Click on the headline to link to a Wikipedia entry for the film noir Impact.
DVD Review
Impact, starring Brian Donlevy, Helen Walker, Charles Coburn, Ella Raines, United Artists, 1949
I am on record, maybe not a swear on the bible take it to court under oath type record but on record, as being very much enthralled by (from a safe cinematic distance ) the bad femme fatales of film noir. I have spent no little ink mooning over Jane Greer in Out Of The Past as she off-handedly shots a bullet or six in any stray guy like Robert Mitchum who thinks maybe he can help her or glamorous Rita Hayworth as she frames, frames big time, one Orson Welles in The Lady From Shang-hai just because his was a little smitten with her after smelling that come hither fragrance. Yah, these guys had it coming because they went with their eyes open, took their chances and took the fall, took the fall big time. But what about a guy, a regular nine to five guy, a soft guy with eyes closed who gets waylaid by his femme wife. Well, said femme may just enter into the pantheon with Ms. Greer and Ms. Hayworth as Helen Walker does in this film noir Impact. While the story line is not nearly as riveting as the two films mentioned above low down Irene (Ms. Walker) saves the day.
Here is the beauty of this little noir. Walter (played by Brian Donlevy) a regular love-infected hard working executive ready to move might and main to keep his bosses happy and the nation productive is totally clueless that his wife, Irene, is two-timing him with some callow young guy, Jim. Moreover she has hatched a plan to cut Walter lose. Her lover-boy, if he is up to it is going to take down poor Walter and they will then go off into the sunset and spend Walter’s hard earned dough until she gets tired of him. Yah dames like Irene tire easily so watch your back if you happen to run across such a femme. As it turns out Jim is not up to the job or at least at up to having enough sense to keep his wits about him when he is doing murder. He leaves Walter for dead but in his rush has a rather nasty head on collision with a gas truck. So long Jim it probably wouldn’t have worked out with Irene any way.
But this is where our Irene really takes off. Naturally under the circumstances Walter, who was left for dead in some rotten ravine by the late unlamented Jim, starts to put two and two together to figure out that faithless Irene maybe doesn’t love him and if he heads back to hometown ‘Frisco he is liable to take another tumble from some new Jim before long. So he blows town, blows his whole upward mobile history and winds up in Podunk Idaho as a grease monkey where the air is pure, people are straight and off-hand war widow, Marsha (played by Ella Raines) is pining away to put some life back into our poor Walter Mitty.
Meanwhile back in ‘Frisco Irene is in some trouble, some jail trouble, since one very pesky police detective, played by Charles Coburn, has put two and two together and found that it comes out murder, the murder of her “undead husband. Here is where we get back to the beautiful part again though. Ms. Goody out in Podunk, after finding out who Walter really is, naturally makes him go back to face the music. And just as naturally old wifey Irene when he shows up undead starts to frame old regular guy Walter for her late boyfriend’ untimely demise.
And that is all that needs to be said. Sure Walter is going to beat the rap but isn’t it something that femme Irene, without batting an eye, is ready to send hubby to the chair to revenge her late lover. One of the great femme noir twists. Yes, Helen step right up with Jane and Rita they are waiting with open arms. This is one bad femme but I sure hope she beats that attempted murder rap they are going to hang on her.
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