A decade before this
film's release, William Witney was directing Republic Pictures cowboy
serials so he may have felt at home in the mountain setting of,
“Suspended Disbelief,” my alternate title for this film. The official title works. It is every bit that. It comes off, at times, like a
filmed stage play with everyone knowing their cues and what
expression to provide. The opening score is appropriate. If it were a
soap opera. The score may also burst onto a scene without warning. I will give Republic the benefit of the doubt by assuming I watched an inferior print. There are abrupt edits as if
the film broke and then was spliced together. This actually complements
the film’s pacing.
An apparent “upper
teen,” the twenty-three-year-old Ben Cooper (speaking of cowboy Westerns) still lives
with mom, assisting in running her mountain motel. His hobby is a
souped-up 1939 Mercury coupe for which he is always in tinkering
mode. His other tinkering hobby is gawking at the visiting Marla
English, poolside. Her intentions are rather obvious, except to Cooper, who plays it cool like a typical high-school senior of the era with limited social experiences. Suspended disbelief. She is a
nightclub singer—we have no evidence of this—and completing her
trio are Jan Merlin (known for many despicable characters) and Nick Adams. I am not sure how much the boy
really knows about cars after these two arrive in a new Lincoln. He
is "gosh-darned" impressed and heard it will do zero to sixty in six
seconds. Even Road&Track finds this hard to believe.
Cooper is pretty
suspicious of these two after noticing that the Lincoln is actually
registered to Woody Wilson, the trio's "booking agent." He is
supposed to arrive at a later hour, but Cooper informs English that
the newspapers say he has escaped from a mid-western jail. Golly! She is
“shocked” and cannot figure that one. Her real shock is
suspecting Woody knows Merlin double-crossed him. Cooper soon discovers the trio’s new gig. An armored car
robbery to the tune of...well...a lot of money. He is pressured into
driving his “faster than a Lincoln” hot rod as the getaway
vehicle, apparently with the hope that it will probably all work out in the
end. I will say, the stunt driving convinced me of its custom nature.
Nothing phony about the speeds or cornering up the dusty mountain roads. The actual car
was somewhat of a celebrity, a genuine early Fifties customized model completed some two years
prior. I digress. The robbery should move that fast because Woody is in town! While
English gazes at the blurred flora and fauna up the mountain she gets
something in her eye. After they stop, she tells Cooper, “I think a
pebble hit my eye.” The only thing funnier would have been using the
word “rock” instead. I think an ophthalmologist is needed. With
all the talk and fear of Woody, I looked forward to seeing the actor.
But the role was never cast.
Merlin’s character is
certainly dangerous. Half the time a wise mastermind, the other half as a man-child prone to temper tantrums. Things do not always pan out
like he thinks they should. So frustrated, he takes it out on
whoever is nearby with bursts of angry yelling, using a gun for gesturing. After the robbery, a contrived radio broadcast centers on
the lighter side of the news. The amused newscaster mentions Cooper’s
mother (startled, he blurts out, “Mom!”) who figures her son
eloped with that 'swimming pool Delilah.' Everyone in the car has
a good laugh at the son's expense.
Merlin
demands Cooper to take a particular turn off the main highway. They
come to a halt. Merlin yells, “It’s a dead-end!” The “Road
Closed until Spring” sign should have been a clue. The entire cast
is now at an electric company’s weather reporting station which is
about to experience its first big snowfall of the season. No one in
or out for six months. Really? Merlin’s brilliance tells him this
will be the ideal hiding place. Six months without anyone ever making
contact with the station. Probably not much more than three months without any food.
Suspended disbelief at its essence. The station is run by a brother
and sister team of Peter Miller and Joan Evans. Everyone is
uncomfortable about the long winter. For some unknown reason, Evans
falls head over heels for Cooper. She knew him for his weekend races,
but they had never met. He is on the same page. More tinkering.
There is plenty of acting silliness until Miller purposely destroys
the communications radio. With communication down, a ranger in a snow
tracker heads in their direction.
The final scene is the
most rushed segment as if the director had to say, “Cut. That’s a
wrap!” at the seventy-minute mark no matter what he had intended
to film. With no time left to properly resolve the film, the viewer
has to settle on another radio broadcast from the car Cooper, Evans and Miller are traveling.
Note: Nick Adams
brings an early comedic note to the film as a guy with sinus woes due
to the higher elevation. Merlin is intolerant of his constant
sniffles, yelling, or throwing things at him like a child. With his
black shirt, white tie, and white suspenders, Adams looks like he is
part of a clichéd comedic
gangster skit. He is a funny
sight, later, with a “scarf” under his fedora, tied under his
chin, to keep warm. But his I.Q. is a bit higher than “Merlin the
Yeller” and outwits him by incrementally depositing all the loot
in a "snow bank," exchanging stones for the money inside the bag.
Neither Merlin nor English could figure out why the money turned hard
and lumpy. Must be the altitude.
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