Unlimitedia Sick Product of a Sick System

AutCuddly Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

Roman Sampson One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Asad Almond A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

dougdoepke RKO,1949, a peak year for noir, at least that's what I was expecting. But that turns out not to be the case. Instead, the production's more like TV's Father Knows Best, except this suburban dad (Lynn) has one foot in deep trouble. It's a clever, non-clichéd plot device. Dad's pulled into a suicide-to-look-like-murder insurance scheme because he needs money. In short, his job's not paying enough, plus he may be looking at unemployment. At his nice post-war home, there're two cute kids plus a loving Jane Wyatt type wife. In brief, he's living the life GI's fought for a few years earlier. And though he wavers, he can't let the American Dream slip away, even if it does involve a crime.At first, I missed what I thought was needed noirish atmospherics. But now I figure that would have been all wrong. Noir would have pulled in the metaphysics of fate, doom, et al. And that would have detracted from the middle-class morality tale that the film is really about. It's not fate that moves Sam; it's ordinary desires for a happy home, circa 1950. In short, it's the financial underside of 50's sit-coms, where family problems go beyond a late trash pick-up or a cranky neighbor. Plus, it's filmed in that same straightforward manner. Lynn's perfect as the low-key Dad; he's got "solid citizen" written all over him. Ditto Scott as wife and mom. And what a marvelously versatile actor Henry Morgan was. Here his limping detective commands respect despite the disability. Actually, I should have known something was up when Katherine Emery was cast as schemer Jarvis's (Gaines) wife. A favorite of horror-meister Val Lewton's, she was adept at the sinister.I could have done with a less pat ending, but them's the hazards of the Code enforced period. All in all, it's a smoothly done 70-minutes, perhaps too low-key for its own good. Still, the crime drama shrewdly humanizes a familiar 50's stereotype, and in an appealing way.

judy t Because it's only 68 minutes and has no Big stars or director, it's a B film, but it's better than many an A film that it shared billing with. The story, though lacking suspense, is engrossing, and Lynn, Scott, and Morgan are superb. The best part of the movie for me was seeing suburban family life in 1949. Lynn and Scott are happily married and have 2 happy children. Scott volunteers at church and Lynn says grace before meals. But their happy home is threatened because Lynn's salary is insufficient to support a wife and 2 school-age children. Scott tells Lynn to ask for a raise, after all, he's been with the company for 12 years (he didn't serve 4 years in WW2?) The option of Scott getting a job occurs to neither of them, but then, this was years before the feminist revolution.The script is excellent. Dialogue supports characterization so that we 'know' all of these people. I liked Lynn. He's a decent man, one who on the spur of the moment makes the wrong choice. His mistake in judgment ensnares him in a tightening web of trouble. I liked Scott, who exemplifies the perfect mate. I liked Morgan, who always gets his man, but who makes sure that he gets the right one. The ending is a surprise, though once revealed, seems obvious. I liked the director's touch at the finish of having Morgan's cane disarm the murderer just in the nick of time. In fact, I liked everything about this little B film.

Alex da Silva Richard Gaines (Jarvis) really sucks at running a company. Not only that but he has also blown his inheritance. Now he's feeling guilty and is prepared to kill himself in order to provide for his wife Katherine Emery (Mrs Jarvis) and his son. He hatches a plan to kill himself but it must look like murder if his family is to benefit from his life insurance, so he asks employee Jeffrey Lynn (Sam Wilson) to help him with his pre-planned actions. Lynn gets reluctantly caught up in the plan but is all as it seems? Harry Morgan (Lt Webb) arrives on the scene with his cane to sort things out.The best part of the film comes near the beginning as Jeffrey Lynn politely asks his boss Gaines for a pay rise and is promptly told that he is sacked. Wow. That was pretty harsh. But pretty funny. The story moves along at a good pace but it does, unfortunately, involve an annoying child in the form of Michael Chapin (Roddy), who demonstrates everything that is annoying about children - his language "Gee this" and "Gee that" and "Dad, you're a card" - aaaargh, shut up you brat. Martha Scott (Mrs Wilson) also has a peculiar character. She starts off as a homely mother who suddenly undergoes a character change to become a busy-body who wants to poke her nose and interfere in the lives of others that she doesn't know. It doesn't ring true and she definitely does not merit top billing in the film.Overall, there is enough of a story to keep you watching and it's quite enjoyable trying to work out who-dunnit.

RanchoTuVu A financially struggling family man (Jeffry Lynn) gets involuntarily involved in the apparent suicide of his boss (Richard Gaines), a failure as a business man, who has lost all of his inheritance, and whose accounting firm is rapidly going bankrupt. When his body is found in the library of his swank Beverly Hills mansion, it looks like a murder, which is what Gaines supposedly wanted, in order for his life insurance money to go to his social-climbing wife (Katherine Emory), whose performance is worth watching, and son. The strong point of the film is Lynn's character's anguish, now leading a double life of sorts as he has to keep everything a secret from his wife (Martha Scott) and two kids. His performance is not half bad, and makes watching the film worth the effort. Henry Morgan's part as a tough wounded WW2 vet and now a star LAPD detective who walks around with a cane is undermined by too many one-liners, although he and Lynn's son (Michael Chapin) make a few references to the gas chamber, letting us know what whoever does get caught will be facing.