Backfire *** (1950, Virginia Mayo, Gordon MacRae, Edmond O’Brien, Viveca Lindfors, Dane Clark, Ed Begley) – Classic Movie Review 7554

The 1950 film noir crime thriller Backfire is a satisfyingly complicated and labyrinthine murder mystery. Gordon MacRae stars as war vet searching for his framed murder-suspect buddy (Edmond O’Brien) and tangling with a femme fatale (Virginia Mayo)

Director Vincent Sherman’s 1950 Warner Bros film noir crime thriller Backfire is a more than passable little murder mystery, satisfyingly complicated and labyrinthine. Gordon MacRae stars as war veteran Bob Corey searching for his missing framed murder-suspect buddy Steve Connolly (Edmond O’Brien) and tangling with femme fatale Julie Benson (Virginia Mayo).

Backfire is very competently crafted, with stylish black and white cinematography from the esteemed Carl Guthrie, while the typical Forties and Fifties-style film noir flashbacks add a tasty flavour of the period. It is very neatly and nicely written by Larry Marcus, Ben Roberts and Ivan Goff, based on a Larry Marcus story titled Into the Night. Originally the story contained flashback within flashback, which Sherman thought was confused and pointless, originally turning down directing the film.

Aspiring writers Goff and Roberts were put to work to craft a screenplay. Sherman still had reservations that he expressed to studio boss Jack Warner, who told him that if he agreed to do the film, he would return the favour. So Sherman agreed, and later said that Goff and Roberts had submitted a good script, and that the actors had done the best job they could.

There is a notable soundtrack too, composed by Daniele Amfitheatrof. Viveca Lindfors sings ‘Parlez-moi d’Amour’, written by Jean Lenoir, in the nightclub.

The credits are a guarantee of a certain quality, even if a more cosmic star than Macrae might have improved things even further. Look down the cast for the real talent, especially O’Brien, Viveca Lindfors as Lysa Radoff and Ed Begley as Police Captain Garcia.

Backfire is little known and a little winner too, lost in a sea of similar but lesser movies of the era.

Also in the cast are Dane Clark, Frances Robinson, Richard Rober, Sheila Stephens [aka Sheila MacRae], David Hoffman, Monte Blue, Ida Moore, Leonard Strong, Richard Rober, John Dehner and John Ridgely.

Jack Warner’s aim in making the film was simple: a B-movie to employ his contract actors. He wanted to put to work six actors ‘sitting around doing nothing but picking up their cheques’: O’Brien, MacRae, Mayo, Clark, Lindfors and Rober.

Backfire is directed by Vincent Sherman, runs 92 minutes, is made and released by Warner Bros, is written by Larry Marcus [Lawrence B Marcus], Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts, based on Larry Marcus’s story Into the Night, is shot in black and white by Carl Guthrie, is produced by Anthony Veiller, is scored by Daniele Amfitheatrof and Ray Heindorf (musical director), and is designed by Anton Grot.

It was shot from late July 1948 to mid-October 1948, with profitable location filming in and around Los Angeles.

The advertising reminds us that Mayo was in a truly great noir: ‘That White Heat girl turns it on again!’ Goff and Roberts would go on the following year 1949 to write White Heat, which also stars O’Brien. But White Heat came out first. Although Backfire was completed in October 1948, it was not released till 26 January 1950.

Lindfors refused to make the film, citing its excessive violence. After being suspended by the studio, she relented to receive her pay (‘I sold out,’ she said).

Sherman said Mayo was nice and an extremely competent actress, but without much personal depth.

The title was changed from Into the Night to Somewhere in the City and then to Backfire.

The cast are Gordon MacRae as Bob Corey, Edmond O’Brien as Steve Connolly, Virginia Mayo as Julie Benson, Viveca Lindfors as Lysa Radoff, Dane Clark as Ben Arno, Ed Begley as Captain Garcia, Sheila MacRae [Sheila Stephens] as Bonnie Willis, Mack Williams as Dr Herbert Anstead, Leonard Strong as Lee Quong, Frances Robinson as Mrs Blayne, Richard Rober as Solly Blayne, John Dehner as plainclothesman Blake, David Hoffman, Monte Blue, Ida Moore, and John Ridgely.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7554

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