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.

Although not Evident at the Time (1949) this has an Eerie Feel of a TV Sitcom in Bizarro Land. All the Trappings are there, Suburban Family of Four with Mom, Dad, One Boy, and One Girl. They Gather Round the Breakfast Table and Talk about what the Day has In Store. Mom Cooks and Dad Reads the Paper. It's All so Quiet and Reassuring. But Wait.This isn't a TV Sitcom, that would be in a Few Years, and this isn't Springfield. Because Dad's Assistant Accounting Job doesn't Pay Enough to Support this Nuclear Family, there is Financial Strife. Mom tells Dad to ask for a Raise. He does and then is Fired. Then Things Spiral out of Control with a Payoff to Dad for a Little Help Pulling off a Suicide by His Boss to Collect the Insurance for His Family. Enter Super-Cop, Ex-OSS Officer Harry Morgan who is a Police Chief with a Shattered Leg (what?) and He is not so Convinced it's Suicide. Uh Oh, Dad gets Nervous.This isn't a Bad Little B-Movie from RKO and is Well Acted with Enough Mystery to Keep it Going for just Over an Hour. Nothing too Special Except the Beneath the Surface Financial Struggle of the Post-War Suburban Family that by Most Accounts were Supposed to be in Boom Times. Or so We were Told. But Not if You Looked Closely at Film-Noir and Other Cutting Edge Truth Tellers. Bring on the 1950's and Everybody Don't Worry Be Happy, and if there be Any Doubt, Watch the Sitcoms.

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.

An interesting note about this movie: The TV Series "Murder, She Wrote" produced a "sequel" to it in a 1987 episode, "The Days Dwindle Down," (episode # 3.21). Several actors, including Harry Morgan, reprise their roles. Jessica Fletcher re-solves the original crime by interviewing several of the original characters some 30 years after the fact (actually closer to 40 years!). The episode makes nice use of scenes from the original movie as flashbacks to explain the plot. Imagine the surprise of watching a typical MSW episode about an old murder, and then a 34-year-old Harry Morgan suddenly pops up in B&W interviewing the same (though younger) witnesses about the same murder!