A drifter is bailed out of jail by a lawyer, who hires him to impersonate a millionaire until the man can be declared legally dead and the estate settled. However, the man soon finds out tha... Read allA drifter is bailed out of jail by a lawyer, who hires him to impersonate a millionaire until the man can be declared legally dead and the estate settled. However, the man soon finds out that things are not exactly how they seem.A drifter is bailed out of jail by a lawyer, who hires him to impersonate a millionaire until the man can be declared legally dead and the estate settled. However, the man soon finds out that things are not exactly how they seem.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
Edgar Dearing
- Cop
- (uncredited)
Michael Mark
- Vagrant
- (uncredited)
Forbes Murray
- Bailiff
- (uncredited)
Edward Van Sloan
- Judge
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
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Featured reviews
Well, well, well....
Get out of that of you can. Kent Taylor (David) is at the bottom of a covered well at the film's beginning. We go to flashback to tell the story of how this has come to pass. The story develops gradually so that you are not given all the information as to what is really going on. We learn what is happening as our lead man Taylor discovers things. Lawyer Robert Douglas (Cagle) holds the strings as to what is really happening and reveals things when necessary. It is his plan to have Taylor turn up at an Estate and pretend to be the long-lost owner so that the Estate's money does not get passed on to any undesirable characters who currently live on the premises.
It's an entertaining film with a good cast and scenery that gives you a spooky vibe. It's well filmed and keeps you guessing at the mysterious relationships and who is colluding with who. It's a small cast with a special mention to Janis Paige (Nadine) as my favourite character who plays the not-so-dumb relative of Taylor.
One reviewer has focused on the cliff aspects of the film and makes a good contribution. A good cliffy location for this film to play out. An enjoyable film with a good technique for getting out of a well should you ever fall into one.
It's an entertaining film with a good cast and scenery that gives you a spooky vibe. It's well filmed and keeps you guessing at the mysterious relationships and who is colluding with who. It's a small cast with a special mention to Janis Paige (Nadine) as my favourite character who plays the not-so-dumb relative of Taylor.
One reviewer has focused on the cliff aspects of the film and makes a good contribution. A good cliffy location for this film to play out. An enjoyable film with a good technique for getting out of a well should you ever fall into one.
Viveca Lindfors Stunning beauty .
This Side of the Law is a thrilling ride of twists and turns in gorgeous Gothic settings. Kent Smith plays David Cummins, a bum arrested for vagrancy whose fine is paid by a stranger named Philip Cagle (Robert Douglas), an attorney who offers him a job to impersonate a missing millionaire named Malcolm Taylor whom Cummins resembles perfectly and for whose estate Cagle is executor. Despite not knowing Cagle's intentions, Cummins needs the money so takes the job, returning "home" to the man's clifftop estate to the shock of Taylor's wife, brother, and sister-in-law, who assumed him dead. We soon learn just how much hatred and deceit a household of merely four inhabitants can contain. The acting is mostly excellent, William Lava's score is eerily ahead of its time, especially during moments of heightened suspense, and Carl Guthrie's cinematography beautifully captures the atmosphere of the dramatic settings (cliff, beach, gazebo), especially since most scenes take place at night. Underseen and under-rated. 8/10
Viveca Lindfors Stunning beauty ......was a Swedish-born actress whose stage and screen career in the U. S. and Sweden spanned more than half a century. She was brought to Hollywood in 1946 by Warner Brothers in the hope that she would be a new Greta Garbo or Ingrid Bergman.
Viveca Lindfors Stunning beauty ......was a Swedish-born actress whose stage and screen career in the U. S. and Sweden spanned more than half a century. She was brought to Hollywood in 1946 by Warner Brothers in the hope that she would be a new Greta Garbo or Ingrid Bergman.
Really, really tough to believe...but enjoyable.
"This Side of the Law" is a noirish film with mostly unknown or second-tier actors...but it is quite enjoyable and worth your time. It's just that the plot is REALLY tough to believe...and you must suspend disbelief to get through it.
Kent Smith plays a drifter who is up on vagrancy charges. However, a lawyer plays his fine and offers him a proposition...pretend to be someone else for a few days and earn $5000! The difficult to believe things are that the drifter could look like the long-lost Malcolm AND that he'd ever agree to such a preposterous plan. Plus, it seems pretty clear who the villain is in all this. But, it IS interesting and is well acted. Smith, in particular, was a very good actor and despite being a minor leading man, he's very good here.
Overall, it's a neat film with noir elements (such as the narration, some of the camera work and the bleak nature of the story) and one that is very good but mostly unknown. Well worth seeing...and I found a copy of this on HBO Max.
By the way, Warner Brothers evidently had little confidence in the film, as after they completed it, it sat on a shelf for about 18 months...a sure sign they thought they'd wasted their money on this one.
Kent Smith plays a drifter who is up on vagrancy charges. However, a lawyer plays his fine and offers him a proposition...pretend to be someone else for a few days and earn $5000! The difficult to believe things are that the drifter could look like the long-lost Malcolm AND that he'd ever agree to such a preposterous plan. Plus, it seems pretty clear who the villain is in all this. But, it IS interesting and is well acted. Smith, in particular, was a very good actor and despite being a minor leading man, he's very good here.
Overall, it's a neat film with noir elements (such as the narration, some of the camera work and the bleak nature of the story) and one that is very good but mostly unknown. Well worth seeing...and I found a copy of this on HBO Max.
By the way, Warner Brothers evidently had little confidence in the film, as after they completed it, it sat on a shelf for about 18 months...a sure sign they thought they'd wasted their money on this one.
Solid Little Noir
A vagrant is bribed into impersonating a millionaire as part of an inheritance scheme. The trouble is he gets more than he bargained for.
I'm not sure why this little noir-- and it is a noir (hand of fate, a web of intrigue, a spider woman, & dark atmosphere)-- remains so obscure. This Warner Bros. entry may not be top-flight, but it is respectable. That opening scene with the pin-light on Cummins' (Smith) ravaged face is a grabber. Several other moody scenes emerge along the way, plus a neat plot twist, that makes this thriller an entertaining 70-minutes.
I'm guessing one reason for the film's obscurity is the cast, especially the lead, Kent Smith. He performs well enough. The trouble is he lacks screen presence, almost fading into the background at times. On the other hand, Lindfors and Paige split the women's time, such that neither is able to establish much presence of her own. John Alvin, however, comes across vividly in the thankless role of the weakling brother. Also, I'm surprised director Bare manages the dark material as well as he does, given that his previous career was exclusively with comedy shorts. (Note, for example, how Cummins has to work at getting a name off the ID bracelet—a good realistic touch.)
Nothing memorable here, just a solid little noir.
I'm not sure why this little noir-- and it is a noir (hand of fate, a web of intrigue, a spider woman, & dark atmosphere)-- remains so obscure. This Warner Bros. entry may not be top-flight, but it is respectable. That opening scene with the pin-light on Cummins' (Smith) ravaged face is a grabber. Several other moody scenes emerge along the way, plus a neat plot twist, that makes this thriller an entertaining 70-minutes.
I'm guessing one reason for the film's obscurity is the cast, especially the lead, Kent Smith. He performs well enough. The trouble is he lacks screen presence, almost fading into the background at times. On the other hand, Lindfors and Paige split the women's time, such that neither is able to establish much presence of her own. John Alvin, however, comes across vividly in the thankless role of the weakling brother. Also, I'm surprised director Bare manages the dark material as well as he does, given that his previous career was exclusively with comedy shorts. (Note, for example, how Cummins has to work at getting a name off the ID bracelet—a good realistic touch.)
Nothing memorable here, just a solid little noir.
Probably very little known, but solid, well done Film Noir...
I really liked this one. I wasn't steeped in dark, shadowy style like many of the Noir films of the time were. And, there aren't any real stylistic flourishes really.
However, being a lover of all Film Noir I must say that the story is a solid little Thriller, well written and acted by all concerned.
I'm not familiar with the director and I don't know if he did many films, but I felt he did an excellent job setting up the situation and then slowly and steadily building the suspense and tension as you begin to realize what is happening.
I'm also not familiar at all with the star, but he really did a great job and portrayed his character in a very believable and sympathetic way. The dialog was not forced or overly 'Noirish' at all, but very natural and fit well with the ongoing story.
So, although I usually prefer the more Dark, Moody, stylish Noirs of the period, I must say that this simple little story was very effective and quite entertaining.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My Particular Way of Rating:
5 - Flawed, but perhaps with some entertainment value.
6. A decently passable story maybe worth a watch.
7. A solid film, well made, effective, and entertaining.
And, obviously, you can probably figure out what above and below these would mean... : )
However, being a lover of all Film Noir I must say that the story is a solid little Thriller, well written and acted by all concerned.
I'm not familiar with the director and I don't know if he did many films, but I felt he did an excellent job setting up the situation and then slowly and steadily building the suspense and tension as you begin to realize what is happening.
I'm also not familiar at all with the star, but he really did a great job and portrayed his character in a very believable and sympathetic way. The dialog was not forced or overly 'Noirish' at all, but very natural and fit well with the ongoing story.
So, although I usually prefer the more Dark, Moody, stylish Noirs of the period, I must say that this simple little story was very effective and quite entertaining.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My Particular Way of Rating:
5 - Flawed, but perhaps with some entertainment value.
6. A decently passable story maybe worth a watch.
7. A solid film, well made, effective, and entertaining.
And, obviously, you can probably figure out what above and below these would mean... : )
Did you know
- TriviaProduced in October and November of 1948, but not released until June of 1950.
- GoofsPatience is a virtue - unless you killed a guy for his $3 million dollar fortune (worth $40 million in 2025) and are just waiting out the 7 years till the "missing man" can be declared legally dead. And then what...? Kill some more folks? As crooked lawyer Philip Cagle was going to have to, as no way *he* was the beneficiary of Malcolm's will, nor was anyone just going to endorse the inheritance check over to him with a "Thanks for thinking about Malcolm all these years! You're a pal. You can have it all!" Exactly what was his plan? In one more week the widow Evelyn would have gotten the money (as the seven years waiting period would have been up). She was not about to just hand the whole wad over. The spineless shrew of a brother (Calder) and his malicious wife (Nadine) were only going to get whatever crumbs either Malcolm or shystering Cagle would have left for them in Malcolm's will. What did Cagle need Nadine (who was having an affair with Malcolm, and never knew Cagle had murdered him) for? Why would he be splitting the take with her? And Cagle was going to have to kill off hired impostor Cummins (as if he was really a bad apple afterall he'd immediately blackmail Cagle to death, and if he was a good one he'd turn him in to the cops). So Cagle would have had to have killed Malcolm to get the ball rolling (and clock ticking), killed Evelyn to make sure she didn't get the money, killed Calder (so he didn't inherit it once both Malcolm and Evelyn were dead), then killed Calder's wife Nadine (since she'd've been next in line). That only would have left the dog standing. Maybe the whole thing seemed like a good idea when Cagle first dreamt it up, but realistically, it's just not very practical.
- Quotes
Philip Cagle: [encountering Cummins as he has just been released from jail for vagrancy] Better out here, isn't it?
David Cummins: You paid my fine.
Philip Cagle: You're abrupt, Mr. Cummins, but true.
David Cummins: Is there any reason I should thank you?
Philip Cagle: I talk better over a cup of coffee, how 'bout you?
David Cummins: That depends on what I have to talk about.
Philip Cagle: I paid fifty dollars to get you out here, the least you can do is let me tell you why I did it.
Philip Cagle: Fifty dollars for me? Inflation's here to stay.
[gets into the car]
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- El que no volvió
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- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime
- 1h 14m(74 min)
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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