This Side Of The Law (1950)

David Cummins (Kent Smith) is a down-on-his-luck hobo who's picked up for vagrancy. At his court appearance, lawyer Philip Cagle (Robert Douglas) notices that Cummins is a dead-ringer for his client, millionaire Malcolm Taylor, who's been missing for almost 7 years. Cagle has a proposition for Cummins: to impersonate Taylor for 2 weeks. Taylor's about to be declared legally dead, and Cagle wants to prevent that from happening. Cagle wants Cummins to find out what happened to Taylor, and for that Taylor cannot be dead. So Cummins heads to the Taylor estate where his wife Evelyn (Viveca Lindfors) lives with his brother Calder (John Alvin) and his wife Nadine (Janis Paige)... Cummins soon finds out they're not all that happy to see him return for various reasons, and he also has problems maintaining his cover. But before he's able to find out the truth about Taylor, there's a murder, and Cummins ends up at the bottom of a cistern, realizing he's been a patsy in someone else's plan to get Taylor's fortune...

The movie starts with Cummins stuck inside the cistern as he narrates how he got there... It's a simple but very effective way to draw in the viewer, as there is an element of mystery and intrigue to it. Using this sort of flashback story-telling was used quite regularly in the 40s, and I for one am really into it when it's done well, as it is here. Truth be told, part of the mystery is gone pretty quickly, as it is clear from very early on who's the villain (or villainess). But that still leaves the question as to what happened to Malcolm Taylor.

Kent Smith ('The Damned Don't Cry', 'Cat People') isn't a well-remembered name these days, and he wasn't an A-list leading man at the time. He was a reliable actor who had enough charisma and talent to carry a movie, but for whatever reason, he never quite broke through. He's good here, and carries the movie with ease. But it is Swedish-born Viveca Lindfors ('Dark City') who is top-billed, despite her role being somewhat limited. She's great here tho, as the conflicted widow who suddenly gets her husband back, but he's a completely different man from the selfish and cold-hearted man she used to know.

It's a bit surprising Janis Paige wasn't cast as a femme fatale before or after, she's great as the gold-digging wife of the cowardly Calder who also had an affair with Malcolm Taylor. It should come as no surprise that she's the one to discover Cummins is an impersonator, and that she tries to use it to her advantage...

There's also a lot to like here visually, also thanks to the movie's setting. A big mansion near a cliff, a man stuck inside a cistern, a lethargic 'widow'... At times the movie has a gothic noir feel to it, mixed in with a bit of 'Rebecca'... Director Richard L. Bare and cinematographer Carl E. Guthrie worked together many times, including on the noir 'Flaxy Martin' as well as several Joe McDoakes shorts and it shows. Their work is more than solid, they're able to effectively create some highly atmospheric scenes. The story might not be too surprising in who's the real villain(ess), but it's well-written and there are no real filler scenes or story lines either... So to me, this movie ticked a lot of boxes, and I had a great time with it. Recommended!

8-/10