This Side of the Law

Moviecut—This Side of the Law

source: This Side of the Law

This Side of the Law

. . . One Per Centers, like "M. Taylor" or Don Juan Crump, ought to meet their ends in deep pits, along with their greedy, grasping germ-like lawyers such as "Phil C." or Rudy G., the prophetic prognosticators of America's always eponymous Warner Bros. Warn viewers with THIS SIDE OF THE LAW. The Warner seers outline the necessity to fill up our Grand Canyon at least halfway to its brim with these money misers, resource hoarders, malingering miscreants and mob mouthpieces. LAW alerts us to the water pollution hazard of simply shoving every Accumulator of Ill-Gotten Wealth off a cliff into an ocean. Plastic particles are bad enough, but suffering a deluge of these sulfurous Devil's Disciples would surely turn the stomach of any passing shark!

The movie opens with the lead at the bottom of a well. David Cummins gets arrested for vagrancy and fined $50. Philip Cagle pays the fine and wants a favor in return. Philip is a lawyer who needs David to pretend to be his doppelganger millionaire Malcolm Taylor. This is a fair noir film. I do wonder how David fits so easier into their world. A bit of uncomfortable misunderstandings would be more compelling. That's why the dog is the best. He should carry some doggie treats. The other issue is that David should automatically distrust Philip. It would be even more compelling if David tries to double-cross Philip. I'm saying that there should be more double-crossing.

The writer started with a good idea, came up with an ending and packed it with some filler. This couldn't pass as a 70s or 80s made for TV movie. No wonder they held onto it for two years before they released it.

This Side Of the Law is a rather fun thriller from the early fifties and concerns a man hired to impersonate someone else, a greedy family and other unwholesome things. The cast is decidedly of the second-string variety; however that doesn't make it bad. Kent Smith and Viveca Lindfors were both talented performers and play their starring roles well. It's particularly nice to see Smith in a leading role for a change, as he was a decent actor who never quite made the cut in Hollywood. Character actor John Alvin does nicely in a showy supporting part. I wouldn't quite call the movie film noir, though it's close. It plays somewhat like an episode of the Perry Mason TV series, as it's full of similar plot twists and surprises. If one likes dark mysteries this is a good one to look for.