The Man Who Cheated Himself (1950) User Reviews

Worthy noir entry

[mstomaso · 6/10 · 25 April 2007]

Lee J. Cobb and John Dall give nice performances in this medium-slow paced noir thriller. It is also nice to see a 20 year-old and lovely Lisa Howard in a supporting role as Dall's new wife (famous for her news coverage of Kennedy and Castro in the early 1960s, and her subsequent suicide/overdose at the age of 35).

Contrary to popular opinion, I believe that Jane Wyatt did a fine job of playing the femme fatale. Her role is a bit different from the standard noir FF, and Wyatt is a bit strange as well. Wyatt's Lois Frazier is a rich, beautiful, seemingly naive and nervous woman suffering through an abominable marriage. Senior Police Lieutenant Cullen (Cobb) is having an affair with her.

Lois' husband has just left on a suspicious business trip, when Lois discovers he has purchased a gun. She believes that her husband plans on killing her. Eventually, he returns to their house and sneaks in through a door connected to his study. His wife shoots him twice at close range in the chest. Cullen, knowing that the husband had an airline ticket for that night (his planned alibi) dumps the body off at the airport. This is the basic premise. What follows is an edgy, tense and nicely photographed story, as Cullen's younger brother (Dall) - a smart fledgling detective - begins to unravel the plot.

The chase scene offers some really nice noir cinematography, and interesting sets. The soundtrack is also fairly good and the editing and directing are fine (though the edition I saw did have a few missing frames and other problems. The plot offers some interesting convolutions, but also mixes these with clichés.

All considered - a good film for noir fans.

Seattle International Film Festival - David Jeffers for SIFFblog.com

[rdjeffers · 6/10 · 12 June 2006]

Sunday June 11, 1:30pm The Egyptian

'The Man Who Cheated Himself', follows the popular "bad cop noir" theme, starring Lee J. Cobb as Police Lieutenant Ed Cullin. When his lady friend Lois Frazer (Jane Wyatt), shoots her husband while the Lieutenant is 'visiting', he confronts the choice of coming clean or covering up, "I didn't know what I was doing! You know the truth!" "The truth can get you twenty years!" Cullin's kid brother Andy (John Dall) is new to homicide division and does his best to solve the crime while the Lieutenant tries to cover his tracks. "How am I doing?" " OK kid. Do any better and I'd be out of a job." The film makes use of locations in and around San Francisco including the Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman's Wharf, Telegraph Hill and Fort Point. The complex plot twists involving the gun, its disposal, reappearance and an errant slug are particularly entertaining.

Eddie Muller's commentary on TCM's Noir Alley raises my appraisal to an 8/10

[AlsExGal · 8/10 · 25 June 2018]

Eddie M. Is great at pointing out a film's strengths and weaknesses, and he did a great job on this recently restored film. This film was made on a shoestring budget and produced by Jack M. Warner, who was constantly feuding with daddy, THE Jack Warner,, and wanted to make films on his own. If the film had a bigger budget, the womanizing workaholic senior detective would have been played by Robert Mitchum, not Lee J. Cobb. The wealthy femme fatale would have been Ida Lupino instead of Jane Wyatt???. John Dall is a little off the tracks in this one, coming across like a young Jimmy Stewart rather than the straight arrow one woman younger brother of Cobb's character, anxious to learn the trade of detective from big brother, but with a deep sense of justice and honesty that overrides even kinship.

The set-up is this. The opening scene shows a man in a plush living room who is burning any sign that he just bought a gun. He then hides the gun. However, the bill of sale falls to the floor. Lois, the wife, played by Jane Wyatt, comes into the living area yelling at and accusing the husband, distractingly dressed to the nines and looking a bit too much like a woman wearing her daughter's prom dress. The husband says he has had it and is flying to Seattle and leaves. But wealthy Lois finds the bill of sale, she finds the gun, and she finds that her husband has been looking over the changes she has been planning to make to her will, and those plans did not include hubby.

Frantically believing that her husband plans to return and kill her (I don't blame her) she calls her boyfriend, who just happens to be Lieutenant Ed Cullen (Cobb), and tells him to get there right away. He does. While there the husband does return, and enters the house by jimmying a lock, there are angry statements back and forth between husband and wife, and Lois shoots her husband dead. Lois appeals to her policeman boyfriend to help her. He does. The husband left his car at the airport - probably as an alibi for his wife's murder. Ed ironically uses that alibi and returns the dead body of the murdered would be murderer to the airport, outside, so it will look like a robbery gone wrong.

But things go wrong for Ed. He is seen at the airport by an older couple - but it is night. He throws the gun off the Golden Gate Bridge, but again is seen by a policeman who knows him. And worse, a few days later the gun Ed threw in the bay shows up in another killing. How does this all turn out? Watch and find out.

There are some spectacular shots of 1950 San Francisco in this one, and the cinematography is excellent. Stay for the story, and just endure the complete lack of chemistry between Cobb and Wyatt.

Probably the most interesting and noirish story in the cast is that of Lisa Howard, who plays John Dall's wife. She left movies in the late 50s and reinvented herself as a journalist, scoring interviews with Fidel Castro, the Shah of Iran and Nikita Khrushchev. Her behavior and politics got extreme though, and she was fired from NBC news in 1964. Suing her employer made her a pariah in her industry, and on July 4, 1965 she killed herself with a bottle of barbiturates in a parking lot. Eddie Muller said her story would make a great film - "The Woman Who Cheated Herself".

San Francisco location noir thriller about compromised cop

[robert-temple-1 · 7/10 · 28 November 2007]

Those who love San Francisco locations in films will get plenty of joy out of watching all these shots of how it was in 1949. It is eerily predictive of Hitchcock's later 'Vertigo', especially the Fort Point location at the foot of the Golden Gate, so near to where Kim Novak was later to stand (oh eternal moment of mystery and suspense, in the film that might have been called 'The Girl who Never Was'). It was certainly unusual for heavy-jowled and growly Lee J. Cobb to land a leading man role, but here he is, romantic even, grabbing the gal in his arms whenever the opportunity offers and slobbering his great big bear's mouth all over her pretty, pert lips like the beast that is in all of us. And she loves it, spoilt rich brat that she is. (That's part of the plot.) And so, passion triumphs, the honest cop is compromised, covers up for the hysterical beauty and all that ensues can be guessed. The DVD issue has been made from a print with lots of scratches, hiss, and missing frames, so the negative must have disappeared. But at least this 'nice little noir' remains in some form, and is eminently watchable. There are some nice lines: 'The truth can get you twenty years.' But it is a mild thriller, and its locations are its chief recommendation.

She's no good, but she's good for me!

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 6 January 2017]

The Man Who Cheated Himself is directed by Felix E. Feist and written by Seton I. Miller and Phillip MacDonald. It stars Lee J. Cobb, Jane Wyatt, John Dall and Lisa Howard. Music is by Louis Forbes and cinematography by Russell Harlan.

Ed Cullen (Cobb) is a cop who is having an affair with wealthy Lois Frazer (Wyatt). When Lois, in a fit of panic shoots dead her husband, it cause Cullen no end of grief. You see, he was there as well, a witness to the crime...

Don't forget to change your will.

This is a film noir entry that contains most of the elements that form that brand of film making. Something of an under seen - and undervalued - piece, it manages to rise above a few minor itches to play out as potent. Cullen (Cobb excellent) gets spun into a vortex of self inflicted trouble on account of his eye for a dame, essayed by a cast against type Wyatt. Both are unfaithful, she's unreliable and he's quick to break his own laws with dishonesty and a corruptible soul.

Things spice up when Cullen's younger brother, Andy (Dall), himself a police officer, joins his brother in investigating the "now" mysterious murder case. So we have a family crisis brewing as the younger Cullen tries to crack the case, all while his elder brother tries to throw him off the scent of his own complicity. Wonderful, because like a few other great noirs (Scandal Sheet, The Big Clock et al) we have a protagonist effectively investigating himself. And with the brothers being polar opposites in life values, it keeps things simmering nicely in the intrigue pot.

The dialogue is often clip like and the police procedural aspects are finely played with believable strokes. Close calls come and go as the detective work lurches from almost solved and closed to "hang on a minute something smells fishy here" , while tricky collusion's smile like a Cheshire cat. The great Russell Harlan (Gun Crazy/Riot In Cell Block 11) continually keeps things moody with shadows and low lights, whilst simultaneously bringing to life the splendid San Francisco locations. None more so than for the finale filmed out at a derelict and decrepit Fort Point, a perfect setting for noir if ever there was one (Hitchcock and Boorman thought so too!).

Wyatt is just about convincing enough as a femme fatale, but you can't help but ponder what one of the true noir actresses could have done with the role. While you can't get away from the fact that really both Cullen and Frazer simply had to front up for a self defence case at the beginning and there would have been no hassle. But as weak as that aspect is, there wouldn't have been this noir tale to tell, all of which is crafted with careful and knowing hands by Feist (Tomorrow is Another Day). 7.5/10

My problem with the premise...

[huey-1 · 6/10 · 3 May 2021]

***SPOILER ALERT***

After the movie was over, I found myself asking: Lee J. Cobb's character knows that his girlfriend is terrified of being murdered, she has evidence that her estranged husband has bought a gun, the man breaks in through the back door and attacks her, she stops him by shooting him... Cullen is a witness, he's a cop in the homicide bureau, he has nothing, legally or morally speaking, to hide about the situation before the shooting takes place, and he knows the shooter is rich and privileged... Why didn't he just tell her to claim self-defense and hire a good lawyer? Which is apparently what she does in the end, anyway.

I never bought their romance, I didn't detect any particular chemistry, I never particularly felt Cullen's emotional investment in what was going on. Was Cobb asking himself what he was doing in such a dull piece of work after distinguishing himself in DEATH OF A SALESMAN? I wouldn't be surprised.

Recently Restored, Looks and Sounds Great

[dearsteve-60412 · 7/10 · 28 June 2018]

This film was recently restored from a 35mm archival print, and was shown on Turner Classic's Noir Alley. It's in great shape, and if you're interested in seeing it, you should make every effort to see that version.

Ignore Miss Wyatt's histrionics and enjoy.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 16 August 2010]

This film noir flick begins with a simply horrible acting performance by Jane Wyatt--perhaps some of this might be the result of how the part was written. While she could do fine work, this was NOT her shining moment. In a wildly histrionic scene, she shoots her husband and her cop lover (Lee J. Cobb) is a witness to the killing. She claims it was in self-defense but the scene was just handled poorly. Could the rest of the film make up for this goofy scene? And, will her lover get away with making it look like he was killed elsewhere by someone else? And, what happens after Cobb throws the gun in the harbor AND someone is soon killed with this very gun? Well, fortunately it DID get better. While it's not among the best film of the genre, it was interesting and reasonably well made. Aside from Miss Wyatt's occasionally histrionic acting, the story was good and there is little to dislike. And, although I disliked Wyatt in the beginning, the way the film ended was great--and her character really worked well in this dandy finale in the courthouse. Well worth seeing.

True Fast Noir: "Yes, for one thing, a dame."

[secondtake · 8/10 · 2 July 2009]

The Man Who Cheated Himself (1950)

"Yes, for one thing, a dame."

A fast, curious, edgy crime film that depends on a fabulous, simple twist, which you learn right at the start and keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time. The clash of two cops who are brothers begins innocently, and turns and builds in a very believable way, as the details of a murder are revealed. By the end, with a fabulous scene below the Golden Gate Bridge, it's a chase scene of pure suspense.

Lee J. Cobb (more usually a brilliant secondary character) takes the lead as a cop who does his job with steady weariness, and yet when faced with a woman he loves too much, puts everything in danger. He's just perfect in his role, right to the last scene when you see him look down the hall with the same feeling he has at the beginning of the film. His kid brother played by the slightly quirky John Dall ("Gun Crazy") is all virtue, almost to the point of sweet sadness. And the two main women play believable supporting roles (especially Cobb's love-interest, who is selfish and panicky to just the right degree).

This Jack M. Warner production was released by Fox but by the looks of it, it can't be quite a full budget feature movie, and because of that it is relentless and edgy, with no time for polish or emotional depth. Cameraman Russell Harlan ("Blackboard Jungle" and much later "To Kill a Mockingbird") does a brilliant job with great angles and framing. It isn't elegant, but it's visually sharp. Throw in a talented but little known director, Felix Feist, and some top shelf editing (by David Weisbart, one of absolute best) and you have just the mix you need for a small film much larger than life.

This is a film noir in the usual sense of style, but also in substance--a lead male who is alienated and casting about for meaning in life, and a lead female who leads him astray.

But in the end, what's it about? Crime? No. Love? Yes. The only subject that matters.

Cobb: "Do you think I'd throw that away on a sucker play like this?"

Dall: "Yes, for one thing, a dame."

Opposite Intentions

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 20 August 2019]

Andy Cullen (John Dall), the rookie detective and brother of the homicide Lt. Ed Cullen (Lee J. Cobb), is assigned to work with him. Andy will marry his beloved Janet (Lisa Howard) on the next days and Ed will be his best man. Ed is a wolf and is having a secret love affair with the wealthy Lois Frazer (Jane Wyatt), who is divorcing her husband Howard Frazer (Harlan Warde). Lois finds that Howard has bought a gun and suspects he intends to kill her; so she calls Ed to help her. When they are together, Howard arrives and Lois accidentally kills her husband. Ed decides to help her and forges a crime scene near the airport. Soon he is assigned to investigate the case with Andy but his young brother wants to show that he is a good detective.

"The Man Who Cheated Himself" is a film noir with a story of brothers with opposite intentions. The veteran detective wants to cover the felony he committed to protect his lover while his brother wants to prove that he is a good detective. The conflict between brothers is interesting and the open conclusion is a plus. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Por uma Mulher Má" ("For a Wicked Woman")

Cherchez la femme, especially her actual motives, here ending up into a big question mark.

[clanciai · 8/10 · 11 January 2018]

The question that must arise from the beginning,m and which turns this movie doubtful from the start, is how such an experienced and qualified detective as Lee J. Cobb could allow himself to be lead by such a woman to his own bad end? He must realize from the beginning that it must be impossible at length to get away with such a cover up. All the same, it's an interesting intrigue, the plot is formidable as Lee must perform a complicated double play which is bound to constantly get more difficult, but what saves the film is the tremendous finale. Hitchcock must have been inspired by this set-up at Fort Point under the great bridge with its fantastic opportunities for a thriller finale. There are many details adding to an excellent thriller, like her scarf blowing off in the end, the Italian family incident, the great introductory scene with its opening the door to any possible crime that only can be guessed at - and which leads to crime that no one wanted to commit.

Lee J. Cobb's foolery is questionable, but the film is great in spite of its foibles and should be worth restoring to its original quality indeed.

Medium noir

[madmonkmcghee · 6/10 · 1 March 2011]

Fairly good noir movie is mainly carried on Lee J. Cobb's ample shoulders. His physique and gruff attitude are tailor-made for the genre. Unfortunately Jane Wyatt doesn't quite cut it as the requisite femme fatale for which he sacrifices his career. Since this is a dramatically vital plot point it weakens the entire movie. Mary Astor would have played this to perfection. It also contains too many sluggish scenes that either slow down the pace or lead nowhere. And the end is anticlimactic to say the least. On the plus side the movie has the right noir feel, although it lacks the necessary suspense and mental anguish to be truly gripping. Also both Cobb and Dall are fine as the two cop brothers. Noir fans should certainly check this one out, flawed as it is.

John Dall is a hoot

[daleholmgren · 4/10 · 7 July 2018]

While many fault Jane Wyatt's acting in this, I'm surprised they are accepting of John Dall's bad acting. I've never seen so many exaggerated sideways glances and incessant mugging, telegraphing his feelings like he was playing to a theatre audience. He delivers his lines like a bad Sam Spade wannabe. Yikes.

The Other Great "Fort Point" Movie -desperately needs restoring

[danielj_old999 · 1 September 2005]

This is one of the better second tier film noir .... within its limits, it seems to me rock solid: performances,(save one), script, photography, and is surely commensurate with excellent Fleischer B's of the same period such as "Armored Car Robbery"...however perhaps not quite in the same league as the latter's "Narrow Margin"...there are these kinds of films in which, under obvious budgetary circumstances, it is hard to imagine what could be done better, with the exception of Jane Wyatt, who does indeed give a horrible performance...but hey, that's why it's a B...and one often wonders, given more money in the budget, whether the whole thing would have been somehow ruined...this last seems to be to be the best way of defining the undefinable "B" that I have come across. John Dall lends that undefinable air of perversity, of which he was the acknowledged master, and, to the viewer's delight, seems wonderfully and profoundly miscast as a policeman. Dall makes this worth seeing.

Crooked cop investigates self in Felix Feist film noir

[bmacv · 7/10 · 30 May 2001]

Despite Jane Wyatt, who offers possibly the worst performance of a femme fatale in the whole noir cycle, The Man Who Cheated Himself is a more-than-passable, gritty little thriller. Veteran cop Lee J. Cobb is showing the ropes to little brother John Dall ("Gun Crazy," "Rope"). Dall is on the verge of blissful matrimony but Cobb still likes to play the field, the field being filthy-rich society matron Wyatt. When she kills her ne'er-do-well hubby (by accident? It's never clear), Cobb helps her cover up the crime. Trouble is, he taught his brother the tricks of the trade rather too well... This movie is rather better than you might expect it to be, thanks to Cobb's moaning, double-bass voice and some not-terribly-stale plot developments.

Lee J Cobb as incurable romantic.

[st-shot · 6/10 · 26 May 2017]

Playing the lead is unfamiliar territory for Lee J Cobb but a welcome change of pace in a role usually reserved for a handsomer marquee player. Love is in the air for the usually abrasive haranguer but in this case it leads to his undoing.

Wealthy Lois Frazier (Jane Wyatt) is in the midst of an acrimonious divorce with her husband Howard. When she finds a receipt for a 38 she immediately suspects her hubby might want her dead as well. Fortunately for her she's involved with police lieutenant Cullen (Lee J Cobb) who can smooth things over. When the husband returns she drills him and Cullen clumsily tries to cover the murder up. His green detective brother (John Dall) psyched in his first week on the job begins to piece things together while Cullen does his best to distract him from the trail. But he may have taught his brother too well.

Cobb acquits himself well in a part that calls for softness and not the generic intolerance and rage he specializes in. He has the rumpled veteran dick down pat but in his clinches with Frazier a realistic every-man blinded by beauty. As the supercilious Frazier, Wyman overreaches but for those of us brought up in the 50s it can be quite jarring to watch Father Know's Best wife making out with Johnny Friendly.

A B-picture Double Indemnity it lacks the classic's dialogue but director Felix Feist does have top shelf cinematographer Roger Harlan ( Gun Crazy) along for the ride who delivers at least two scenes ( an interrogation and an abandoned factory scene near the Golden Gate) that any noir or crime drama would be proud to inject into their mise en scene.

One for the Book

[richardchatten · 7/10 · 16 October 2019]

An independent production by Jack. L. Warner released through Fox with an unrepeatable trio of leads. (John Dall returned to the stage and didn't make another movie until 'Spartacus' nearly ten years later; while Jane Wyatt's film career was disrupted by the blacklist and she instead found her niche on TV in 'Father Knows Best'.) Top-billed Lee J. Cobb is eccentrically cast as Dall's brother (I guess only their mother could tell them apart), and his relationship with high maintainance femme fatale Jane Wyatt is rather hard to believe. Thereafter he soon settled into heading the supporting cast.

Although usually described as such, this isn't really a typical film noir (although Ms Wyatt is appropriately bad news as the femme fatale), since instead of the urban hell of nighttime New York we are treated to an attractively sunlit San Francisco used as an incongruous backdrop to a tale of adultury and murder as Hitchcock did a few years later in colour in 'Vertigo'.

Tidy noir -- younger detective investigates older detective sibling for murder -- despite weak premise of older sibling's attraction to femme fatale

[Turfseer · 6/10 · 24 February 2020]

Following his triumphant portrayal of Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's stage play 'Death of a Salesman,' Lee J. Cobb takes on the role of hard-nosed detective Lt. Edward Cullen in 'The Man Who Cheated Himself.' However, the film falters due to a miscast femme fatale and a lack of chemistry between Cobb and Jane Wyatt, who plays the wealthy socialite Lois Frazer.

The inciting incident occurs when Lois, planning to divorce her husband Howard, discovers he has acquired a gun and becomes convinced that he intends to kill her. She calls Edward, her boyfriend, and in a moment of panic, shoots and kills Howard with his own weapon.

Unlike more psychologically complex noirs, the reasons behind Edward's immediate infatuation with Lois remain unclear-presumably an attraction to dangerous women. Similarly, Lois lacks depth, offering little insight into the protagonist's motivation and resulting in a weak character dynamic.

In the second act, Edward finds himself navigating a world of crime as he attempts to cover up the murder. Knowing that Howard was scheduled to take a flight to Seattle that night, Edward transports Howard's corpse to the airport to make it appear as if he fell victim to a robbery. The only witnesses are an elderly couple, with the husband misidentifying Edward's car color as green instead of blue.

The introduction of Edward's younger brother, Andy (John Dahl), who also serves as a police officer investigating Howard's murder, adds intrigue to the story. In the first half of the second act, Edward displays his investigative competence by eluding Andy's suspicions. However, the plot thickens when the bullets found in Howard's body match those used in another murder during a liquor store robbery. Complicating matters, Edward had previously discarded the murder weapon off a bridge into the San Francisco Bay before arriving at the airport.

It is later revealed that the gun landed in a fishing boat's net and was brought home by an Italian immigrant. The immigrant's son, Nito (played skillfully by Alan Wells), utilizes the weapon to commit the liquor store robbery. During Nito's interrogation, Edward attempts to pin sHoward's shooting on him, but Andy discovers inconsistencies that exonerate Nito.

As the second act reaches its crisis point, circumstances turn against Edward. Andy finally uncovers his brother's direct involvement in Howard's murder. Andy catches Edward in a lie when he claims that Lois is asleep, while Andy witnesses her awake through her bedroom window across the street. Moreover, the original witness at the airport, who initially reported a green car instead of a blue one, is revealed to be color blind.

In a desperate attempt to escape, Edward knocks out Andy and flees with Lois. They seek refuge in the abandoned ruins of Fort Point beneath the Golden Gate Bridge, a location also featured in Hitchcock's later film 'Vertigo.'

Despite some impressive cinematography capturing the desolate atmosphere with ambient sounds of wind blowing, the third act feels somewhat anticlimactic as Andy pursues the fugitives. Following a hunch, he heads to Fort Point, reminiscent of their childhood play area. Initially unable to locate them, he departs but has called for backup off-screen, leading to the subsequent arrest of his brother and Lois.

The film concludes with Edward waiting outside the court, awaiting his final judgment, while Lois is overheard promising her attorney a share of her fortune in exchange for extricating her from the legal quagmire-a fitting consequence for falling for a femme fatale.

The ending proves unsatisfying as it leaves viewers without a sense of resolution. It would have been more intriguing to explore the possibility of mitigating circumstances surrounding the crime, such as Lois's genuine fear for her life and Edward's status as a first-time offender. Instead, the film abruptly concludes, adhering to the genre's tradition of punishing the fallen protagonist.

One notable cast member I neglected to mention is Lisa Howard, who portrays Andy's wife, Janet. Her real-life story is as captivating as any compelling noir tale. After retiring as an actress, Howard became the first female ABC News producer with her own show in the 1960s but found herself blacklisted by the networks after attempting to work as an intermediary between the State Department and Fidel Castro. Tragically, she took her own life in 1965.

In summary, 'The Man Who Cheated Himself' suffers from a miscast femme fatale and a lack of chemistry between the lead actors. The film features an engaging inciting incident and an intriguing second act but falls short in delivering a satisfying conclusion. While it offers some nifty cinematography and a notable supporting cast, it fails to reach the heights of other compelling noirs. I would rate 'The Man Who Cheated Himself' a modest 6 out of 10.

brothers switch

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 25 June 2020]

In San Francisco, wealthy socialite Lois Frazer (Jane Wyatt) hates her husband Howard and finds that he has newly bought a gun. She tells her boyfriend homicide detective Lt. Ed Cullen (Lee J. Cobb). She impulsively shoots Howard dead with his own gun and Ed works to fake a robbery. He further muddies the investigation by joining his brother Andy Cullen (John Dall) on the case.

This is a solid noir although it would be more compelling if Cobb and Dall switched roles. Dall would be better to project fear while Cobb is the more threatening veteran. It's almost impossible for Cobb to be afraid. There would be more tension if the younger brother is trying to pull one over on the older brother. It is interesting to have the last act in that location although I don't like the arrest. This is a solid noir.

Jack Junior Makes His Mark!

[JohnHowardReid · 8/10 · 18 August 2008]

Two of my favorite writers, Seton I. Miller and Philip MacDonald, worked up this somewhat familiar plot (husband tries to murder rich wife and make it look like a burglary but he gets killed instead) into a moderately suspenseful police thriller, which maintains interest with a few clever plot twists and a thrilling bit of action across downtown San Francisco roof-tops, before coming to a really grand climax at the marvelously spooky Fort Point, followed by a winningly ironic conclusion (which surprisingly got past the censors back in 1950).

Cobb astutely underplays the lead role of the seasoned, crime-weary detective. Jane Wyatt's heroine-in-distress commendably follows Cobb's lead, leaving all the histrionics to the second-string team of John Dall and Lisa Howard. Despite Dall's efforts, however, it's Alan Wells as murderous punk who easily walks away with the movie's acting honors.

Felix Feist has handled all the action with his customary competence, and other credits are equally serviceable.

When this film was originally released much was made of the remarkable fact that it was produced by Jack Warner, Jr, the son of Warner Bros mogul, Jack L. Warner. Jack Jr made three movies: The Admiral Was a Lady (executive producer), then this one, and finally Brushfire (1962) which he also wrote and directed. Oddly, none of these movies were distributed by Warner Bros, though Jack, Jr, worked for some time as an executive in the Warner TV division.

Pretty Good "B" Noir

[psych-shawn · 7/10 · 9 February 2015]

For a "B" film, "The Man Who Cheated Himself" is very well done. The script is pretty good, Lee J. Cobb is terrific as a world-weary police lieutenant who gets tangled in a web of lies.

John Dall plays his "newly-promoted, determined-to-make-good" younger brother and partner competently.

The primary flaw with the film is Jane Wyatt who overacts the part of the femme fatale. Someone like Gloria Grahame or Lizabeth Scott would have been perfect.

The ending was a bit abrupt, but gave a fitting film noir conclusion to the proceedings. All in all, well-worth watching despite these small flaws.

Much better than expected!

[Anonymous_Maxine · 8/10 · 26 May 2008]

As it is described in the collection in which it now appears, The Man Who Cheated Himself is definitely a classic piece of textbook film noir. I am embarrassed to say that I had never heard of Lee Cobb until I saw him in 12 Angry Men a couple months ago. He was an astonishingly busy actor between the 1930s and 1970s, appearing in more than 100 films and television shows. The video quality of the copy that I saw was not the best, the picture was unclear and scratched and the sound was like an old vinyl record, but I watched the movie expecting to see a stunningly bad old movie, given that I bought it in a collection of something like 15 movies, most of which seem to have been long since forgotten.

I will admit that I didn't feel a lot of chemistry between Cobb's police chief Cullen and Lois Frazer, Jane Wyatt's femme fatale, but I was willing to accept it as a catalyst to propel the plot and their fates further down the tubes. There is a definite effort to generate Hitchcockian suspense during the middle portion of the film as their cover story grows thinner and thinner. I have read some reviewers that disagree, but I think that this part of the film is done particularly well, given that it is so realistic. The process is complicated by the fact that the other lead investigator on the murder is Cullen's younger brother, who grows continually closer and closer to the truth, which he desperately doesn't want to be true, while Cobb's Cullen has more and more often to talk down to him as though he's a rookie, telling him he is naïve and inexperienced when, in fact, he is doing everything right.

(spoilers) The chase sequence at Fort Point at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge is the best part of the film, although for some reason it seems like it is dragged out a bit, as if they wanted to get as much out of their access to the site as possible, yet the scene was barely five minutes long. I have visited Fort Point many times when I was a kid and lived in the Bay Area, and I seem to remember a rather eccentric portrayal of it in Bicentennial Man, but this is clearly a much more interesting and successful use of it in a film, at least until Kim Novak threw herself into the Bay here in 1958.

The very end of The Man Who Cheated Himself is a little confusing to me. The plot is clear and the ending is perfect, although I can't understand the half smile on Cullen's (Cobb's) face as he sees Lois walk by with her new lawyer boyfriend, whom she is entrusting to ensure her freedom almost as a trade for her love, as Cullen is led away to his miserable fate. Maybe he simply can't believe what has happened. The movie has a definite B-movie feel (not the least reason for which is Wyatt's uninspired performance) but it is well written and otherwise well made.

low-budget film noir

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 15 April 2020]

With Lee J. Cobb coming off of his huge success on Broadway in "Death of a Salesman," producer Jack M. Warner (son of Jack L) hoped he could parlay "The Man Who Cheated HImself" into a hit film. He couldn't.

Cobb plays Ed, a police detective who is having an affair with a married socialite, Lois (Jane Wyman). Her husband has left on a trip, but finding a receipt for a gun, she calls her lover and begs him to come over. She's sure her husband intends to kill her. Meanwhile, she searches desperately for the gun and finds it.

While Ed is with her, Lois' husband breaks into the house, and Lois shoots him dead. Ed takes the body to the airport, where her husband was supposedly headed. Unfortunately, an ambitious young detective is also working on the case and starts asking a lot of questions. The detective is also his brother (John Dall).

This film is of interest because of the presence of Lisa Howard, as Ed's sister-in-law, who became a famous journalist.

The acting was good. Lois was an unusual part for Jane Wyman, known by us boomers for Father Knows Best and for us classic movie fans for her work in Lost Horizon.

Pretty good noir.

Triple Indemnity

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 14 February 2016]

The influence of Billy Wilder's classic Double Indemnity is rather obvious with the creation of The Man Who Cheated Himself. This is quite the B film with some surprising casting in the female lead.

The Walter Neff part is played by Lee J. Cobb and he's a veteran homicide detective in San Francisco who happens to be seeing rich heiress on the side Jane Wyatt. Wyatt is getting rid of her husband by divorce, but one night with Cobb in the house she puts two bullets in him when he comes at her.

The scandal would have been terrific and Cobb's career might have come to an end, but it would have been better than what follows. Cobb agrees to help in a cover-up, but it falls apart.

The Barton Keyes in this film isn't an experienced investigator, it's John Dall probably playing the most straightforward part in his career. He gets a bad feeling when certain things don't add up and Dall who is looking to make his bones as a homicide cop in the family tradition gets sadly disillusioned.

The real revelation in this film is Wyatt. Forgetting she was the All American mother in Father Knows Best, Wyatt is one mean vixen in a part that Barbara Stanwyck or Bette Davis usually does. It was so offbeat casting for Jane Wyatt. I don't recall seeing her in another part like this.

What she does in that little coda as the film ends. Stanwyck couldn't have done it better.