sol ***SPOILERS*** Almost unknown little film noir gem involving this down and out vagrant David Cunmmins, Kent Smith, who's made to impersonate ,for a cool $5,000.00, this missing millionaire Malcolm Taylor whom he has a striking resemblance to. Spotted at the L.A courthouse by shyster lawyer Philip Cagel, Robert Douglas, who pays his $50.00 fine Cummins is given all the information about the missing Malcolm Taylor and sent to his pad, mansion, on the Pacific Ocean coast to convince both his brother Calder, John Alvin,sister in law Nadine, Janis Page,as well as wife Evelyn, Viveca Lindfors, that he's the real deal or real McCoy the missing for some seven years Malcolm Taylor. Even though the three all fall for Cummins act the pet dog Angel doesn't and that's to make things later difficult for him as well as the person who put him up to this sham Philip Cagel.We already saw that Cummins was double crossed by Cagel at the very beginning of the film so we knew what a phony he, Cagel, was and how he was just using Cummins for his own greedy and selfish purposes. But what we don't know and later find out is that Cagel knows a lot more about the missing Malcolm Taylor then he lets on. And the biggest secret that he has is that he not only knows where Malcolm is, at the Taylor Sans Souci estate, but also how he got there.***SPOILERS*** As Cummins puts two and two together Cagel changes his plans to get his hands on he Taylor fortune, all three million dollars worth of it, by getting his partner in crime knocked off so he won't have to split the money with him. As Cummins gets out of his deep and pressing predicament, that Cagel put him into, he's forced to confront Calder who's been brainwashed by Cagel that he and Evelyn murdered his wife Nadine, by throwing her off a cliff, with Cagel trying to check out before he's noticed. It's then that the real hero in the movie the family dog Angel goes into action and puts an end to Cagel's evil plans together with Cagel himself.

dougdoepke 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.

blanche-2 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.

telegonus This Side Of the Law is a rather fun thriller from the early fifties and concerns a man hired to impersonate someone else, a greedy family and other unwholesome things. The cast is decidedly of the second-string variety; however that doesn't make it bad. Kent Smith and Viveca Lindfors were both talented performers and play their starring roles well. It's particularly nice to see Smith in a leading role for a change, as he was a decent actor who never quite made the cut in Hollywood. Character actor John Alvin does nicely in a showy supporting part. I wouldn't quite call the movie film noir, though it's close. It plays somewhat like an episode of the Perry Mason TV series, as it's full of similar plot twists and surprises. If one likes dark mysteries this is a good one to look for.