Movies:
A Double Life
DVD Release
- Release Date: 2003
- cc
- Digitally mastered from the original film negative
- Full screen version
- 2.0 Dolby Stereo Surround
- Scene selects
- English closed captioning
- Rating:
- Genre: Mystery
- Movie Type: Film Noir, Melodrama
- Themes: Double Life, Crimes of Passion, Amnesia
- Director: George Cukor
- Main Cast: Whit Bissell, Ronald Colman, Betsy Blair, Signe Hasso, David Bond, Edmond O'Brien, Harlan Briggs, Shelley Winters, Georgia Caine, Ray Collins
- Release Year: 1947
- Country: US
- Run Time: 103 minutes
Plot
Ronald Colman won an Academy Award for his portrayal of an off-the-beam actor in A Double Life. A beloved stage star, Anthony John (Colman), has problems with his private life due to his unpredictable outbursts of temper. This trait has already cost him his wife, Brita (Signe Hasso), and threatens to sabotage his career. Nonetheless, Anthony makes his peace with Brita, and the two actors star in a new Broadway staging of Othello. The play is a hit, running over 300 performances, but the pressures of portraying a man moved to murder by jealousy takes its toll on Anthony. In a fit of delirium, he strangles his casual mistress, Pat (Shelley Winters), but retains no memory of the awful crime. Press agent Bill Friend (Edmond O'Brien), unaware that Anthony is the killer, uses Pat's murder as publicity for Othello. Anthony becomes enraged at this cheap ploy, and attacks Friend. At this point, Anthony realizes that he has been living "a double life" and is in fact Pat's murderer. A Double Life was written for the screen by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, who occasionally digress from the melodramatic plotline to include a few backstage inside jokes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie GuideReview
Originally written for Laurence Olivier, A Double Life ultimately served as the vehicle which brought Ronald Colman his only Oscar. It's certainly a worthy performance, although some might carp that Colman goes for "showy" effects when subtler choices might prove more effective. Nonetheless, he does take hold of the screen and never let it go, delivering an energetic and enthralling performance that is essential to making the film work. The encroaching madness, the frenzy, the fight for sanity are all portrayed in an electrifying manner; Colman makes this man both monstrous and appealing. Of course, he's working from a well-structured script by Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon that is filled with the kind of scenes and dialogue that an actor kills for. And director George Cukor provides invaluable support, showcasing his star in the most favorable manner. Cukor also makes extensive use of mirrors throughout, an appropriate metaphor, and his visual flair really comes into play as Colman sinks further into madness. His evocative use of sound and music throughout also helps to intensify the race away from sanity. In addition, the director pulls an affecting and vulnerable performance from Shelley Winters, who plays very well off of Colman. If A Double Life's melodramatic heights are a little artificial for modern audiences, it still packs a sizable wallop. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie GuideCast
- Whit Bissell - Dr. Stauffer
- Ronald Colman - Anthony John
- Betsy Blair - Girl in Wig Shop
- Signe Hasso - Brita
- Edmond O'Brien - Bill Friend
- David Bond - ["othello" Sequence]
- Harlan Briggs - Oscar Bemard
- Shelley Winters - Pat Kroll
- Georgia Caine - [A Gentleman's Gentleman Sequence]
- Ray Collins - Victor Donlan
Claire Carleton - Waitress; Philip Loeb - Max Lasker; John Drew Colt - Stage Manager; Leslie Denison - ["othello" Sequence]; Elizabeth Dunne - Gladys; Alan Edmiston - Rex; Arthur E. Gould-Porter - ["othello" Sequence]; Wilton Graff - Dr. Mervin; Boyd Irwin - ["othello" Sequence]; Fay Kanin - ["othello" Sequence]; Charles La Torre - Stellini; Millard Mitchell - Al Cooley; Virginia Patton - ["othello" Sequence]; Guy Bates Post - ["othello" Sequence]; Elliott Reid - [A Gentleman's Gentleman Sequence]; Thayer Roberts - ["othello" Sequence]; Joe Sawyer - Pete Bonner; Art Smith - Wigmaker; Peter Thompson - Assistant Stage Manager; Sid Tomack - Wigmaker; Percival Vivian - ["othello" Sequence]; Janet Warren - Girl in Wigshop; Marjorie Woodworth - Girls in Wig Shop; Frederic Worlock - ["othello" Sequence]; Mary Young - [A Gentleman's Gentleman Sequence]; William Norton Bailey; Joe Bernard - Husband; Laura Brooks - Dowager; Angela Clarke - Lucy; Curt Conway - Reporter; Russ Conway - Reporter; Nick Dennis - Stagehand; Joann Dolan - Ellen; George Douglas; Fernanda Eliscu - Landlady; Arthur E. Gould-Porter - David Bond; Beatrice Gray; Ethel May Halls - Woman; Fred Hoose - Laughing Man; Boyd Irwin - Virginia Patton; Charles Jordan - Bartender; Robert Emmett Keane - 2nd Photographer; Hazel Keener - Woman; Elmo Lincoln - Detective; Barry Macollum - Stagehand; Joyce Mathews - Janet; Walter McGrail - Steve; Carl Milletaire - Customer; Howard Mitchell - Tailor; Harry Morgan - Guest; Albert Pollet - Costume Designer; Joey Ray - Boyer; Buddy Roosevelt - Fingerprint Man; Sarah Selby - Anna; Jamesson Shade; George Sherwood - Guest; Mike Stokey; Percival Vivian - Thayer Roberts/Georgia Caine; Frederic Worlock - Leslie Denison; Mary Worth - Woman in Audience; Mary Young - Elliott Teid; Paddy Chayefsky - Photographer [uncredited]; Leander de Cordova; John Derek - Police Stenographer; John Morgan; Fay Kanin - Guy Bates Post; Harry Bannister - 2nd Actor; Watson Downs - Bootmaker; Diane Stewart; Reginald Billado - Reporter; Alexander Clark - Barry; Maude Fealy - Woman; Nina Gilbert - Woman; Doretta Johnson; Kay Lavelle - Large Woman; Katherine Marlowe; Don McGill - Man at Party; Bruce Riley; Elektra Rozanska; Pete Sosso - Tailor; Cedric Stevens; Wayne Treadway - Men at Party; Frank Richards - Stagehand
