Cinema Revisited: Impact (1949)

The post-war era in American cinema was filled with dark mysteries that were later referred to as film noir, and that is how they continue to be defined. The popularity of this type of drama has caused film noir to represent its own genre. Some were done by major studios, others were produced independently, and still others came from the low budget units that specialized in B movies from the infamous Poverty Row.

Impact (1949) is an indie that was produced by Leo C. Popkin for release by United Artists. Popkin took a story from Jay Dratler, had him write it as a screenplay (along with Dorothy Davenport) and hired Arthur Lubin to direct. This is an interesting combination for a variety of reasons. Dratler was a noted writer of noir screenplays (often with a collaborator), and had already done films like Laura and Calling Northside 777. Dorothy Davenport began as a teenager in Nestor comedies during the silent era, and later married actor Wallace Reid. Billed as Mrs. Wallace Reid, Dorothy acted, produced, wrote, and directed, becoming among the most skilled, innovative female pioneers in American cinema. Davenport’s contribution to Dratler’s script was to punch up and tighten the dialog, a specialty of hers.

Arthur Lubin has become best known for the films he directed with Abbott and Costello and Francis The Talking Mule (he would later bring that idea to television with the hit series Mr. Ed). Lubin was a very prolific director who worked in several genres. He makes some impressive directorial choices with Impact, showing his experience-based wisdom.

Brian Donlevy plays Walter Williams, a businessman who is traveling to take care of a company acquisition, when he agrees to give his wife’s relative a ride. It turns out the man is actually his wife’s lover, and plans to get rid of Williams. However, he does no more than knock Williams out, and when he attempts to quickly speed away in the businessman’s car, he hits a petroleum truck head on and is burned beyond recognition. It is up to a detective (played by an oddly cast Charles Coburn) to unravel what happened, while a groggy Williams tries to make his way back home and make sense out of what happened.

Along with the aforementioned plot point, the mystery takes another turn when Williams returns home to confront his wife, along with a woman he met during his trek – a wholesome girl who runs a garage with her family. The wife, now realizing her lover is the one who was killed, tries to frame Williams for murder. The detective must further investigate an even more complicated set of circumstances.

Charles Coburn is a fine actor, but his imposing presence is noted for a commanding voice and manner. The role he is playing appears to call for a more glib, fast-talking presence. While he is miscast, he isn't a real distraction. Brian Donlevy has always been able to express a great deal of emotion with an economy of movement, and his measured approach to the central character of Williams paces the mystery effectively. Anna May Wong has a small-but-important part in her first film appearance in seven years. Helen Walker is at her best in the role of Walter’s wife, and Ella Raines is typically striking and effective as the mechanic.

Perhaps the only trifling quibble is that this B movie extends beyond the usual compact running time of an effective programmer. Impact goes on nearly two hours, and drags in the middle as the relationship between Williams and the mechanic woman slowly develops in a tranquil setting that offsets the tension of the suspense portion of the drama. It would have been decidedly more effective with an 84 minute running time, rather than 114 minutes. Of course, it can be argued that a good movie can be better savored longer than shorter. But in the case of Impact, some scenes tend to drag and the collective running time is a bit protracted.

Because Impact was independently produced and released through United Artists, it has slipped into the public domain and is readily available on DVD. Taut, suspenseful, well performed, and absorbing, Impact is among the better B-level indie film noirs of the post war era. In a story for Diabolique on Arthur Lubin’s work, writer Stepehn Vagg called Impact "a solid film noir with a decent cast and typically brisk handling; Lubin may not have been strong with horror, which depends heavily on mood, but with thrillers, which benefited from speed, he was fine."