Sunday, April 01, 2007
The Man Who Cheated Himself (1950)

Posted by Raven

One more trip down the bumpy “cop gone bad” road is traveled in The Man Who Cheated Himself. In this installment the cop in question is played by the wonderful Lee J. Cobb. Cobb who’s best remembered as the guff, bass voiced, second fiddle in a number of dramas, gave stunning performances in Thieves' Highway, 12 Angry Men and On the Waterfront. In TMWCH he’s cast as Police Lt. Ed Cullen a rock hard defender of the public and the romantic lead. Being able to keep his head above the waves in such unfamiliar waters and able to carry it off is testament to his skills as an actor.


click to play clip from the movie

Unfortunately the same can not be said of the female lead. Completely miscast as the object of Ed’s desire is Jane Wyatt. No perfect housewife Margaret Anderson is Ms Wyatt in her role as the femme fatale, Lois Frazer. Her performance can politely be called “over the top.” Some have referred to her performance as the worst ever by a femme fatale. If not, it ranks right up there with Jayne Meadows in Lady in the Lake. Maybe “Janes” just weren’t cut out to play femme fatales although one Jane Greer did alright as I recall. Perhaps in this case the same casting director who cast Mickey Rooney as the upstairs Japanese neighbor in Breakfast at Tiffany’s was also responsible for Ms Wyatt’s role in TMWCH?

Ms Wyatt aside, the second male is handled nicely by John Dall who plays Ed’s kid brother Andy Cullen. It just so happens Andy is also a cop and has only recently been promoted from walking a beat to Detective under the supervision of big brother Ed. But being brothers and sharing an apartment is where the similarities end as it bears noting Andy is soon to be married while Ed is known as a long time bachelor and skirt chaser.

Early into the film its shared that Ed and Lois are secretly involved via a phone call observed but not over heard by Andy. When he questions his big brother if “she’s the one?” Ed’s reply pretty much sums up the remainder of the picture, “This one’s good for me. She’s no good, but that the way it is.”

The story itself concerns the rich, horribly dressed, twice married and soon to be twice divorced Lois Frazer. Just how she came into her money, who is the girl’s dress maker and the circumstances for her falling for frumpy Ed, is never revealed. In the world of B noir such details are rarely afforded the opportunity to be fully explored due to budgetary and production time considerations. At the outset Lois’s husband is in the process of packing up and leaving for greener pastures. Why, again is a mystery left unshared? His life is filled we’re told of nothing other than playing polo, partying and little else. We’re lead to believe his parting from Lois will leave him destitute. To combat this fate we’re again lead to believe he’s plotting to bump Lois off before she can make the needed changes to her will. None of these plots are ever fully developed and is up to the viewer to surmise (see above regarding B noir).

As fate would have it on the night of the supposed bumping off, Ed and Lois are at her place about to do what comes naturally when hubby comes in though a previously “jimmied” balcony door. Lois having just recently discovered hubby’s newly purchased revolver and convinced he bought it to murder her ends up “accidentally” pumping two slugs at close range into his chest. His lifeless body drops to the floor in front of Ed and the bulk of the film is put into motion. So what’s Ed to do? Call the cops, or somehow clean up this mess for Lois in the hopes everything will work out for the best? We of course know what path he’ll go down ever before he mutters the line “the truth can get you twenty years.”

The remainder of the film is the cat and mouse game played between Ed and Andy against a backdrop of 1950’s San Francisco. Little brother suspects something’s out of kilter and being new to the job, won’t even take off time for his honeymoon. While more could be done with locale shooting, some nice shots of landmarks such as The Golden Gate Bridge, Coit Tower, and Fishermen’s Wharf are incorporated. The best locale is saved for last in extensive use of Fort Point located directly below the Golden Gate Bridge on the San Francisco side of the bay. The Fort was built during the Civil War to protect the entrance to the harbor. It served this same purpose through WWII. It’s a fitting location for the end of the chase as both it and Ed have become only caricatures of what they once were, guardians to the people of San Francisco. The decay within now only allows them to project crumbling image of what once was upstanding in their commitments as public servants and protectors.

The films conclusion takes place in the hallways of justice where Ed is being lead to his day in court by Andy and another cop. Upon stopping momentarily for a drink of water and to light a cigarette, Lois appears with her attorney in tow and not an officer of the law in sight. She stops and asks Ed one more to light her cigarette, something she did affectionately several times during their more romantic times together. That’s about as close to “thanks for taking the fall” as she’ll allow herself as Ed can only watch her glide away.

While not one of his best, director Felix Feist keeps this one moving along bristly. His other credits in the noir canon being; The Devil Thumbs a Ride, The Threat, Tomorrow is Another Day, and The Basketball Fix. Passing at only fifty-five the last ten years of his life were spent working on the small screen doing everything from Sea Hunt to The Outer Limits.

Cinematography was handled by six time Oscar nominated Russell Harlan who spent the first thirteen years behind the camera shooting westerns. When he made the move to noir he did it in big way, for on his resume in addition to TMWCH is; Gun Crazy, Guilty Bystander, Southside 1-1000, and the noirish Thing from Another World and Blackboard Jungle.

This outstanding crew also had the editing talents of Oscar nominated David Weisbart who did You Can't Escape Forever, Conflict, Mildred Pierce, and Dark Passage, all prior to TMWCH.

Lastly, what would any San Francisco based noir with an Italian fisherman be without every one’s favorite Tito Vuolo, who does make his obligatory showing. His presence alone make this a well worth it’s 81 minute run time.