Impulse (1954)

Alan Curtis has reached a point in his life where he's bored with the everyday, his job and wife no longer satisfy him, one night he comes to the aid of a beautiful young woman Lila, and makes a decision that transforms his life.I'm really surprised by the mainly mediocre reviews for this film, I personally really enjoyed it. It morphs from a melodrama with light comedy into a crime thriller, some really fine performances, Arthur Kennedy was wonderfully charismatic, and had a wonderful speaking voice. Jean St Clair was huge fun as the lusting next door neighbour.Constance Smith was undoubtedly the star of the show, such a beauty. It was an interesting character study, how a perfectly decent and sorted man could be dazzled seemingly to commit murder by a beautiful woman. If I have one major criticism it would have to be the ending, why on Earth did't Joy throw his packed suitcase at him.

IMPULSE is another typical British crime film, one that plays out in a very low key way and which features an imported American star in order to bring American audiences in. This time around it's a permanently stressed out Arthur Kennedy, playing a happily married man who decides to embark on a dalliance when his wife goes away for the weekend.His problems begin when he helps a stranded woman who turns out to be a femme fatale played by Constance Smith, whose real life was more torrid and tragic than any movie. Smith is excellent, by the way, and gives the best performance in the movie. Kennedy finds himself obsessed by her, but he doesn't know that she's involved with some ruthless criminals who think nothing of committing murder to get their way.Before long the film settles in the typical Tempean Films format, with a lone hero, the attractive women helping and hindering him, the thugs seeking to kill him, and the police always one step behind. It's rather undistinguished stuff that lacks a decent storyline to see it through and I was bored more often than not. Cyril Chamberlain's weary cop encapsulates the audience's mood on this one. Watch out for a youthful Kenneth Cope making his debut film appearance early on.I just wanted to correct one of the other reviewers on this sight: Charles de la Tour is not the pen name of Cy Endfield. He was a director in his own right who had children, one of whom is RISING DAMP actress Frances de la Tour. Something that would be rather impossible if he didn't actually exist!

Arthur Kennedy,the parachuted in American actor,is supposed to be an estate agent in rural Sussex.So you start on a rather fanciful note.Unhappily married,his wife prefers to visit mother rather than go to Paris.Kennedy manages to get involved with the nefarious activities of Smith and her convict brother.He gets into all sorts of scrapes,as estate agents are wont to do,even to the extent of bribing a ships captain to spirit him and Smith out of the country.Eventually caught by the police he confesses all including the supposed murder of the brother.Only it turns out he didn't murder her.Smith confesses and Kennedy is free to go home to understanding wife.Too long and too fanciful

First, this film was directed by the great Cy Endfield under his black listed name: Charles de La Tour, he used for a couple of other features. This film is a crime drama film about an ordinary happy married man who falls for a woman he picked up along a road on a rainy night, when the girl had problems with her car. Of course, the gal in question hid our lead that she had a boy friend, a petty jewel thief. That's when his problems begin. You can guess the following, but it's worth, especially when you know it's directed by the film maker who gave us ZULU some years later.A good gem.