Impact (1949) Classic Movie Review 251

Hello to all of the classic people that are returning. I am glad you are back. I want to welcome any new visitors. As a technical note, references and citations are listed for each show on the site at classicmovierev.com. Today on Classic Movie Rev, we are taking on the Film Noir Impact (1949).

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Today’s movie is one of those Film Noir’s that has a happy end tacked on. So, it is a good watch and has some excellent actors. On iMDB.com, the film is rated 7.0[1], and that seems about right. On Rottentomatoes.com, the film has 60 percent on the Tomatometer and only 55 percent audience approval[2].

New York Times film critic Bosley Crowther hated this movie. On March 21, 1949, he said:

The opening shot in “Impact,”…, is a picture of a dictionary—or a reasonable facsimile thereof. And while the audience is gazing upon this symbol of authority, a voice, as of some invisible scholar, reads a definition of the title word. “Impact,” it says, with firm conviction: “The force with which two lives come together, sometimes for good, sometimes for evil.” Thereafter a story unfolds. If anyone seeing this picture is willing to string along with that as a fair definition of “impact,” we can’t vouch for the film’s appeal to him. For it seems fairly obvious that the authors have geared their intellects to the suppositional level of that phony lexicon. And everything which happens in the picture is as cheaply opportunist and contrived as that arbitrary definition. You either swallow it whole—or you don’t. Frankly, your correspondent doesn’t. He’s past giving credence to yarns about fellows who go through mental torments because their mean wives have tried to bump them off. And furthermore, this fable about one such agonized gent is as lifeless and wretched in its playing as it certainly must have been in the script. As the fellow whose wife has betrayed him and who thereafter moons for quite a spell, Brian Donlevy has all the animation and charm of an automaton. Helen Walker is just about as handsome and just about as blank as an electric refrigerator in the role of his coldly villainous wife.[3]

From the DVDBeaver.com, critic Gary W. Tooze liked Impact (1949), saying, “As far as ‘modest’ film noirs go, this is one of the best. A simple plot idea is twisted to the max for late 1940s audiences[4].”

Stephen Vagg of Diabolique Magazine stated it was “a solid film noir with a decent cast and typically brisk handling; Lubin may not have been strong with horror, which depends heavily on mood, but with thrillers, which benefited from speed, he was fine[5][6].”

There are many returning actors today, and quite a few are from the Film Noir pantheon. So, let’s get going.

Actors – Impact (1949)

Returning

Brian Donlevy played Walter Williams, a successful businessman whose wife attempts to have murdered. The great mustached Donlevy was first covered in Film Noir The Big Combo (1955).

Ella Raines was Marsha Peters, a widowed gas station owner who is pure sunshine and light. Raines was first covered in Film Noir Brute Force (1947).

Helen Walker played the role of adulterous and murderous Irene Williams. She was a good domestic Femme Fatale. Helen Walker was first covered in Film Noir The Big Combo (1955). However, she was a great Femme Fatale in Nightmare Alley (1947).

One of my favorites, Anna May Wong, had a small role as Su Lin Chung, the Williams’ maid. Wong was first covered in Daughter of the Dragon (1931).

Tony Barrett played Jim Torrence, AKA Burns. He was the boyfriend of Irene Williams. Barrett was covered in Film Noir Mystery in Mexico (1948).

New

Charles Coburn played Lt. Tom Quincy. Coburn was born in Georgia in 1877. I would have bet real money that he was English. Coburn was is known for wearing a monocle and often has a giant stogie in his mouth.

At the age of 17, Coburn began working in a local theater as an usher. He started acting, and by 1901, he had appeared on Broadway. Coburn married actress Ivah Myrtle “Mae” Wills in 1906. In 1918, Coburn and Ivah formed the Coburn Players, and this resulted in more theater work.

In 1928, Coburn opened his own theater in New York. However, as a result of the Great Depression, the place closed in December 1932. Ivah died in 1937. Following her death, Coburn began working in Hollywood. He was 60-years old at the time.

Coburn’s first full-length movie was People’s Enemy (1935). Some of the other movies that he made during his career that lasted until 1961 include Of Human Hearts (1938), Yellow Jack (1938), and The Devil and Miss Jones (1941), where he was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role Oscar. This last film should not be confused with The Devil in Miss Jones (1973).

Later films include Kings Row (1942), Heaven Can Wait (1943), where he won the Best Actor in a Supporting Role Oscar, The More the Merrier (1943), Wilson (1944), The Green Years (1946), where Coburn was again nominated for the Best Actor in a Supporting Role Oscar, Film Noir Impact (1949), Monkey Business (1952), as Hippocrates in The Story of Mankind (1957) along with everyone else, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), Around the World in 80 Days (1956), and John Paul Jones (1959) as Benjamin Franklin.

Coburn died in 1961.

Story – Impact (1949)

A dictionary opens, and the definition of “Impact” is given as when “two people come together, sometimes for good and sometimes for evil.” Not even close, as Mr. Crowther stated above.

The corporate board of a large company is staffed with old white men. They are agonizing over some type of decision. Walter Williams (Brian Donlevy) is giving commands and getting everything ready outside.

He walks into the boardroom and says if he doesn’t get his way, he will walk, and the company will start losing money. He gets a reluctant unanimous vote. After the vote, one of the board members asks Walter how he can guarantee the price, to which he replies that he already bought the factors this morning.

Back in his office, Walter has a present for his wife Irene (Helen Walker). Her picture is prominently displayed, and he is clearly devoted to her. Walter has placed a call to his wife, but his secretary was informed that Irene was at the dentist. Walter is getting ready to go on a vacation to Tahoe with Irene.

Irene calls back and tells Walter she can’t go because of a toothache. Their maid is Su Lin Chung (Anna May Wong). Walter says he will drop by the house before he leaves town.

Walter arrives at the house to find Irene with an icepack on her jaw. He is happy to see her and gives her the monogrammed broach he has gotten for her. Walter mentions that she is the one that got him wearing monogrammed items. Su Lin is outside the door when Walter is explaining how he handled the board. What she hears is, “either I get what I want, or you get another boy.” He then accidentally knocks a flowerpot over. Irene says she is going with him and will meet him at a drugstore that is on the way, so he won’t have to drive back home.

When Walter is gone, Irene no longer uses the icepack. She calls a number out in Berkeley, which is long-distance. A man, Jim Torrance (Tony Barrett), answers the phone and calls her beautiful. Su Lin is outside the door.

Near the docks, Jim gets out of a taxi. He instructs the hack to take a suitcase and jacket to the bellboy at the Airport Hotel in Oakland and hold it until Jack Burns returns for it. Walter arrives at the location and goes looking for his wife. He calls his house, and Irene says she will not be going on the trip. She asks Walter to take her “cousin” Jim Torrance as far as Denver. Walter reluctantly agrees.

Walter makes arrangements to send his wife flowers every morning while he is gone. Jim is waiting by Walter’s car when he gets there. Jim asks where Irene is, and Jim doesn’t have any luggage with him. Jim says he was with Patton’s Third Army in Italy. Walter calls him on the lie as the 3^rd Army was only in Sicily.

After dark, Walter stops at a roadside diner. Jim waits in the car. Walter calls home, but the house is dark and empty. He calls Su Lin and leaves a message saying not to worry about the problem, and he will take care of it. I believe the message was for Su Lin to take to his wife.

Jim is outside, letting air out of the right rear tire. When Walter comes outside, Jim takes over as the driver. The pair head into the mountains where the road is winding, and the sides are very steep. Walter catches Jim in another lie about a scar on Irene’s cheek.

Walter falls asleep, and Jim pulls over, saying that he thinks that they have a flat. They are parked right on the edge of a steep cliff. When Jim takes off his jacket, he is wearing monogrammed shirts. Jim gets the tools, and they replace the wheel. Jim tells Walter he dropped something. When Walter bends down, Jim says from “Irene and me, sucker,” and clubs Walter. A train light shines on Jim, and a car stops and asks if he needs help. He manages to get rid of the body without anyone seeing Walter.

Jim roles Walter down the hill. Jim jumps in the car but realizes that the keys are in Walter’s pocket. He goes down the hill and gets the keys. While he is down, a Bekins moving truck stops to asks if he needs help. Jim speeds away right into the waiting arms of a high-octane gas truck. The truck drivers rush to help, but everything is a fireball.

Irene checks into Jack Burn’s room at the Airport Hotel in Oakland.

Much later, the banged-up Walter wakes at the bottom of the hill. He remembers hearing the words about who attacked him. He puts the entire story together in his mind. The Bekins truck is still parked at the top of the hill, and Walter gets in the open back.

Since the person driving the burned car could not be identified, they assume it is Walter. Lt. Tom Quincy (Charles Coburn) goes to see Irene. She is just coming in as the phone rings. Irene asks for Quincy to be sent up. She gets rid of her overclothes and puts on a robe. Quincy starts asking questions about her husband, and he finally tells her that her husband is dead. She puts on a show and says she warned him not to pick up hitchhikers. Quincy says there were no hitchhikers involved. Quincy comments on how she took the news.

The Bekins truck crosses into Nevada before they stop to eat. The truck drivers read that Walter took 10-years to rise from sheet metal worker to top manager. He also finds out that he is considered dead. Walter is playing everything over and over in his head, trying to make some sense of it all.

Irene is still trying to find out what happened to Burns (Jim). I just got the joke! Su Lin lets Irene know that Quincy is waiting to see her. Roses from Walter are still coming to Irene. Quincy questions Irene about skid marks found at the crash site. He notices her monogrammed handkerchiefs.

Walter wanders along aimlessly until he arrives in a small town. He can’t get a bus home until the next day. Walter calls Irene’s aunt and finds out that there is no relative named Jim Torrance. He knows he has been duped. Walter cries a bit, and then the train station manager sends him across the street to Doc. Bender. Walter is cleaned up and goes back on the street. He sees newspapers announcing his death. Walter throws his wedding ring into a stream just like he was in Reno.

The two Bekins drives find Walter’s briefcase in the back of their truck. They call the police. The cops identified Walters prints and send a telegram to the FBI requesting matches to other prints. Quincy gets notified that the other prints on the case belong to Jim Torrence.

Quincy follows Jim’s trail to Berkley. Jim is gone, but Quincy sees that all of his laundries are monogrammed. In the laundry is a monogrammed hanky with “IW” on it. Quincy now has a good idea of who was involved in the crime. He also finds that a lady ordered Jim’s monogram and ones for her husband with the initials “WW.” They also have phone records against Irene.

Irene is getting ready to leave on an extended trip when Quincy drops in on her. Quincy tells about the briefcase and the presence of another person. Quincy lies and says they don’t know the name of the other man.

The police trail Irene when she goes to Western Union. She begins writing to Burns (Tim) but gets suspicious and sends a fake telegram. They arrest Irene.

Walter is in Larkspur, Idaho. He wanders into a gas station and hears someone using a hammer on a car engine. He then starts mansplaining to the mechanic. When the mechanic looks up, it is a female named Marsha Peters (Ella Raines). Walter takes over the repair job and has the engine humming in no time. 

Marsha doesn’t have a mechanic, so she is friendly to Walter. When a man comes in wanting to have his car fixed at a different station, Walter steps in to help. Marsha’s husband was killed in World War II. She offers Walter a job, and he accepts temporarily. Marsha and her mother invite Walter to supper. Walter is taken in by the joys of small-town life. Marsha’s mother, Mrs. King (Mae Marsh), lets Walter board at their house. Walter sees in the paper that the police are looking for Irene’s lover.

Walter likes the work, and Marsha wears a Princess Leia hair doo. Walter helps a couple with a new baby get a ring job done on their car. Three months pass, and Walter invites Marsha out for a movie.

In San Francisco, they arrest Irene and are still looking for Jim Torrence. Irene’s attorney demands one-third of her inheritance for her defense. They agree that if Jim shows up, they will put all the blame on him.

Walter plans to head back on. Marsha wants him to stay and says the community really likes him. Walter has kept all of the newspaper clipping about his death and the trial. Marsha finally puts it together that Walter is married and has been badly hurt by his wife. The fire horn sounds and Walter runs to the station because he is a member of the volunteer firefighters.

Later Mrs. King is darning Walter’s socks. She has found the newspaper clippings. She says he has something to take care of, but she hasn’t told Marsha. Walter is packing to leave when Marsha comes home. He tells Marsha the entire story. She is happy that Walter is going back. Walter says he is not going back and will let Irene stand trial. Marsha is heartbroken that Walter won’t do the right thing.

While waiting for his train, Walter replays everything, including Marsha. Finally, Walter returns to San Francisco by plane. Marsha goes along with him. The pair go directly to the police to reveal the events. Walter’s statement will result in Irene being released. They bring Irene into the room, but she doesn’t see Walter in the back. When she sees Walter, it is like she has been hit. Her shock that Jim is dead cannot be hidden. Irene accuses Walter of murder. Irene says that they had a violent fight, when the vase was broken, about Jim before Walter left. Irene invokes Su Lin as a witness. The police arrest Walter for suspension of murdering Jim.

Quincy investigates Walter and Marsha. The police don’t believe Walter’s story. Walter is told that he has been indited and Irene has been released. Marsha visits Walter and gives him some hope. Quincy comes in with Walter’s clippings. Walter has said he had amnesia, and Jim was a random hitchhiker. Walter breaks and tells Quincy the real story of how Irene engineered Jim riding with him.

Quincy and Marsha go to the scene of the crash and look for clues. Marsha gets Quincy to check immigration for Su Lin’s location. Of course, it is in Chinatown. She is hiding in the apartment, but her uncle lies to help her hide. Su Lin thinks she is protecting Walter.

Walter’s murder trial begins. The evidence piles up against Walter, and they use him saying he had amnesia to expose his lies. Su Lin hears the radio reports of the trial. Walter takes the stand. Su Lin shows up in court, and Marsha chases her down in some fancy high-heeled running. There is a taxi chase into Chinatown and some more high-heeled running in some allies. They finally arrive back at the uncle’s apartment. Su Lin thinks her testimony about the vase would be harmful to Walter. She says that Irene went to a secret meeting the night that Jim was killed. She also says that the key to a hotel room is still in Irene’s coat pocket.

Su Lin, Marsha, and Quincy go to Irene’s house and find the key to the Airport Hotel in Oakland. Marsha and Quincy confirm that Burns is actually Jim. The hotel evidence, the scraped telegram, and the flight reservation are strong evidence, but for whom. But Quincy says the evidence is not strong enough.

In the morning, the defense calls Irene to the stand. They use the telegram, two signed photographs, letters to Jim from Irene, and monogrammed items. They say she met with Mr. Burns on the night of the murder. They also have the hotel key. Qunicy has found Jim’s suitcase, and it is filled with Irene’s and Jim’s items. The DA (William Wright) asks the judge (Jason Robards Sr.) to dismiss charges against Walter and arrest Irene on conspiracy to commit murder.

Walter is offered his old job, and Marsha agrees to go to Denver with him.

The incorrect definition of impact is shown again.

I’ll be back with the conclusions and World-Famous Short Summary following a word from our sponsors.

Summary – Impact (1949)

There is not a lot to say about this movie. One item of note is that this was Anna May Wong’s first role since Lady from Chungking (1942). [7] There is little doubt that this resulted from racial attitudes created during World War II, although the Chinese were our allies during the war.

The only other thing I have to say about this movie, it would have been impossible for Brian Donlevy to have mistaken Ella Raines’ character for a boy when she was working on the car.

World-Famous Short Summary – Man goes on a trip and finds more than he expected

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Beware the moors.

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[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041503/
[2] https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1046724-impactt
[3] https://www.nytimes.com/1949/03/21/archives/impact-arrives-at-the-globe-with-brian-donlevy-ella-raines-and.html
[4] http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews10/impact_.htm
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_(1949_film)
[6] https://diaboliquemagazine.com/the-cinema-of-arthur-lubin/
[7] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041503/trivia