The Man with Two Faces

Great acting from Robinson, and a little over the top, but enjoyably so, from Calhern and Astor. Very stagey, but good setups and moving camera. Beware the plot synopsis in the TV Guide movie database. It seems to describe the ending of the play, but the movie (a censored version?), which played on TCM, has a more ambiguous ending which works better and is more interesting (to me, at least). (Not that I'm for censorship, but sometimes...) Ironically, the play had a happy ending, and that is the one described by TV Guide and Maltin. It's amusing to see when the established references contain reviews that were written by people who had not seen the entire film, and in some cases not at all.

It's one of those films where you can tell those involved really enjoyed making it. When else would they get such a chance to ham it up so gloriously! That enjoyment they exude and that fun just bubbles out of the screen at you.

You might not think that watching a load of luvvies pretending to be even bigger luvvies would be fun but darlings, you'll be surprised. It's a bit slow at the start but as soon as Mr Calhern appears it's all action. Both EGR's self satisfied yet loveable luvvie and Louis Calhern's brilliantly unpleasant cad both reminded me very much of Clifton Webb's marvellously sarcastic, pompous Waldo Lydecker in Preminger's 1944 classic LAURA. They make a magnificently entertaining sparing couple.

The real credit here goes to the snappy and witty script that's based on a play by the 'real life' Waldo Lydecker, Alexander Woollcott and George Kaufman. And let's not forget director Archie Mayo - he might have made an awful lot of trash but he also made some absolute classics too. This isn't one of his best - its pace is a little inconsistent at times and the ending is horribly rushed but it's still a pretty polished production.

One of the pitfalls pictures about acting have is that they try to be too thespian, too professional about everything. Characters making witty and cutting remarks about a fictional director's skill on the screen can fall flat if what the audience is actually watching what looks like it's directed by a chimpanzee. They have to be very careful. This overcomes this problem with its dark humour and sense of utter absurdity. It's both very clever and very silly. It doesn't take itself too seriously but still retains its edge. Not a film to watch over and over again but it certainly deserves at least one viewing.

If this film has a weak spot it's the story's details. Without giving anything away the whole idea of Vance's (Calhern) Svengali-like hypnotic effect on his wife (Astor) is a bit far-fetched, even for 1934. And quite frankly Robinson's disguise left a lot to be desired. And let's not forget the clue that clinched the policeman's case. I can't imagine building a case of such flimsy evidence. There's other areas of concern but I digress. Now for the good part: where the film shines is in the performances. This bevy of fine actors does a most excellent job at presenting complex characters driven by events not of their own choosing. It's a pretty talky film but I didn't mind in the least. The dialog is spirited, lively, expressive. And the performers tended to make me forget the plot's weak points. They were captivating, all of them, Robinson, Astor, Calhern, Cortez (in a rare good guy part), and last but not least, Mae Clarke, in my opinion a most underrated actor.

Man with Two Faces, The (1934)

*** (out of 4)

The tagline of this MGM picture promised it as the "most unusual picture since DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE" but that's a tad bit of a stretch as the film has a lot more in common with Warner's SVENGALI. Actor Damon Welles (Edward G. Robinson) is shocked to see that his sister (Mary Astor) goes into some sort of trance, which has been brought on by the arrival of her husband (Louis Calhern) who everyone thought had been killed years earlier. It turns out the husband puts the sister under a trance because he's trying to steal her money so the actor/brother decides to play a different type of part and free his sister through murder. THE MAN WITH TWO FACES certainly isn't in the same league as the Fredric March Jekyll/Hyde flick but it's still a pretty surreal little gem that really works well thanks in large part to the terrific cast. At just 72-minutes there's nothing overly ground breaking but if you're looking for a good little "B" film then this one here will get the job done. I was surprised to see how effective the story was even if we've seen it before in earlier films. I thought the pre-code elements were rather effective and the abuse that the husband puts his wife through was certainly stronger than what you'd typical see. I thought the screenplay did a good job at slowly building up the viewer's hatred of the husband because he comes onto the scene through some sinister fog and the level of evilness this guy is just gets worse from there. There's no murder that we see but the husband still comes across as a great, mean villain. Robinson shows what a terrific actor he is as he gets to play a couple parts here. One the actor/brother and the other a French man. I thought Robinson did a very good job with both parts and I really enjoyed the restraint way he played the brother. Astor's also very effective in her scenes and just check out the sequence where she first sees the husband she thought was dead. The horror in her eyes tells us everything we need to know and it's this quick scene that really sets up everything that's to follow. I also thought Astor did a good job in her scenes in a trance. Mae Clarke of FRANKENSTEIN fame has a thankless role as Robinson's girlfriend but it's always nice to see her. Ricardo Cortez is fun as well playing Astor's boyfriend who gets pushed to the side. Calhern easily steals the show as the abusive Svengali type character as he's so good as being cold-blooded that you can't help but love to hate him. I won't ruin the ending but I thought it was quite clever and effective. I'm a little surprised that this film isn't better known among fantasy fans as I personally found it to be more entertaining than the 1931 John Barrymore film. Of course there are still some problems including Robinson playing the French guy and how no one is able to tell it's the actor. Outside that, this is a rather effective movie that's certainly worth viewing.

A play is about to have it's opening night when something awful happens....Stanley Vance (Louis Calhern) arrives. It seems that everyone thought he was dead...and hoped this was the case. But this malicious jerk is somehow alive and he's arrived for one reason....to destroy his wife's play until he is paid off to just go away again! It seems that Jessica (Mary Astor) is like a zombie around the Svengali-like Stanley...as if he is exerting some sort of mind control over her...and she seems helpless to stop him from ruining everything. Everyone hates Stanley...everybody. So you assume sooner or later Stanley is going to suffer some 'accident' which will permanently remove this vicious jerk from the picture. But who and how...that is what you'll have to find out when you watch the picture.

I really enjoyed watching Louis Calhern. He was delightfully awful...sort of like watching a cat toying with a mouse before ultimately snuffing it. He must have had a great time doing this...and he was excellent. I also loved that this is the sort of film where the audience is pulling for the murder to happen AND for the killer to get away with it...something which helped make "The Suspect" one of the best movies of its day. Overall, a very entertaining film...well acted, well written and very enjoyable.