Impact has a very simple plot Walter Williams is marked for death by his cheating wife but when the plans go wrong and Williams is alive the film plays a great game of catchup! Donlevy is the star of the flick and he does more to draw you into the flick than dialogue ever could. He may not be tall but he has an imposing facing! His eyes and strong facial structure is a sight to see! I have to say that the film could have been shorter but in doing this some amazing cinematography would have been lost the image of a prisoned Willams (Donlevey) looking through a gate at his future love is amazing and the scene where his lover chases a woman who is crucial in freeing Williams of a crime through the narrow streets and shadows of chinatown is perfection. Impact may not be perfect but is is a very atmospheric and engaging ride non the least!
Starts out 40s noir, ends up 30s melodrama
Impact shows great promise in its first half, when industrialist Brian Donleavy's wife (Helen Walker -- the psychologist in Nightmare Alley) gets up to some homicidal duplicity. It's hard-core noir all the way, especially when push comes to shove on a dangerous mountain road. But then Donleavy ends up in Larkspur, Idaho, apparently suffering from amnesia, and falls for a girl mechanic. From here on in the tone grows sentimental and "women's-picture"-ish. When the climax comes, everybody seems suddenly to start behaving like imbeciles. There's enjoyable moments in Impact, but it's too compromised to be vintage noir.
Pretty entertaining
Totally implausible film noir but complex & entertaining nonetheless. Bear in mind its a Wade Williams release which ain't exactly Criterion. Picture quality is good; sound is so-so. The 4-star, rave review on the box is written by....Wade Williams.
Samuel Fuller's "Pickup on South Street" is easily one of his better films and as cynical and tough as crime dramas got in the 50's. Richard Widmark is excellent as a cocky pickpocket who swipes the wallet of sexy Jean Peters that contains microfilm of government secrets to be delivered to a Communist agency. Peters is unaware of the Communist angle and is only doing a "job" for her slimy ex-boyfriend Richard Kiley (who's also excellent). Getting mixed up in the mess to get back the microfilm is street peddler/police informant Thelma Ritter who sells information to whoever wants to buy it. The film is gritty and unsentimental and none of the characters are saints. New York City is depicted as a tough place to survive especially on the dirty waterfront where Skip McCoy (Widmark) lives and... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Richard Widmark - Jean Peters Director(s): Samuel Fuller DVD Release Date: Released the 17 February 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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"The Chase" is probably one of the strangest film noirs you're ever likely to see.
An out of work, but honest WWII veteran, Chuck Scott (Robert Cummings), happens upon a lost wallet. When he returns it to the wealthy owner, one Eddie Roman, Scott is given a job as chauffer by way of reward. But not all is as it seems with Scott's new benefactor. Roman is a vicious gangster, and a heartless control freak on top of that. When Roman's abused wife turns to the innocent Scott for help, they plan an escape to Havana. The vengeful Roman organizes some payback, and soon Scott is framed for murder. Along the way, there's a dream sequence that adds a real twist to the familiar plot.
"The Chase" has gotten the reputation for being somewhat of a cult classic, but I'm not sure how much of that... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Robert Cummings - Michèle Morgan Director(s): Arthur Ripley DVD Release Date: Released the 22 July 2003 Usually ships within 24 hours
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I can't really add much to what's already been written about this under-rated, almost forgotten, classic film noir. Lizabeth Scott is the ultimate femme fatale, leaving a trail of dead bodies in her wake, while Dan Duryea shines as the foil. Great, snappy dialogue, especially from Duryea. There's a nice twist at the ending, which I obviously won't reveal here. The DVD that I have, though, is easily one of the worst transfers ever - not what one would expect from a DVD in this day-and-age - it's skips, jumps and pops at various times and is overly-dark in some spots, although the dialogue that is missed is not really crucial to the story, but it is highly annoying. All in all, this has to be one of my personal favorite film noirs - along with Detour, Double Indemnity, The Postman Always... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Lizabeth Scott - Don DeFore - Dan Duryea Director(s): Byron Haskin DVD Release Date: Released the 04 November 2003 Usually ships within 24 hours
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"Crime of Passion" is a solid basic film noir. It lacks much of the dark exteriors, night shots, strange camera angles and gloomy interiors of a complete noir film but this is still the real thing. Barbara Stanwyck is a successful newspaper columnist in San Francisco. She impulsively marries an L.A. cop, Sterling Hayden. The suddenness of the marriage might signal some future "problems". The newlyweds settle down to a neat little suburban house, which would appear right at home on an "Ozzie and Harriet" set. Hayden is happy as a clam but not the Mrs! She wants more! She quickly becomes bored with the stilted little dinner parties and catty gossip of the other police wives. Who could blame her! Then Stanwyck over reaches! She has an affair with her hubby's boss. The intent was getting him... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Barbara Stanwyck - Sterling Hayden Director(s): Gerd Oswald DVD Release Date: Released the 02 December 2003 Usually ships within 24 hours
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With its title inspired by the notorious Black Dahlia murder case, The Blue Gardenia throws a twist into the story by making the mystery woman not the victim but the suspect in a lurid murder case. Anne Baxter, playing a virginal blonde with almost breathless innocence, impulsively accepts a blind date after receiving a "Dear Jane" letter from her boyfriend in Korea. Raymond Burr oozes slime as the lothario who plots his seduction with cynical calculation ("For drinks, Polynesian Pearl Divers, and don't spare the rum!") and the naive Baxter is easy prey, until she fights back against his advances with a fireplace poker and stumbles home. Waking up the next morning with the past evening a veritable blank, she discovers herself the prime suspect in a murder case trumpeted into a... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Anne Baxter - Richard Conte Director(s): Fritz Lang DVD Release Date: Released the 11 April 2000 Usually ships in 24 hours
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