The Man with My Face

When the whole issue of identity theft began getting increased visibility several years ago, this is where my pre-cyber world mind went. You come home one day from work and there's somebody that's you in your place. We get some hints that Nelson suspects that things aren't perfect at home as he leaves for work on that fateful morning. This initially plays out like a good Twilight Zone episode. The cops are called in to arrest the good guy, he's carted off, he somehow escapes; but then it's all ruined as the nefarious plot is disclosed. The remainder of the movie becomes a manhunt and an explanation of how and why. Nice shots of Puerto Rico help to relieve the routine. Nelson is very good in the dual roles. This is an okay time waster.

First thing I want to do with this review is state who femme fatale Lynn Ainley really was. This was a name used only for a few projects by actress Betty Lou Gerson. There were financial reasons why she had to be hired in Puerto Rico where this was filmed and they made it seem like she was "discovered" there by this name.

At any rate, this is an above average crime thriller based on a doppelgänger premise. Chick Graham is married to the blonde femme fatale Cora. He had a dog named Jiggs. They pretty much have a normal life in Puerto Rico. Then everything goes haywire when Chick finds his wife and brother-in-law don't recognize him and neither can his dog.

Everyday Everyman Chick Graham has an unrelated man who looks just like him, indeed, who could easily pass as his twin brother. That fellow is psychopathic Albert Rand who has cooked up an elaborate plot to commit a big time heist and then fade into the woodwork as Chick Graham. It turns out that wife Cora and her brother Buster are in on the nefarious plot. Most of the movie shows our hero trying to get things sorted out as he is on the lam from the cops who have him down as robber Rand.

It might have benefitted from being shot in color but the makers of the film do as much as possible in black and white with the lush setting of Puerto Rico. I think Barry Nelson did a fine job of playing nice guy chick vs. Route to the core psychopath Albert Rand. The other performers do well. Perhaps the canine performers deserve a special nod. There is the little one who plays Jiggs and then there is the doberman who plays the trained killer dog. Betty Lou Gerson/Lynn Ainley is attractive in a tough way as the femme fatale wife who suffers pangs of conscience and Carole Matthews is endearing as the forgiving ex-girlfriend.

"The Man With My Face" grabs and holds interest. It is a slightly above average crime drama.

Wildly improbable but seldom less than absorbing, The Man With My Face has the distinction of being the only film noir set in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. That's where Barry Nelson settled down after the war and where he runs a little business with his old army buddy, now his brother-in-law, John Harvey. But one evening he returns home to his cozy bungalow only to find his tough-faced wife (Lynn Ainley) staring at him as if he had suddenly grown a second head. In a sense he has, because there in his living room is his exact double, having drinks and playing cards. And as far as Ainley and Harvey are concerned, this newcomer is the real husband and business partner, respectively. Even his little pooch bites Nelson on the hand.

Turned out into the Caribbean warm, Nelson enlists the help of an old girlfriend (Carole Mathews) whom he had thrown over for the blonde if shopworn Ainley. Mathews' protective brother (Jack Warden) stays wary, but soon joins in trying to figure out the puzzle. It doesn't take long, because Nelson's face is on the front page - as a Miami bank robber who got away with half a million. This robber - the double - has been in league with the wife and brother-in-law since long before the marriage. Rounding out the gang is another war veteran, but as a member of K-9 corps - a Doberman trained to kill; his slavering maw turns several hapless victims into bowls of Alpo.

Edward Montagne directed, who the year before had made The Tattooed Stranger, a starvation-budget police procedural shot on location - then a rarity - in New York City. Like that strange and seedy movie, The Man With My Face shares a cast that, apart from Nelson, had few credits behind them (or ahead of them); it shows little visual dimension, either, having been shot entirely in flat subtropical sunshine. But the doppelganger theme holds attention, despite the fact that its ironies and perversities are never pursued to real satisfaction. It's pure plot, and far-fetched at that, but in its modest way it works.

The premise, as others point out, is wildly improbable, yet the visuals, direction, and acting prove enough to compensate. Poor Chick Graham (Nelson, in a dual role). On an utterly routine work day he returns home, only to find an exact double has taken his place in the household. Even his wife (Ainley) says the real Chick is an impostor, and the officials believe her, not Chick. In fact everything he does to verify his identity backfires, including fingerprints. So what's going on since Chick's just an ordinary working stiff.

Frankly, I wish the screenplay hadn't tipped its hand so soon by explaining the reason behind the impersonation. Withholding the key would have set up a good mystery. Nonetheless, Nelson's dual role is well handled. Catch the vertical line created by door-frames that indicates where the split screen divides when the two Nelsons appear in the same shot. The split screens are well done without being obtrusive. Also, the climactic chase through the old Spanish coastal fort is excitingly picturesque. In fact, the movie makes good use of the Puerto Rico locations, even if in b&w. These lend an exotic flavor to an exotic story.

All in all, the movie certainly doesn't lack for imagination, including the assassin canine and its scary handler (Jim Boles). Speaking of the Doberman, I'm glad the besieged Chick finally figures out the tactical use of a door. Anyway, with some basic work on the screenplay, this could have been a B-film that's more than novel entertainment, which it is.

Doppelganger topic features have always provided much suspense, have always grabbed you, stuck your attention to details, each move, each dialogue. This one is not widely known, it is not an Alfred Hitchcock's film either, but it is enough to be a little gem to discover again, at all costs. The director is totally unknown to me, so are the actors and the Puerto Rico settings are also unusual. It is a performance to shoot such a story, where an actor plays two characters, especially because of the confusion elements that may provoke this scheme for the audience. And above all, it is not long, it is not two hours length, so you can't get bored. Good little gem.