Backlash (1947)

Love's Violent Recoil!


I caught this movie on demand while doing some other work. It certainly wasn't the best of Noirs, but it had some entertainment value. Basically, a criminal lawyer gets murdered and they start trying to figure out whodunnit. There was a really sweet twist at the end that, in turn, made Backlash worth watching - once.


Little known cast but a local connection for me!

I guess the main star in this movie was Jean Rogers.  I didn't really recognize her, but when I looked her up, she had been in a lot of productions including John Wayne and Charlie Chan movies, and was a lead in the 1936 Flash Gordon series.  But there was also a little local connection as the maid was played by an actress who grew up in Albany - Sara Berner.  


Two opposing views

Laura's Miscellaneous Musings seemed to somewhat enjoy Backlash - “The interplay between the detectives is fun, and the many plot twists and turns in a little over an hour keep things interesting. (And a sequence involving poison and a cat gets downright nutty.) All in all in was a fun hour.” 

On the other hand...“(T)o get the unpleasantness over with as quickly as possible, (Backlash) is the type (of movie) which reflects absolutely no credit upon anyone connected with it, except, possibly, the studio cutter, who pared it down to a little over sixty minutes.” - TMP at the New York Times May 24, 1947

I think I lean more to Laura's view.  Not the height of cinema, and not the best Film Noir, but a fun watch.  Thankfully it was relatively short, coming in at a merciful 66 minutes!


John Morland: Murder, my friend, is like a game of solitaire. To be sure of winning it, it should be played alone.

RATED:  Okay 

WATCH IT AGAIN:  Nah

DO I WANT TO OWN IT?:  No

Thanks for stopping by - see ya at the movies!

Post a Comment

0 Comments