This is an enjoyable, diverting film noir, though I'm not sure it qualifies as a film noir; it's more like a melodrama such as "They Drive by Night," which also involves a wrongly accused protagonist framed by a scheming woman who's undone in a courtroom scene. But, unlike "They Drive by Night," something just doesn't make it great. I was curious to see what other comments made of the film, and I find a fair number that share reservations. Some put a finger on the acting. I disagree. The acting is very good all around. Some fault the plot. I disagree. I am fairly picky when a movie or a book presents a twisty plot but spoils it with holes or incongruities. There are incongruities, but no real holes. Yes, the police could have used dental records to make sure of the identity of the burnt corpse (the Soviets did that famously a few years before to identify the burnt remains of Adolph Hitler). But why would they do it? Who else but Walter Williams will have been driving alone in Walter Williams' car? If it's not the acting or the plot, what is the problem? I think the weakness lies in the love story. I don't object to a love story inserted in a film noir, or a melodrama. This one doesn't work. It takes up a lot of screen time, and it just doesn't work.
There are, in fact, two love stories essential to the plot. Neither of them works. We have, or course, the love between Brian Donlevy's Walter and Ella Raines' Marsha Peters. Equally essential is the relationship between Helen Walker's Irene and Tony Barrett's Jim Torrence. We don't learn their backstory, but their attraction is a key element. Irene plots her husband's murder not just to acquire his money but to share it and her life with her lover. That motivation leads her to make her fatal mistakes - rushing out to meet him on the very night of the presumed murder, and beginning to write him a heedless telegram - rather than waiting calmly for him to contact her. Tony Barrett acts suitably sinister. (He was very good as the first murder victim in one of my favorites, 1947's "Born to Kill.") But the character needs more. It needs someone with raw male magnetism. Why does Irene find him so irresistible as to commit murder to get him? We need someone like John Garfield in "Out of the Fog," or even a younger Brian Donlevy in one of his villainous roles. That love story's weakness we might overlook. The other one is the problem. Ella Raines plays a lithe, vivacious young woman, prematurely a widow. She has spunk, trying to run her own business. She has verve. She's part of the youthful generation. Why does she fall for the jaded, worn-down Walter? What does she see in him? Whatever it is, I don't see it. I don't mean to be sexist. There's no reason a younger woman cannot find love with an older man. But the older man needs to show us some quality that attracts youthful admiration. (In "High Sierra," teenage Joan Leslie improbably falls for the much older Humphrey Bogart. In the end, we see he was to her only a surrogate father figure.) Brian Donlevy shows no attractive quality. He is mostly withdrawn, sullen and reserved. I think the screenwriters did see the problem, wherefore they inserted a rather silly scene in which Walter chases a fire engine - like something out of "Mr.Deeds Goes to Town" - to join the local bucket brigade; there's still some life left in him. It's too little, too late. Donlevy was a fine actor, though I prefer him as a villain ("Beau Geste," "Destry Rides Again"). He's too old for this part. He lacks vitality. The central love story doesn't work. The movie bogs down. It becomes implausible.
One thing rescues the film, to the extent it can be rescued. That is Helen Walker. No one, not even Claire Trevor, did a noir villainess better. She's mesmerizing in "Nightmare Alley." She does it again here, insinuating voice and penetrating eyes, yet without overacting. Her reactions, when the cops confront her with her missing husband, when the district attorney charges her with attempted murder, are splendid. No histrionics. She is entirely human, almost sympathetic. Her half bewildered half terrified look when the district attorney recalls her to the stand is striking. The court bailiff grabs her wrist. Her simple line, "Oh, no!" (I wonder if she ad-libbed that) is delivered perfectly. Despite its flaws, "Impact" is worth watching for Helen Walker.
There are, in fact, two love stories essential to the plot. Neither of them works. We have, or course, the love between Brian Donlevy's Walter and Ella Raines' Marsha Peters. Equally essential is the relationship between Helen Walker's Irene and Tony Barrett's Jim Torrence. We don't learn their backstory, but their attraction is a key element. Irene plots her husband's murder not just to acquire his money but to share it and her life with her lover. That motivation leads her to make her fatal mistakes - rushing out to meet him on the very night of the presumed murder, and beginning to write him a heedless telegram - rather than waiting calmly for him to contact her. Tony Barrett acts suitably sinister. (He was very good as the first murder victim in one of my favorites, 1947's "Born to Kill.") But the character needs more. It needs someone with raw male magnetism. Why does Irene find him so irresistible as to commit murder to get him? We need someone like John Garfield in "Out of the Fog," or even a younger Brian Donlevy in one of his villainous roles. That love story's weakness we might overlook. The other one is the problem. Ella Raines plays a lithe, vivacious young woman, prematurely a widow. She has spunk, trying to run her own business. She has verve. She's part of the youthful generation. Why does she fall for the jaded, worn-down Walter? What does she see in him? Whatever it is, I don't see it. I don't mean to be sexist. There's no reason a younger woman cannot find love with an older man. But the older man needs to show us some quality that attracts youthful admiration. (In "High Sierra," teenage Joan Leslie improbably falls for the much older Humphrey Bogart. In the end, we see he was to her only a surrogate father figure.) Brian Donlevy shows no attractive quality. He is mostly withdrawn, sullen and reserved. I think the screenwriters did see the problem, wherefore they inserted a rather silly scene in which Walter chases a fire engine - like something out of "Mr.Deeds Goes to Town" - to join the local bucket brigade; there's still some life left in him. It's too little, too late. Donlevy was a fine actor, though I prefer him as a villain ("Beau Geste," "Destry Rides Again"). He's too old for this part. He lacks vitality. The central love story doesn't work. The movie bogs down. It becomes implausible.
One thing rescues the film, to the extent it can be rescued. That is Helen Walker. No one, not even Claire Trevor, did a noir villainess better. She's mesmerizing in "Nightmare Alley." She does it again here, insinuating voice and penetrating eyes, yet without overacting. Her reactions, when the cops confront her with her missing husband, when the district attorney charges her with attempted murder, are splendid. No histrionics. She is entirely human, almost sympathetic. Her half bewildered half terrified look when the district attorney recalls her to the stand is striking. The court bailiff grabs her wrist. Her simple line, "Oh, no!" (I wonder if she ad-libbed that) is delivered perfectly. Despite its flaws, "Impact" is worth watching for Helen Walker.