''Backlash'' is a 1947 American

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

film noir directed by

Eugene Forde Eugene Forde (1898–1986) was an American film director. Selected filmography * ''Daredevil's Reward'' (1928) * '' Painted Post'' (1928) * '' Son of the Golden West'' (1928) * '' Charlie Chan's Courage'' (1934) * ''Charlie Chan in London'' (1 ...

. The drama features

Jean Rogers Jean Rogers (born Eleanor Dorothy Lovegren, March 25, 1916 – February 24, 1991) was an American actress who starred in serial films in the 1930s and low–budget feature films in the 1940s as a leading lady. She is best remembered for ...

Larry J. Blake Larry J. Blake (April 24, 1914 – May 25, 1982) was an American actor. Career A native of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York, he started his career in vaudeville as an impersonator, working his way to a headliner. After appearing at the Roxy Theatr ...

John Eldredge John Eldredge (born June 6, 1960 in Los Angeles) is an American author, counselor, and lecturer on Christianity. He is known for his best-selling book '' Wild at Heart''. Life and work Eldregde received his undergraduate degree in theater from ...

and

Richard Travis Richard Charles Travis, (born Dickson Cornelius Savage; 6 April 1884 – 25 July 1918) was a New Zealand soldier who fought during the First World War and was posthumously decorated with the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry ...

Plot

Los Angeles police detective Jerry McMullen (

) stops a car driven by lawyer John Morland (

) to tell him of client Red Bailey's ( Douglas Fowley) jail escape. Shortly thereafter, an armed Bailey flags down Morland's car, which police find wrecked, its driver's face beyond recognition. McMullen breaks the news to the lawyer's wife, Catherine (

), who identifies a ring on the body as her husband's. She soon becomes a suspect. Morland's law partner O'Neil (

Robert Shayne Robert Shayne (born Robert Shaen Dawe, October 4, 1900 – November 29, 1992) was an American actor whose career lasted for over 60 years. He was best known for portraying Inspector Bill Henderson in the American television series '' Adven ...

) believes that Catherine and district attorney Conroy (

) have been having a secret affair, while his doctor says Morland once swallowed poison that his wife tried to give him. Conroy is found at the Morlands' weekend getaway cabin, which is maintained by a caretaker named Willis ( Leonard Strong). The evidence of an affair grows until Catherine is arrested and Conroy resigns as DA. Bailey, meantime, resurfaces with Marian Gordon ( Louise Currie), a girlfriend. McMullen has a phone tapped and follows them. He learns that Bailey was hidden by Morland at the cabin, but then they had a fight and Bailey knocked him cold. Catherine is released. She finds O'Neil dead at the lodge. Her husband, Morland, is alive. He has been behind this all along, going so far as to fake being poisoned to frame his wife. The body in the car is the caretaker's. It is a diabolical plan, but McMullen's on the case.

Cast

as Catherine Morland *

as Richard Conroy *

as Det. Lt. Jerry McMullen *

as John Morland * Leonard Strong as Willis, the caretaker *

as James O'Neil * Louise Currie as Marian Gordon * Douglas Fowley as Red Bailey *

Sara Berner Sara Berner (born Lillian Ann Herdan; January 12, 1912 – December 19, 1969) was an American actress. Known for her expertise in dialect and characterization, she began her career as a performer in vaudeville before becoming a voice actress for r ...

as Dorothy, the maid *

Richard Benedict Richard "Pepe" Benedict (born Riccardo Benedetto, January 8, 1920 – April 25, 1984) was an Italian-American television and film actor and director. He was born in Palermo, Italy. He appeared in dozens of television programs and movies from ...

as Det. Sgt. Tom Carey * Wynne Larke as Patricia McMullen * Susan Klimist as McMullen girl * Billy Gray as Denny

Reception

When the film was released, ''The New York Times'' film critic Thomas M. Pryor panned the film, writing "When a movie company lets two of its feature pictures be sold first-run for the price of one, you can bet your last dollar that even the studio has little faith in the product. With that in mind, we can move on to a fast appraisal of ''Backlash'' and ''Jewels of Brandenburg,'' the twin bill sponsored by Twentieth Century-Fox and now showing at the Rialto. Both are melodramas and, to get the unpleasantness over with as quickly as possible, they are the type which reflect absolutely no credit upon anyone connected with them, except, possibly, the studio cutter, who pared them down to a little over sixty minutes each."Pryor, Thomas M.
''The New York Times'', film review, May 24, 1947. Last accessed: February 26, 2011.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Backlash (1947 Film) 1947 films 1940s thriller drama films 20th Century Fox films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films Film noir Films directed by Eugene Forde Films produced by Sol M. Wurtzel American thriller drama films 1947 drama films 1940s American films