Impulse (1954 film)


Impulse is a 1954 British film noir directed by Cy Endfield and starring Arthur Kennedy, Constance Smith and Joy Shelton.

Plot

Alan Curtis, an American estate agent living in England, is dissatisfied with his humdrum life. With his wife Elizabeth on a short break visiting her mother, he gives a lift to sultry nightclub singer Lila when he finds her stranded on the road at night. Curtis becomes romantically involved with her and Lila tells him that her brother is in trouble over a jewel robbery.
In reality Lila wants the stolen stones for herself. She tricks the wayward Curtis into believing that he killed a man so that he buys them two tickets out of the country. He decides that it is better to face the music, opting to stay and confess. Lila, too, reconsiders, staying with Curtis until his name is cleared. After the true killers are revealed, Lila goes to jail as a participant in the robbery and Curtis returns to his wife, who forgives him.

Cast

The film historians Steve Chibnall and Brian McFarlane praised Kennedy's performance and said of Impulse: "This detailed and un-showy study of a man tempted away from a comfortable but dull rut is one of the subtlest to be found in the 'B' film ranks."