The Invisible Wall (1947) User Reviews (8)

Noir By The Numbers

[alonzoiii-1 · 5/10 · 5 December 2014]

Don Castle, one of those slightly decent people earning his money in a slightly shady racket, comes up against an INVISIBLE WALL keeping him from happiness and success because he can't conquer a gambling problem. Can ingénue Virginia Christine, with the slightly shady past and the prior unfortunate marriage, save him from the dark fate that awaits most noir heroes?

This one is one a watcher really would like to like better -- given the location shooting at the Flamingo in Las Vegas -- but this one really starts off dull and predictable -- and only starts dishing out the wacky plot twists in the second half. Some of the twists are good ones -- but the ones at the very end suggest the lesser Cornell Woolrich stories with happy endings. You just don't buy the elaborate way the movie gets its lead out of the mess he's in.

Leads are OK. Direction is straightforward. It's a decent B, no worse than many similar movies with better reputations. But, unless you want to see film of Bugsy Siegel's famous casino just after its opening, there is no reason to seek this one out.

A compulsive gambler uses other people's money

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 1 December 2021]

From 1947, the Invisible Wall is a B movie starring Don Castle, Virginia Christine, and Richard Gaines.

Don Castle plays Harry Lane, fresh from the service, who goes back to work for Marty Floyd (Edward Keane), a gambler. He has a job for Harry, but he warns him that this time, if he wants to gamble, he has to use his own money, and not payoff money. Harry promises he will stick to that, and is given $20,000 to deliver to a woman flying into Las Vegas shortly. I mean, why not give Dracula the keys to a blood bank while you're at it.

In Vegas, Harry meets Richard Ellsworth (Richard Gaines) who is gambling at roulette using a system. He keeps winning, and Harry joins him, winning as well. The next day, Harry starts losing. It's time for him to tap into the $20,000 - which he does.

At Ellsworth's house, Harry finds a telegram about a copper mine getting ready to strike and wants in on it. Ellsworth hesitates, but brings him in for $5,000.

Later on, an associate of his boss Floyd (Jeff Chandler) happens to be in Vegas and mentions that Ellsworth is a well-known con man. Desperate to get the $5,000 back. Ellsworth doesn't have it - he's sent it to himself via registered mail to a hotel in Colorado. During a fight with Harry, Ellsworth hits his head on brick and is dead.

Impersonating Ellsworth, Harry heads to Colorado. There he meets a woman, Mildred (Virginia Christine), an associate of Ellsworth's. When Harry talks to Ellsworth's partner on the phone, the partner knows he isn't talking to Ellsworth. Harry and Mildred wind up on the run.

The story is told in flashback by Harry himself as he sits in a police station.

There's a twist at the end, and it's not very believable.

Nothing special, but Virginia Christine was the Folger's coffee lady and did a lot of TV when we boomers were growing up. Don Castle was new to me - he apparently was contracted by a studio because of his resemblance to Clark Gable. Stardom eluded him, however, and he wound up producing for Jack Wrather of the "Lassie" TV show. He overdosed on pills at the age of 47, suffering from depression.

Could have been really good with a little more budget

[RickeyMooney · 6/10 · 24 September 2021]

Promising premise: Soldier Harry Lane (Don Castle) returns from WW II seeking his old job working for gangster Marty Floyd (Edward Keane). This disgruntles Floyd's lieutenant Al Conway (early Jeff Chandler), a plot theme that fizzles out. Floyd doesn't trust Lane because of the latter's gambling problem but rashly sends him to Las Vegas to make a $20,000 payout. Lane loses $5G at a casino and another $5G to a con man, then goes on the lam trying to recoup the dough and clear his name, on the way picking up a girl friend (Virginia Christine) as so often happens in such situations, at least in the movies.

The early scenes, shot on location in Las Vegas are of historical value, Bugsy Siegel's new Flamingo Hotel sitting all by itself in the middle of the desert in what's now some of the world's highest-priced real estate, looking as majestic as a mid-priced motel.

After that the film reverts to the low-budget B movie it was meant to be, reflected not only in the no-name cast and dull settings, but in a script full of implausible actions and people tracking other people down with no explanation of how or why.

Still an enjoyable little time killer. The cast all do a good job even if most are forgotten today and the plot's resolution is almost convincing. Just too bad the rest doesn't live up to the first twenty minutes or so.

Fairly interesting 'noir' thriller.

[youroldpaljim · 29 September 2001]

Harry Lane is picked up by police after being found carrying a gun inside the hotel room of a dead man. Questioned by the police, he gives police his confession and explains to them the long series of events that lead him to commit murder.

This obscurely titled thriller told in flashback, is vaguely similar to DETOUR; a man makes a foolish mistake, then tries to correct it, but his attempts only drag him deeper in to trouble. The films upbeat twist ending is a bit far fetched. Don Castle, who sporting a mustache, resembles a cross between Clark Gable and Tom Neal. Castle, like leading lady Virginia Christine (Folgers Coffee lady, THE MUMMY'S CURSE) and the rest of the cast are acceptable. Overall, INVISIBLE WALL is a fairly interesting one for the buffs.

Borderline noir

[Delrvich · 7/10 · 26 July 2020]

IMO, a noir is a dark tale of desperate character with a tragic ending and a moral. I gave it a 7 as it was good, but, it had a major flaw.

Was it murder, justifiable homicide or a simple act of protection?

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 23 August 2017]

Crooked business deals gone wrong can often lead to murder, and in the case of gambling addict Don Castle, it goes way wrong when he agrees to become involved in a supposedly sure fire investment. But his suspicions lead to the truth, a sudden splash of temper leads to the crooked business man dead, and a body is buried in the desert. To get his money back, he assumes the dead man's name, heads to Los Angeles to attempt to get his money back and finds himself involved with the mysterious Virginia Christine. First seen at his bedside brandishing a gun, she quickly disappears, and reemerges under the assumed name of the secretary of the man he intended to meet. The truth comes out, he ends up with a bump on his head thanks to the presence of more violence, and with the help of cheery Mary Gordon, gets a taste of what it's like to want a normal, peaceful life filled with roasts, pie and some of Mrs. Folger's coffee.

Yes, that's Virginia Christine, who for years represented the mountain grown aroma of Folgers as the possible femme fatale, here turning down the opportunity for breakfast but indicating that she'd be open for a cup of coffee. For us who remember those commercials, it's a nice surprise to see her as a movie leading lady, but then again, for those of us old enough to remember "The Wizard of Oz's" Margaret Hamilton advertising Maxwell House, nothing surprises us. She had a steady career from the 1940's on, and as details about her character comes out, the more interesting she becomes. But where there's a dead body and a missing husband and possibly bigamy, there's bound to be blackmail, and Castle and Christine become a victim to it while trying to set up a cozy little home.

This B film noir has some interesting moments, but it falls into the trap of an easy way out which twists around everything that the audience has witnessed for just over an hour. Like Truman Capote complained in "Murder By Death", they left clues which made it impossible for the viewer to guess "who done it" as well as bringing characters in the last minutes who were never in the story before. Jeff Chandler is instantly recognizable as one of the main thugs, a pretty violent one at that, complete with total dark hair unlike the gray he would be well known for throughout the 1950's. It's a nice try at a different style of storytelling, but the conclusion left me frustrated for its usage of ridiculous efforts to get its troubled characters out of their dead end situation.

Why Struggle When There's No Problem?

[boblipton · 4/10 · 19 September 2019]

Don Castle gets out of prison and goes back to work for boss gambler Edward Keane. He's sent to Las Vegas to pay off a high roller, but gets taken by a con man, kills the con man, imitates the con man and hooks up with the con man's widow, Virginia Christine. At that point, earlier plot lines are abandoned by fiat.

Eugene Forde's last movie is a ramshackle affair that has some nice performances, but little in the way of a plot that makes much sense. Jeff Chandler and Mary Gordon are in it, although they don't have any scenes together. It's one of those movies where the protagonists identify a problem, prepare to fight it, take a hearty swing at it, only to find there's is no problem. In the end, it's a bore.

A true masterpiece of film

[www1125 · 10/10 · 24 October 2019]

After watching THE, I went straight to this movie, and man I was not disappointed. This movie has a bit of a mix of everything you could want. Comedy, drama, horror, everything is perfect. I wont spoil anything regarding the title character, but wow! That's a force to be reckoned with. See this movie!