The Man with My Face

This is one of those films where premise is intriguing but execution is sloppy. Chick Graham (Barry Nelson) comes home on one day to find out his doppelganger has taken his place. The police shows up and his wife Cora (Lynn Ainley) and business partner Buster (John Harvey) confirm that doppelganger is real Chick and Chick is fake. Chick escapes and tries to prove his identity. The plot turns more and more ridiculous and implausible, but energetic direction, fast pace action and enjoyable double performance by Barry Nelson turn 'The Man with My Face' passable time waster entertainment.

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.

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.

It's not a bad movie. The pacing is good. The good guys/gals are likeable. The action is not bad. The actual Puerto Rico locations look great. As another reviewer stated the premise is intriguing , but the execution is sloppy. If you have about and hour and 10 minutes to kill and like these type of movies, it's worth the time.

They say everyone has a double somewhere. This film is a speculation and experiment in the fascinating possibility that two such doubles would meet and one take advantage of the other for their incredible likeness. The story is totally improbable, but the film is efficient, and the last manhunt is quite captivating mainly because of the presence of a dog taking the lead turning the film into a thriller of horror. It is all filmed in Puerto Rico, and the shots of the island are enthralling. The film is ruined by not being convincing at all - this could never happen to anyone, and the calculated evil of the plot is absurd - there is no realism here. Nevertheless, it is worth watching for the excitement, and of course you would want to know how such an impossible intrigue would end.