The Man in the Mirror

Fans of RKO's best comedic supporting actor Edward Everett Horton will enjoy seeing him getting a chance to be the star of this amusing and uplifting Jeckyll and Hyde parody. It's perhaps not as funny as it thinks it is but is nevertheless extremely entertaining.

At the beginning, Horton plays his usual timid, unassuming doormat inexplicably married to the utterly gorgeous, Genevieve Tobin. Then his reflection, somehow annoyed at his subservient manner just walks out into the mirror and tells him to be a man. Think 'alternative reality Captain Kirk' in that episode where Bill Shatner hammed it up when he got split into nice but meek Kirk and nasty but ruthless Kirk. Horton easily carries this film of course being brilliant as the meek and mousy Jeremy but also very believable as his come-to-life alter ego, hard-headed cut-throat and dashingly romantic businessman.

This was made by Julius Hagen's Twickenham Studios when Hagen abandoned making his old quota quickies in favour of big budget, big productions in the county's biggest (for a time) studio - before his ambitions outgrew his finances leading to sadly bankruptcy. Genevieve Tobin, looks as radiant as ever but isn't asked to do much, she's only got a few scenes and isn't the most well developed character - maybe she was on holiday over here and had a spare couple of weeks to kill? Nevertheless Genevieve Tobin!!!

Overall this is a professional, well acted, imaginatively directed fun movie. It's not however as funny as it could be. It's a good, engaging story but the script isn't quite witty enough to make this the classic it could have been.

Maurice Elvey had been one of the major European film makers of the teens but the British industry was unable to supply him with projects of comparable ambition and he spent a lot of the thirties taking on vehicles for visiting US stars - here dithery second banana Horton. The actor's comic skill and his ability to differentiate the unturning worm business partner and his go getter dopelganger, emerging from the looking glass, show that Horton could carry a leading role - though hardly this one where the script wants us to believe the film's glamorous women see him as an object of desire.

The mounting is elaborate - studio constructed tube train station, exclusive London West End hotel and Chinese restaurant etc. The English cast are superior, though they waste Alisair Sim and Elvey's handling is accomplished. Watch the wide shot of the office where the two Hortons move round conducting a conversation with the correct eye lines and timing.

Elvey did better sound films than this SALLY IN HER ALLEY, PHANTOM FIEND, THE LAMP STILL BURNS but MAN IN THE MIRROR passes the time well enough.

Edward Aperson's US release has been sloppily titled - Gary Marsh is passed off as Gary Walsh and Felix Aylmer is missing.

Twickenham and Julius Hagen in the 1930s were synonymous with quota quickies.However this has far superior production values together with2 America actors,Edward Everett Horton and Genevieve Tobin as the leads.Everetts alter ego comes out of the mirror and replaces him.He actually makes loves to his wife,is friendly to his mother in law,shows great financial acumen and outwits his partner Garry Marsh.Horton gives his usual first class performance.The sets are absolutely marvelous a riot of art deco.Maybe it was investing in films of this quality that sent Hagen into bankruptcy and the end of his film career in little more than a year after this film was made

American actor Edward Everett Horton stars in this quota quickie British comedy.

He plays meek mild mannered stockbroker Jeremy Dilke in the city of London.

Jeremy is hen pecked at home by his wife Helen and his mother in law.

At work his business partner Tarkington is more affirmative. Taking over an impending deal with the Bogus of Bokhara.

Meanwhile Veronica Tarkington has the hots for Jeremy. Always flirting with him.

One evening after Jeremy's had another argument with his wife. His more confident and assured alter ego steps out of the mirror. Vowing to put things right at home and at work.

This is a pretty laboured comedy, the split screen stuff was good. The Bogus subplot was obvious. The Bogus is a fake!

Like all films of the period, some of the dialogue scenes seem slow (though perhaps this is closer to life than TV and movies are today!).

But whilst essentially a Hollywood 'B' movie, and despite a side character scene that would no doubt draw the ire of some people nowadays on the lookout for anything that may be construed as 'racist', it is quite a nippy little comedy.

With the sort of exceptional turn from EEH that allowed him to sustain a high profile career as a 'name' for decades, if never a romantic leading man.

He receives stalwart support from his English supporting cast (though as another reviewer commented, the talents of the great Alistair Sim are sadly wasted), and the production values are high enough to have appealed to US audiences of the time (who were happy to watch films supposedly set all over Europe before WW2- perhaps reflecting the nations first and second generation immigrant diaspora of the mate 19 and early 20c).

It employs the charm of various character actors besides EEH well, and the script, if not tight, is at least pacy and not too obvious!