JohnHowardReid
Lesser known than you would expect, but still very much well worth a viewer's time (111 minutes to be exact), "Impact" (1949) comes across as a very clever cross between film noir and picturesque small-town romance, with the super-beautiful but murderous Helen Walker brilliantly holding up the noir end and super-slim but super- attractive Ella Raines playing the good girl. Caught in the middle we find Brian Donlevy who makes a surprisingly sympathetic fist of the besotted hero. Cleverly written by Dorothy Davenport and Jay Dratler and directed with a fair amount of tension and style by the usually competent (but little else) Arthur Lubin, "Impact" was obviously (and surprisingly for an indie effort) produced on an extremely large budget. (The 6/10 Alpha DVD has excellent visuals, but sound is badly out of sync for the opening reels).
Rainey Dawn
This film is fairly interesting and good. It surrounds the life of Walter Williams who is a married man - he was happy in his marriage but his wife Irene was not. Irene had a lover named Jim Torrence, together they plotted to kill her husband and make it look like a car accident while on his business trip. Things changed when Jim thought he had killed Walter and took off in Walter's car only to end up in a car wreck. Walter awoke and ended up in the back of a truck that was on the scene of the car wreck. Walter got off the truck when it stopped and found himself in a small town, read the headlines that he has been killed in the car wreck and decided to take a new life in that small town. The police are after Jim Torrence, who they think is still alive and Walter's wife Irene.This one makes for a good prime time film or just a lazy afternoon flick if you are looking for a crime mystery to watch.7.5/10
DKosty123
Ella Raines is a very good actress who did not get a lot of breaks in her career. She has talent, but it seems that she never really caught the shooting star type of role. This one gets close to it.There is a very good cast here with Donlevy and Coburn. The story is solid. The script is good and Arthur Lubin is here directing. The film noir here is solid. The story is by Jay Dratler .who wrote Laura among some other popular stories on film.It turn out this one is a good movie. It still does not make her a star, but it is a pretty good entry on her resume which has some other good films.The plot twists are enough to keep the viewer on the edge of their seat as in many a film noir, things do not go the way they are supposed too.
wes-connors
After scoring big points with his board of directors, wealthy San Francisco businessman Brian Donlevy (as Walter "Walt" Williams) plans a romantic vacation with his beautiful, well-dressed wife Helen Walker (as Irene). Unbeknownst to Mr. Donlevy, Ms. Walker has scored a big point of her own, low-life lover Tony Barrett (as James "Jim" Torrence). They've got deadly plans for Donlevy, but things don't always go according to plan. Donlevy finds female companionship with 25-year-old Mobile service station operator Ella Raines (as Marsha Peters) while "smart cookie" lieutenant Charles Coburn (as Tom Quincy) investigates...The Popkin brothers (Harry and Leo) were great at bringing suspenseful dramas to the screen; in this case, a story by Jay Dratler. This time they should have met with director Arthur Lubin to iron out some details in an otherwise fun film. We get several interesting twists and turns, but are almost derailed, due to some plot problems. There are a couple of implausible events worth mentioning. Just for starters, a character attempts to "murder" another by simply hitting him on the head; obviously, the "victim" was not dead. Also, a "victim" jumps into the back of a parked moving van instead of going up to the driver and asking for help...From the opening "board of directors" meeting to seeing Robert Warwick as a police captain, "Impact" employs several former "silent" screen players. That's not unusual, but there are a few in prominent roles. The chic maid is Anna May Wong, memorable as a sexy young Asian woman in 1920s melodramas. She participates in one of the better story sequences, a chase (photographed by Ernest Laszlo) from Jason Robards' courtroom to her apartment. The landlady who discovers Donlevy's secret is Mae Marsh, one of D.W. Griffith's most acclaimed actresses. Of the four top-billed stars, Walker gets the best out of her role.****** Impact (3/19/49) Arthur Lubin ~ Brian Donlevy, Helen Walker, Ella Raines, Charles Coburn
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