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.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.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.
Glen Vernon
- Ed
- (as Glenn Vernon)
Linda Leighton
- Telephone Operator
- (as Linda Johnson)
Jason Robards Sr.
- Judge
- (as Jason Robards)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe building that served as the exterior of Sue Lin's apartment is 834 Washington St., San Francisco, CA. It still stands as of this writing (04/2019) almost completely intact. There is a business on the ground floor, but the three floors above it remain, and nearly all the adornments remain. (It can be viewed on Google maps, street view.)
- GoofsThe end credits list the name of the character played by Mae Marsh as "Mrs. Peters"; Marsh played the mother of the gas station owner. The only time the mother's name is mentioned in the film is when Walter Williams first comes to the house for supper, and he calls her "Mrs. King". Marsha Peters (the gas station owner) and her mother would not have had the same last name, since Marsha explains when she first meets Walter that her husband was killed in World War II.
When this movie was made, and in the small town where this character lived, a woman would not have kept her maiden name when marrying or returned to it after being widowed. She would have remained Mrs. Peters unless she remarried.
- Quotes
Lt. Tom Quincy: Are you Ah Sing? Understand? You understandee English?
Ah Sing: [nodding and speaking in perfect English] Also French, Italian, and Hebrew.
- ConnectionsEdited into The Green Fog (2017)
Featured review
I imagine there will be many who dispute the characterization of "Impact" as film noir, and I can't blame them. It's not photographed in typical noir fashion, to be sure, but its themes are definitely in the noir neighborhood. There is a stark contrast between the murderous doings in San Francisco (and on the road), and the pastoral joys of Larkspur, Idaho--a contrast that is emphasized by the score, which favors harp and flute for Larkspur and dramatic strings, or even complete silence, for the rest of the film.
Brian Donlevy turns in a solid performance as the loving husband and successful industrialist who discovers his beloved wife is scheming with a lover to kill him; the scene where he breaks down after realizing this is more than solid, and reveals a depth of emotional understanding that Donlevy rarely showed, or at least got the chance to show. Helen Walker is just tremendous as the scheming wife, whose lightning-fast wit helps her transfer the murder rap from herself to her husband, despite her surprise at his being alive at all.
Charles Coburn slips in and out of an Irish brogue as the detective who suspects Walker and supports Donlevy, even at the expense of undercutting the D.A.'s case. Anna May Wong has a small role that emphasizes how the years have worn on her since her beautiful turn in "Shanghai Express." Philip Ahn has an even smaller role as Wong's uncle, who responds to Coburn's condescending query, "You savvy English?" with an urbane "Yes. Also French, Italian, and Hebrew" (reminiscent of his character years earlier in "Something to Sing About").
The plot gets a little convoluted, and the triumphant ending may seem like a bit of an anticlimax, but "Impact" should still be better known than it is.
Brian Donlevy turns in a solid performance as the loving husband and successful industrialist who discovers his beloved wife is scheming with a lover to kill him; the scene where he breaks down after realizing this is more than solid, and reveals a depth of emotional understanding that Donlevy rarely showed, or at least got the chance to show. Helen Walker is just tremendous as the scheming wife, whose lightning-fast wit helps her transfer the murder rap from herself to her husband, despite her surprise at his being alive at all.
Charles Coburn slips in and out of an Irish brogue as the detective who suspects Walker and supports Donlevy, even at the expense of undercutting the D.A.'s case. Anna May Wong has a small role that emphasizes how the years have worn on her since her beautiful turn in "Shanghai Express." Philip Ahn has an even smaller role as Wong's uncle, who responds to Coburn's condescending query, "You savvy English?" with an urbane "Yes. Also French, Italian, and Hebrew" (reminiscent of his character years earlier in "Something to Sing About").
The plot gets a little convoluted, and the triumphant ending may seem like a bit of an anticlimax, but "Impact" should still be better known than it is.
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $900,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 51 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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