helen Walker (as Irene). Unbeknownst to Mr. Donlevy, Ms. Walker has scored a big point of her own, low-life lover Tony Barrett (as James "Jim" Torrence). They've got deadly plans for Donlevy, but things don't always go according to plan. Donlevy finds female companionship with 25-year-old Mobile service station operator Ella Raines (as Marsha Peters) while "smart cookie" lieutenant Charles Coburn (as Tom Quincy) investigates...The Popkin brothers (Harry and Leo) were great at bringing suspenseful dramas to the screen; in this case, a story by Jay Dratler. This time they should have met with director Arthur Lubin to iron out some details in an otherwise fun film. We get several interesting twists and turns, but are almost derailed, due to some plot problems. There are a couple of implausible events worth mentioning. Just for starters, a character attempts to "murder" another by simply hitting him on the head; obviously, the "victim" was not dead. Also, a "victim" jumps into the back of a parked moving van instead of going up to the driver and asking for help...From the opening "board of directors" meeting to seeing Robert Warwick as a police captain, "Impact" employs several former "silent" screen players. That's not unusual, but there are a few in prominent roles. The chic maid is Anna May Wong, memorable as a sexy young Asian woman in 1920s melodramas. She participates in one of the better story sequences, a chase (photographed by Ernest Laszlo) from Jason Robards' courtroom to her apartment. The landlady who discovers Donlevy's secret is Mae Marsh, one of D.W. Griffith's most acclaimed actresses. Of the four top-billed stars, Walker gets the best out of her role.****** Impact (3/19/49) Arthur Lubin ~ Brian Donlevy, Helen Walker, Ella Raines, Charles Coburn
rosyrnrn
Yes, I know my review contrasts the majority of the other reviews. However, I love noirs and am used to the high octane, twists and turns of a Hitchcock thriller. Charles Coburn is always a delight to watch on the screen. And Donlevy is acceptable as the lead character but the rest of the characters are stiff, unimaginable, without depth and awfully predictable. The music is too sappy when the protagonist male and female characters are together. It's simply painful to watch. Imagine how fabulous this movie could have been if Hitch had decided to create a real movie out of this!
