The Man Who Cheated Himself (1950). Cast: Lee J.Cobb, Jane Wyatt and John Dall.
When well to do Lois Frazer, wants a divorce from her husband, he decides that he is not going to let her get away so easy. After her husband with packed bags leaves for a trip, Lois finds a receipt for the gun he just bought lying on the floor. She believes that her husband is coming back to kill her.
Crying she calls her lover Detective Cullen and asks him to rush over. While they are talking, her husband returns to the house and sneaks in through a back door. Lois shoots him twice at close range. Cullen, knowing that the husband had an airline ticket for that night (his planned alibi) dumps the body off at the airport.
What follows will keep you sitting at the edge of your seat. Cullen, finds himself in the dangerous position of being assigned a case in which he was a witness. In trying to control the investigation, Cullen also has to deal with his younger brother, a new detective, by his side every step of the way.
I thought Lee J. Cobb and John Dall gave wonderful performances in this "B" film noir thriller. It is also nice to see a 20 year-old Lisa Howard, in a supporting role as Dall's new wife. I also thought that Jane Wyatt gave a wonderful performance playing the femme fatale.
Click to view : The Man Who Cheated Himself.
John Dall, is best remembered for two film roles: Alfred Hitchcock's film, Rope and the 1950 noir, Gun Crazy. He first came to fame in the film, The Corn Is Green, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Excellent post, Dawn. This is one I haven't seen, and I really want to after reading your review. Lee J. Cobb is one of the greats to me, and I like anything with him in it. I also like John Dall whose career, though brief, was interesting. His first performance in The Corn Is Green did not show to me the type of role in which he excelled - the smarmy, super-intellectual with no conscience in Rope and the gunman in Gun Crazy. I wonder why he didn't work more? That would be interesting to know.
ReplyDeleteBec, Thank you. I think the reason John Dall, did not perform in many movies, was because he was primarily a stage actor. But that is just a guess.
ReplyDelete