A Double Life (1947)

Classic Chiller

A few things came to my mind while viewing "A Double Life". Foremost the film's theme of actors unable to separate roles from reality foreshadowed the recent passing of Heath Ledger. The liner notes state that Cary Grant turned the role of Anthony John before Ronald Colman accepted it. No offence to Grant, but I think it a wise decision because I can't see him doing a better job than Colman. Essentially this a high-brow psychological horror film. If you like this film it would behoove you to check out the films producer Val Lewton made for RKO or "The Lodger" and "Hangover Square" from Fox. All around this is a first rate production. One has to start with Colman who gives a performance for the ages. His character is sympathetic despite the monstrous impulses that lurk beneath his surface. The script by Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon cleverly juxtaposes staged horror with the real thing. Director George Cukor orchestrates the proceedings with originality and style. Though "A Double Life" pays homage to a maligned genre it's unlike any film I've seen before and should not be missed. September 1, 2008

Colman's triumphant role

Ronald Colman was brilliant in his Oscar winning portrayal of deranged yet venerable Broadway actor Anthony John in the George Cukor directed "A Double Life". This psychological thriller based upon a screenplay by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin was a thoughtfully construed play within a play.

Colman was coaxed by Broadway producers played by Philip Loeb and Ray Collins to reprise the role of Othello. So consumed by the role was Colman that be began to exhibit the jealous and murderous rage of the Shakespearean created Moor in his real life. After almost strangling his ex-wife and leading lady Brita played by Signe Hasso while acting on stage, he suffered a serious break from reality.

In a fit of jealousy inspired by his press agent Bill Friend played by Edmond O'Brien's affection for Hasso he goes on a rampage. He visits waitress Pat Kroll played by a buxon and sultry Shelley Winters, a gal he had a thing with previously. Totally withdrawn from his senses, he strangles her in the same manner that Othello dispatches Desdemona in the play.

As Hollywood justice dictated in the 40's, Colman is made to pay for his crimes in a thrilling conclusion as O'Brien becomes suspicious that Colman was the murderer and contacts the police.

Colman's Academy Award was justly deserved as he demonstrated his proficiency not only as a well schooled Shakespearean actor but also in the role of the delusional Anthony John. Miklos Rosza's musical score also garnered him an Oscar in star studded flick. January 9, 2008

Shelley Winters Doomed Again...

A PLACE IN THE SUN, THE GREAT GATSBY, NIGHT OF THE HUNTER, LOLITA, POSEIDON ADVENTURE: the list of films in which Shelley Winters dies young (orrelatively young or at least not quite yet ready for the home) goes on and on. What does that say about poor Shelley-Also-Known-As-Shirley? Well, I'm not sure, frankly. But I do know this movie preceded them all, and although I can't say for sure that it was the very first film in which she croaked, it's hard to imagine her doing any better job of it than she does here. At least in this one, she didn't end up all waterlogged.

But seriously, this is the film most often cited as Winters' breakthrough, despite the fact that she was a screen veteran by this point with 20 parts under her belt. It's not insignificant that the packaging of this DVD features her more prominently than the nominal female lead, the dignified but not very flashy Signe Hasso. Her "tough talkin' blonde from the wrong side of the tracks" was as close to archetypal as you could get. She didn't get a lot of screentime and a good deal of that was spent getting strangled, BUT she invested her character Pat Kroll with sufficient humanity that you couldn't help feel compassion for her and bemoan her fate.

The movie's lead was, of course, an aging Ronald Colman, whose star turn here as fading stage actor (fading more into insanity than oblivion, actually) got him a belated Oscar. Many contemporary viewers of this film might find that surprising. It's a meaty enough role, but by current standards at least, a bit on the hammy side. It's written that way: it's hardly the actor's fault. But if you're anything like me, you almost sure to cringe a little at some of the scenes. You know how they used to portray incipient madness back in the old days: the echoing voices, the distorted camera angles, the gay laughter in the background suddenly turning into a sinister cackle? It's all there.

And it's a little bit hokey. Legendary screenwriters Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon do manage to come up with a literate and entertaining script. The time-honored theme of the discrepancy between theatrical illusion and gritty reality is treated here entertainingly, if not especially profoundly. As suggested above, the casting of the two major feminine roles is telling. Winters' earthy, peculiarly American brand vulgarity is matched by Hasso's worldly sophistication and elegance. The filmmakers make use of the actress's international background and even have her privately coo at her leading man (and former husband) in her native Swedish.

Worlds collide here, with predictably tragic results. The elevated language of Shakespeare's OTHELLO (entire scenes of which are incorporated into the film's action) contrasts sharply with the jargon of the street savvy waitresses, cops, and journalists our lead encounters. You wonder how true it can really be that Shakespeare provided suitable entertainment for the rabble of his day.

It would be tempting to talk about the universality of Shakespearen themes and how the film cleverly relates the obsessive jealousy of Othello to the growing madness of the actor who plays him in "real life." Colman's character does have moments of heated jealousy and rage towards his ex-wife and her current admirers (one of whom, a regular Joe PR man for the play, he brutally assaults). And as you might guess, he transfers all that jealous rage onto the poor girl he murders, since she mentions, quite innocently, that she has other beaux.

It's an interesting mix of reality and illusion, and as we all know, that's what the theatre (and by extension, the cinema) is all about. In all fairness, I have no idea how fresh and new this notion may have seemed to movie-goers in 1947. If it all seems a bit hackneyed today--sorta like the kind of movies they were making 60 years ago--I guess that's in part because it WAS made 60 years ago.







September 6, 2007

A Double Life

Directed by an Oscar-nominated Cukor, and boasting a literate, chilling script from Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon, "Double" remains a first-rate psychological shocker. An aging Colman really earns his only Oscar in a complex part reputedly turned down by both Laurence Olivier and Cary Grant. And both Hasso and a sultry Winters score as unwitting flies caught in the web of Tony's diseased mind. See this unnerving feature, and you'll never think of Shakespearean tragedy in quite the same way. By all means, run for your "Life". June 21, 2007

The fine line between the actor's stage and reality is murder....

Here's a memorable Oscar-winning performance from one of Hollywood's finest actor's, Ronald Colman, in a story of jealousy, madness and revenge. In a role that was originally intended for Cary Grant, Colman is excellent as Anthony John, a celebrated off-Broadway actor who blurs the line between his character, Othello, and reality when he starts acting on the murderous impulses of his character. As a psychological melodrama, "A Double Life" undoubtedly stands out as a success.

George Kukor's direction is exemplary as he successfully juxtaposes Tony John's real jealousy over his ex-wife's relationship with Edmond O'Brien, while mirroring the wracked emotions and madness of Shakespeare's protagonist.

Colman convincingly protrays Tony John's progressive dementia from the get-go the minute he is offered the part soon after the opening credits roll. For an actor used to playing debonair and swashbuckling heroes in the 30's this role must have been a challenge for Colman, but a welcome one. He brings a nervous intensity to the character of Tony John that is never melodramatic but is realistically portrayed.

Co-written by the talented actress, Ruth Gordon (Harold & Maude), "A Double Life" showcases an impressive cast including Shelley Winters (in her first professional role), Ray Collins, and Signe Hasso.

The score by Miklos Rozsa, as well as the screenplay by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, are both as memorable as the performances in this remarkable film. This DVD's transfer is markedly clean and lovingly restored from the original film negative and presented in the original 1.33:1 format in which the the film was initially shot. August 26, 2006

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