Backfire (1950)

☆ ☆ ☆

Backfire (1950) – V. Sherman

Average film noir that has some of the usual trappings (flashbacks, twisty plot, chiaroscuro lighting) but doesn’t really distinguish itself.  Perhaps this is because the lead is played by ho-hum Gordon MacRae who is flat on his back in the hospital for most of the picture, wondering where his ex-Army buddy and future ranch partner, Edmond O’Brien, has disappeared to.  O’Brien, a noir veteran (he shot this one between White Heat and D.O.A.) is always a treat to watch but he has less to do here.  Virginia Mayo is the helpful nurse who helps MacRae to unfurl the plot whereas Viveca Lindfors is the (faux femme fatale) lounge singer who drives the plot mechanics.  Ed Begley (Sr.) makes a solid police captain investigating the homicide of the gambler for which O’Brien is the principal suspect.  You get the point: this is the usual man-trying-to-solve-crime-before-the-police plot with a variety of red herrings and generic settings and situations.  So, in that regard, this is solid viewing – it just isn’t the cream of the crop.