The Great Impersonation

One of those Universal films that was included in the "Shock Theater" TV package long ago. Old movie film buffs will enjoy this. It certainly is an interesting story. Sidenote: the musical score was reused over the next few years in Universal "B" movies and serials. "Tim Tyler's Luck" and "Buck Rogers" utilize the main title. Have not seen this one on TCM or anywhere else in decades. Hopefully Universal will give this a release for today's TV and streaming services.

Edmund Lowe as a German looks exactly like Edmund Lowe as a British aristocrat so a ring of international munitions dealers plans to off the British one and install the German one in his place. So a month later, Edmund Lowe is on his way to the English countryside, where the ancestral manor is haunted by the ghost of a man Lowe is believed to have murdered and dumped the corpse in the bog, where they've got a crazy housekeeper, and Lowe's wife -- I forget which one -- is Valerie Hobson, who is sick, or mentally depressed or something. Plus Lowe's mistress, Wera Engels shows up.

All of which is absolute nonsense and totally unworkable, until Miss Hobson shows up and Lowe falls in love. This is the one plot point I can make sense of, because Miss Hobson is an absolute delight. But I can't figure out how a German Lowe is supposed to fool anyone who's ever met him before, nor how this can be used to sell weapons. With Esther Dale, Spring Byington, and Dwight Frye.

Other reviewers have pointed out the use of but redressed standing sets for the tower steps of Frankenstein and the stairway from Old Dark House. Take another look and you'll recognize the Frankenstein cellar, use as the attic here. It was continually redressed for White Zombie, Mystery of the Blue Room, here, and I suspect many other films. I think I recall the title music is from Werewolf on London. Nice to see Brandon Hurst, Dwight Frye, and Frank Reicher in another weird film..

The film itself is instantly recognizable as a Universal of the period. Good production values and acting, without producing a superior product. Still, it's fun, and worth seeing a second time.

This version of "The Great Impersonation" sticks to the book rather well. By contrast, the 1942 version is an extremely loose interpretation and obviously World War II propaganda. The acting is fine and the dialog interesting. The casting is excellent. This movie is based on what is supposed to be Oppenheim's greatest novel. I read the novel and thought it was mediocre. For its time, the movie, in my opinion, actually outshone the novel. Both the 1935 and 1942 versions of the novel are unapologetic melodramas, but the 1935 version has the more interesting and complex plot. However, ideally one should watch each and decide for oneself.

East Africa, 1914: English nobleman Sir Everard Dominey (Edmund Lowe) is found collapsed in the jungle after going on a lion hunt. While recuperating, he meets an old college friend, Baron Leopold von Ragastein (also Lowe), with whom he shares a remarkable resemblance. Ragastein works for an international munitions company that is hoping to exploit the impending war in Europe; he sees an opportunity to prolong the conflict by posing as Dominey and crippling England's war machine.

After disposing of his English doppelganger, Ragastein travels to Dominey Hall to carry out his plans. However, Everard's chequered past causes the imposter unforeseen problems.

This is the second of three movies to be based on the mystery novel by E. Phillips Oppenheim (the other two were filmed in 1921 and 1942). The plot combines intrigue, suspense and romance, with a sub-plot about the ghost of a murdered man (Dwight Frye) haunting the bog that borders Dominey Hall. The film starts off strong, but once Ragastein arrives in England, it treads water for a long while, eventually livening up in the final act with a neat twist and some exciting action.

Edmund Lowe acquits himself well in his dual role, effectively switching accents depending upon who he is talking to. Valerie Hobson is adequate in her role as Dominey's estranged wife, but gorgeous German actress Wera Engels, as Princess Stephanie Elderstrom, Ragastein's troublesome ex-lover, is far more captivating in my opinion. Visually, the film is impressive, benefitting from great art direction by Charles D. Hall and sets used previously for The Old Dark House and Frankenstein.

5.5/10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.