Impact 1949

     This film is based on a story by film noir writer Jay Dratler.  Walter Williams lives with his wife Irene in San Francisco, California.  He is a successful businessman and he has just purchased three factories in Denver, Colorado.  Walter is very much in love with his wife and he’s hoping she will go with him to Lake Tahoe.  Irene says she is having trouble with her tooth and she doesn’t feel well enough to travel.  She asks Walter if he will take her cousin Jim Torrance to Denver, Colorado.  Actually, Jim is not her cousin, he’s her lover and they have planned to kill Walter on the road to Denver.  Torrance makes a small puncture in the car tire and they stop to change the tire.  Torrance hits Walter with the tire iron and pushes him down an embankment.  Torrance drives away in the car since the tire has been fixed.   

     I was very surprised that Irene wanted to kill Walter?  He treats her very well, he loves her, he gives her jewelry and they have a nice life together.  Irene is younger than Walter and this may be the reason she wants to be free?  Jim Torrance is certainly no catch and if she does leave Walter for him, how long will she stay.  There are a LOT of unexpected twists and turns in this film!!  I liked the cars, the clothing styles, attitudes and the scenes of California during this time period.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

111 min, Crime directed by Arthur Lubin with Brian Donlevy, Ella Raines, Charles Coburn, Helen Walker, Anna May Wong, Robert Warwick, Clarence Kolb, Art Baker, William Wright, Mae Marsh, Sheilah Graham.

Note:  Imdb 7.1 out of 10, 56% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, TCM Leonard Maltin 3* out of 4* average user rating 3.15 out of 5*, Amazon 4.2* out of 5* with 142 reviews, Letterboxed 3.2* out of 5*.

Special Note:  Filmed in Larkspur, San Francisco, Santa Monica, Sausalito, Simi Valley, Angeles National Forest, California.  Walter and Irene live in the Brocklebank Apartment building.  This is famous for its appearance in Vertigo of 1958.  The car driven by Walter Williams is a yellow 1948 Packard Victoria 8.  It was the most luxurious and expensive convertible of this time period.  Also, Packard was America's leading luxury car for several years.  The copyright for this film was not renewed resulting in many poor quality duplicates for sale.