Man with Two Lives

I started watching movies on TV around 1948. First one I can recall was The Ghost Goes West (1936). Another early one was The Man With Two Lives. My brother and I, around 11 and 8 years old respectively, watched it a few times because 1) there wasn't much else on that would appeal to us the way execution and "transmigration of souls" would and 2) they repeated it a few times. Even at that age we were not highly impressed, but it was better than the Small Fry Club and Howdy Doody. Another favorite (?) of ours was one in which a doctor, I believe, became afflicted with acromegaly, causing his fingers and other body parts to swell; the tip-off was when he became unable to play the piano. That one was scary enough to give me a healthy respect for dread diseases, and I was confirmed in this years later when, with a college education under my belt, I looked up "acromegaly" in the dictionary and found the film's depiction of it was truthful. Now what was the name of that film....

Man with Two Lives (1942)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

A man (Edward Norris) is killed in a car wreck but his father asks a scientist to try and bring him back. The scientist is able to bring the man back but it doesn't take too long to notice that the once sweet kid isn't acting hisself. Director Rosen was a specialist at these poverty row films and this one here is pretty much a retelling of the Karloff/Lugosi film Black Friday. There are a couple nice ideas thrown around here about the wrong soul entering a body and how a father would react to the body of his son but with the soul of someone else. These moments are too few and for the most part we're left with a stale attempt at horror and drama. The biggest problem is certainly the screenplay, which tries to rush everything into a 61-minute movie. None of the performances are very good either but I guess that's to be expected. Another problem is that the movie ends only to have another ending pop up out of no where and this one is extremely stupid to the point where I might call it one of the worst I've seen.

"A young man, recently engaged to be married, is the victim of a traffic accident and dies as a result of his injuries. His father, desperate to revive his son, agrees to let a scientist friend try his experimental soul transmigration process to save him. After the young man returns to life, the father and fiancée notice a dark and violent change in the young man's behavior, leading them to believe something went horribly wrong in the revival process," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.

At one point, Edward Norris (as Philip Bennett) is asked, "What do you think this is, Boys Town?" Mr. Norris should know, since he was in "Boys Town". "The Man with Two Lives " is more like "Black Friday" minus Karloff and Lugosi. You do the math. This film might have been a contender, with a re-worked script; it does feature an intriguing final act. After a tepid "shoot out", hang in for the drama to pick up with a well-played scene between star Norris and pursuing detective Addison Richards (as George Bradley).

**** The Man with Two Lives (1942) Phil Rosen ~ Edward Norris, Eleanor Lawson, Addison Richards

Engaging tale of transmigration of the soul, which apparently afflicts a young man after he's revived from death following a fatal automobile accident. Just so happens he's been resurrected the same night as a notorious and unscrupulous killer is executed - his subsequent criminal behaviour concerning to not only his family, oblivious to his double life, but also his new gang, who live in fear of his ruthless streak.

Norris is pretty chilling at times as the cold-blooded killer, who nonchalantly offs just about anyone who presents a risk to his authority. Keane, Burton and Sothern play the trio of elders who presided over his ill-fated re-animation, now desperately trying to understand the reasoning for his out-of-character behaviour, and mysterious disappearances. Addison Richards has a neat little side dish of a role playing a savvy detective with whom Norris shares a scene in which the two trade feigned small talk, in a game of brinkmanship till just one is left standing.

It's a surprisingly taut, violent and compelling picture the only real issue I took was with the dual ending, the almost post-script conclusion of which, in my opinion, was unnecessary and retrograde. Listen out for some memorable dialogue too like "he lets his rod off at every opportunity and doesn't care in which direction it's pointed". We're talking about a revolver obviously, but it still cracks me up.

Every once in a while we have to make one of the guilty admissions. Here is one for me, "I like this movie." Plot concerns a nice young gentleman who is killed. A doctor has just perfected a technique that can revive him. His father nervously concedes and the doctor revives the young man. At the same time, a ruthless gangster is executed. The gangster's soul is transmitted to the young man.

Once "alive" again, the man has no recollection of his Goody-Goody old self and simply lives out his former role as a gangster, and a nasty one at that. A little similar to Black Friday except the young man never returns to his former self and once revived is 100% the mind and soul of the gangster.

For those who liked the old Monogram and PRC Horror films in the 1940's will probably enjoy this one. It lacks the star appeal, but I though Edward Norris was more than adequate in the victim/villain role.