THIS SIDE OF THE LAW - 1950 This one has it all, greed, cross and double-cross, twists, turns, a cliff-side mansion and a couple of murders.
Kent Smith plays a down on his luck drifter who hits town and is grabbed up by the local police. He is given 30 days or 30 dollars on a vagrancy charge. Smith figures 30 days worth of free grub and a roof over his head is pretty good. But before he hits the cells, he is bailed out.
Meeting him at the jail-house doors is lawyer Robert Douglas. Douglas gives Smith a ride to his office in order to discuss a business arrangement. Douglas offers Smith 500 dollars for a small favour. "And what kind of favour costs 500 bucks?" Asks Smith. Douglas shows Smith a photo of a well-dressed man who looks just like Smith. "I represent this man, Mal Taylor's 3 million dollar estate.
He has been missing for 7 years and is about to be declared legally dead. I do not want that to happen." Says Douglas. Douglas explains that he thinks one of three people might have killed Taylor. He believes that the wife, Viveca Lindfors, his brother, John Alvin, or the sister in-law, Janis Paige, might have done the deed.
Douglas wants Smith to "reappear" and see what reactions result. Smith agrees but demands $5,000 for the work. Douglas gives him an evil look but agrees. Douglas spends the next two days filling Smith in on Taylor's habits etc. Taylor it seems was a womanizing cad who treated everyone like dirt. Lindfors was on the verge of divorcing Taylor when he disappeared.
Smith does his Taylor bit and the family is needless to say rattled. Lindfors tells him he is an ass while brother Alvin obliviously hates him. He spends the next few days snooping for Douglas and of course falling in love with Lindfors. Smith quickly finds out the reason for the brotherly hate feast.
It seems Taylor had been stepping out with dear sister in-law Paige. Paige puts the moves on Smith and quickly realizes he is a phony. She figures he is a con man after the fortune and offers to keep quiet for a price. Smith calls Douglas to tell him Paige has tumbled to the act. Douglas tells him to play along with Paige.
Now we find out that Paige is also doing the horizontal cha-cha with Douglas. It looks like Douglas is the one making a play for the estate. Douglas now figures Paige is doing an end run for a slice of her own. Douglas dashes out to the mansion and confronts Paige about Smith. This little talk ends with Paige being dropped off the handy cliff edge.
Now the ball is really rolling as the body is discovered the next day and the local law called. They conclude that she stumbled and fell. Alvin however accuses Smith of pushing her off. The cops put Alvin's rant down to grief and call Paige's death an accident.
Douglas tells Smith his job is over except for one more item. He has Smith forge Taylor's name to a document signing over the estate to Lindfors. Douglas and Smith head off to town. They are not 100 yards down the road when Douglas gives Smith the butt end of a pistol. He then hauls Smith out into the woods and dumps him down an old well.
Douglas now speeds back to the mansion. There, he tells Alvin he believes it was really Lindfors who killed Paige. Alvin decides he will get his revenge and drop Lindfors over the same cliff. He asks Lindfors to come out for a "walk". As soon as they leave Douglas calls the police. He tells them he is convinced Alvin has gone mad and is going to kill Lindfors. If Alvin kills Lindfors, then is locked away, Douglas, as the family lawyer, will have complete control of the estate.
While all this is going on, Smith, though somewhat worse for wear, has survived the thirty-foot drop. He finds the remains of the real Taylor, and quickly realizes he has been played for a world-class chump. At the cost of some broken nails and the like, he manages to clamber his way out of the well. Just as he reaches the top, he hears Lindfors screaming. Smith does the old hundred-yard dash in record time and drops Alvin with a few solid punches.
Smith takes Lindfors back to the mansion where a less than amused Douglas is waiting. He pulls a gun and starts blasting. The police now show and the chase is on. Douglas makes a run through the woods where needless to say he tumbles into the same hole Smith had just exited. A broken neck puts an end to Douglas and his plans. Smith comes clean with Lindfors and the two embrace. She prefers Smith anyway.
Smith was in CAT PEOPLE, THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE, NORA PRENTICE, THE DAMNED DON'T CRY. Lindfors walked the dark side in BACKFIRE, DARK CITY and THE HALLIDAY BRAND. Douglas was in HOMICIDE, SPY HUNT, FLIGHT TO TANGIER. Alvin had bits in ILLEGAL, THE NAKED ALIBI, DIAL 1119, HIGHWAY 301, OPEN SECRET and THE BREAKING POINT.
The director was Richard L. Bare. His work includes SMART GIRLS DON'T TALK, and FLAXY MARTIN. The d of p was Carl Guthrie. THE BIG PUNCH, FLAXY MARTIN, BACKFIRE, CAGED, IRON MAN, THE TATTERED DRESS, DEATH IN SMALL DOSES, Hollywood STORY, UNDERCOVER GIRL, HIGHWAY 301, STORM WARNING. Story was by Richard Sale who was involved in LADY AT MIDNIGHT, THE INSIDE STORY and SUDDENLY. This film was made in 1948 but not released till 1950. (b/w)
