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So much average

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Crooked business deals gone wrong can often lead to murder, and in the case of gambling addict Don Castle, it goes way wrong when he agrees to become involved in a supposedly sure fire investment. But his suspicions lead to the truth, a sudden splash of temper leads to the crooked business man dead, and a body is buried in the desert. To get his money back, he assumes the dead man's name, heads to Los Angeles to attempt to get his money back and finds himself involved with the mysterious Virginia Christine. First seen at his bedside brandishing a gun, she quickly disappears, and reemerges under the assumed name of the secretary of the man he intended to meet. The truth comes out, he ends up with a bump on his head thanks to the presence of more violence, and with the help of cheery Mary Gordon, gets a taste of what it's like to want a normal, peaceful life filled with roasts, pie and some of Mrs. Folger's coffee.Yes, that's Virginia Christine, who for years represented the mountain grown aroma of Folgers as the possible femme fatale, here turning down the opportunity for breakfast but indicating that she'd be open for a cup of coffee. For us who remember those commercials, it's a nice surprise to see her as a movie leading lady, but then again, for those of us old enough to remember "The Wizard of Oz's" Margaret Hamilton advertising Maxwell House, nothing surprises us. She had a steady career from the 1940's on, and as details about her character comes out, the more interesting she becomes. But where there's a dead body and a missing husband and possibly bigamy, there's bound to be blackmail, and Castle and Christine become a victim to it while trying to set up a cozy little home. This B film noir has some interesting moments, but it falls into the trap of an easy way out which twists around everything that the audience has witnessed for just over an hour. Like Truman Capote complained in "Murder By Death", they left clues which made it impossible for the viewer to guess "who done it" as well as bringing characters in the last minutes who were never in the story before. Jeff Chandler is instantly recognizable as one of the main thugs, a pretty violent one at that, complete with total dark hair unlike the gray he would be well known for throughout the 1950's. It's a nice try at a different style of storytelling, but the conclusion left me frustrated for its usage of ridiculous efforts to get its troubled characters out of their dead end situation.

Don Castle, one of those slightly decent people earning his money in a slightly shady racket, comes up against an INVISIBLE WALL keeping him from happiness and success because he can't conquer a gambling problem. Can ingénue Virginia Christine, with the slightly shady past and the prior unfortunate marriage, save him from the dark fate that awaits most noir heroes?This one is one a watcher really would like to like better -- given the location shooting at the Flamingo in Las Vegas -- but this one really starts off dull and predictable -- and only starts dishing out the wacky plot twists in the second half. Some of the twists are good ones -- but the ones at the very end suggest the lesser Cornell Woolrich stories with happy endings. You just don't buy the elaborate way the movie gets its lead out of the mess he's in.Leads are OK. Direction is straightforward. It's a decent B, no worse than many similar movies with better reputations. But, unless you want to see film of Bugsy Siegel's famous casino just after its opening, there is no reason to seek this one out.

Harry Lane is picked up by police after being found carrying a gun inside the hotel room of a dead man. Questioned by the police, he gives police his confession and explains to them the long series of events that lead him to commit murder.This obscurely titled thriller told in flashback, is vaguely similar to DETOUR; a man makes a foolish mistake, then tries to correct it, but his attempts only drag him deeper in to trouble. The films upbeat twist ending is a bit far fetched. Don Castle, who sporting a mustache, resembles a cross between Clark Gable and Tom Neal. Castle, like leading lady Virginia Christine (Folgers Coffee lady, THE MUMMY'S CURSE) and the rest of the cast are acceptable. Overall, INVISIBLE WALL is a fairly interesting one for the buffs.