Impact (1949)

A unfaithful wife plots with her lover to kill her husband, but the lover is accidentally killed instead. The husband stays in hiding, and lets his wife be charged with conspiracy.

Director:

Arthur Lubin

Writers:

Dorothy Davenport (screenplay) (as Dorothy Reid), Jay Dratler (screenplay)

Stars:

Brian Donlevy, Ella Raines, Charles Coburn

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brian Donlevy	...	Walter Williams
Ella Raines	...	Marsha Peters
Charles Coburn	...	Lt. Tom Quincy
Helen Walker	...	Irene Williams
Anna May Wong	...	Su Lin Chung
Robert Warwick	...	Capt. Callahan
Clarence Kolb	...	Darcy
Art Baker	...	Eldredge - Defense Attorney
William Wright	...	Prosecutor
Mae Marsh	...	Mrs. King (as Mrs. Peters)
Sheilah Graham	...	Sheila Graham
Tony Barrett	...	Jim Torrence
Philip Ahn	...	Ah Sing
Glen Vernon	...	Ed (as Glenn Vernon)
Linda Leighton	...	Miss Revere - Telephone Operator (as Linda Johnson)

Storyline

In San Francisco, the successful self-made businessman Walter Williams has just bought three factories in Denver with the approval of the board of directors. His beloved wife Irene tells him that she is not feeling well enough to travel with him, and asks Walter to give a lift to her cousin Jim Torrance. On the highway, Jim, who is actually Irene's lover, tries to kill Walter hitting his head and throwing him off a cliff, and has a fatal fiery accident while escaping driving Walter's car. Walter is believed to be the driver and later his wife is sent to jail accused of plotting his murder. Meanwhile, the wounded Walter falls asleep in a moving van and eventually winds up in Larkspur, a small town in Idaho. He is hired as a mechanic in a gas station by the owner, Marsha Peters. For three months, Walter reads the news, expecting revenge with Irene sentenced to death, and he and Marsha fall in love for each other. When Walter discloses the truth to Marsha, she convinces him to return to ...

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Plot Keywords:

van | idaho | death | moving van | mechanic | 

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Taglines:

Wanted By Two Women! One For Love! One For Murder!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 April 1949 (USA)

Also Known As:

Impacto

Filming Locations:

Brocklebank Apartments - 1000 Mason Street, San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$900,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Harry Popkin Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

May-December: Helen Walker and Ella Raines, who were born less than a month apart, were both 19 years younger than Brian Donlevy. Walker was only 4 years younger than Tony Barrett. In a case of life mirroring art, Donlevy though older than Barrett outlived him. Barret died in 1974 at age 58 from cancer, while Donlevy died in 1972 at age 71, from throat cancer. Walker also died from cancer at a young age, 47, in 1968. Raines lived to age 68, passing away in 1988. Like Donlevy, she died from throat cancer.

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Goofs

When Walter first meets Marsha working in the garage, she is wearing work shoes with coveralls. However, the foley sound of her walking is that of a woman in heels.

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Quotes

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

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Connections

Referenced in Anna May Wong, Frosted Yellow Willows: Her Life, Times and Legend (2007)

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Soundtracks

It Can't Be
Written by Leo C. Popkin and Chuck Gould

User Reviews

Great acting, great movie

A good example of a little known "film noir," this 1949 film was shot primarily on location in San Francisco.

There is good acting all around, from the main stars down to supporting cast, and the plot does tie together nicely.

Look for Mae Marsh, a silent film star who plays Ella Raines mother, and also look for a brief cameo appearance by syndicated columnist and radio personality Sheila Graham, playing herself of course.

Brian Donlevy, who made similar "noir" films, among them D.O.A., appears to be right at home in this film, and is wonderful in an understated way.

The film, at almost 2 hours in length was a bit long for the time, and might drag a bit, but is worth watching.

Anna Mae Wong plays the maid in this film, an old time character actress from the days of silent films, she has a small but all important role in the film, for she holds the key (literally) to how the whole movie ends. Listen for some degrading Chinese music when Ms. Wong is on the run.

Interesting note, Helen Walker who plays the scheming wife in the film, was involved in a major scandal of her own. On New Years Eve, 1946, she was driving home some hitchhiking soldiers near Redlands, California. Walker, apparently drunk at the wheel, got into a car accident in which one of the soldiers was killed and the other two badly injured. Though in the end exonerated of any guilt from the accident, it seemed to plague her for the rest of her life, and she slipped deeper and deeper into depression.