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Impulse (1954 film)
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Wikipedia article
'Impulse' is a 1954 British film noir directed by Cy Endfield and starring Arthur Kennedy, Constance Smith and Joy Shelton.Geoff Mayer and Brian McDonnell. 'Encyclopedia of Film Noir', 2007. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. . It was shot at the Walton Studios near London with sets designed by the art director Wilfred Arnold.
Plot
Alan Curtis (Kennedy), an American estate agent living in England, is dissatisfied with his humdrum life. With his wife Elizabeth (Shelton) on a short break visiting her mother, he gives a lift to sultry nightclub singer Lila (Smith) when he finds her stranded on the road at night. Curtis becomes romantically involved with her and Lila tells him that her brother is in trouble over a jewel robbery.
In reality Lila wants the stolen stones for herself. She tricks the wayward Curtis into believing that he killed a man so that he buys them two tickets out of the country. He decides that it is better to face the music, opting to stay and confess. Lila, too, reconsiders, staying with Curtis until his name is cleared. After the true killers are revealed, Lila goes to jail as a participant in the robbery and Curtis returns to his wife, who forgives him.
Cast
* Arthur Kennedy as Alan Curtis
* Constance Smith as Lila
* Joy Shelton as Elizabeth Curtis
* Jack Allen as Freddie
* James Carney as Jack Forrester
* Cyril Chamberlain as Gray
* Cameron Hall as Joe
* Bruce Beeby as Harry Winters
* Charles Lamb as Palmer
* Sam Kydd as Ticket Inspector
* Kenneth Cope as Hotel Desk Clerk
* Michael Balfour as Sailor
* John Horsley as Police Officer
* Peter Swanwick as Ship's Captain
* Victor Harrington as Nightclub Patron
* Guy Standeven as Nightclub Patron
* Jean St. Clair as Curtis' Next-Door Neighbor
Critical reception
The film historians Steve Chibnall and Brian McFarlane praised Kennedy's performance and said of 'Impulse': "This detailed and un-showy study of a man tempted away from a comfortable but dull rut is one of the subtlest to be found in the 'B' film ranks."Steve Chibnall & Brian McFarlane, 'The British 'B' Film', Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2009, p. 181.
References
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