Impact (1949)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Arthur Lubin

Writers:

Jay Dratler (story)
Dorothy Davenport (writer) ...

Release Date:

26 September 1949 (Sweden)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery

Tagline:

Wanted by two women! One for Love! One for Murder!

Plot:

In San Francisco, the successful self-made businessman Walter Williams has just bought three factories...

Plot Keywords:

Mechanic | Small Town | Maid | Falling In Love | Murder Plot

Cast

Brian Donlevy	...	Walter Williams
Ella Raines	...	Marsha Peters
Charles Coburn	...	Lt. Quincy
Helen Walker	...	Irene Williams
Anna May Wong	...	Su Lin
Robert Warwick	...	Capt. Callahan
Clarence Kolb	...	Darcy
Art Baker	...	Defense Attorney
William Wright	...	Prosecutor
Mae Marsh	...	Mrs. King
Sheilah Graham	...	Herself
Tony Barrett	...	Jim Torrence
Philip Ahn	...	Ah Sing
Glen Vernon	...	Ed (as Glenn Vernon)
Linda Leighton	...	Telephone Operator

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Unrated | USA:Approved

Filming Locations:

Corriganville, Ray Corrigan Ranch, Simi Valley, California, USA

Company:

Cardinal Pictures (II)

Trivia:

The failure of the original copyright holder to renew the film's copyright resulted in it falling into public domain, meaning that virtually anyone could duplicate and sell a VHS/DVD copy of the film. Therefore, many of the versions of this film available on the market are either severely (and usually badly) edited and/or of extremely poor quality, having been duped from second- or third-generation (or more) copies of the film.

Goofs:

Continuity: Marsha's mother, is identified in dialogue by the name Mrs. King. Yet in the closing credits, she is identified as Mrs. Peters.

Quotes:

Narrator: [First lines] Impact, the force with which two lives come together. Sometimes for good, sometimes for evil.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Avain (2006)

Soundtrack:

It' Can't Be

Film noir meets Frank Capra.

Although the final third gets in the way and is finally disappointing,it does not keep "impact" from being absorbing and entertaining.One of the rare film noirs -maybe the only one - which takes a look on the brighter side of the road:sandwiched between two very dark parts,the second one has Capra accents:the country town is some Shangri-la where time stood still ,with its very nice people ,the girl who owns a garage but of course does not know anything about mechanics(woman's lib supporters will cringe),the young father proud of his new-born son ,the Sunday service,the old lady cooking tasty little dishes.All of this is unusual in a film noir.Some might say that "shadow of a doubt"(1942) had already that ,but evil could enter this world,as the heroine 's uncle came to town.Here,the evil is elsewhere ,in San Francisco.Only in San Francisco.Or on the dark road where anything can happen:first part is effective,and shows some "Postman always rings twice" (1946) influence.