La Mort frappe 3 fois

This movie could easily have become a sad and pathetic parody of the final stages of a great actor's career. Instead it marks another pinnacle in the history of one of Hollywood's greatest players, Bette Davis. There are not enough superlatives to describe her performance. Not only does Davis carry the movie, she is the movie. Her performance transcends the material. This movie is an example of where the actor succeeds in elevating the script. The story is cleverly written and beautifully photographed in a black and white context that sets the mood for the movie. But it is Bette Davis's performance as a twin which makes this movie not only watchable but fun to watch. Like Bette Davis herself, this movie has aged well. Davis has since departed us but her legacy lives on in her many wonderful movies, including this one.

Bette Davis essayed twin sisters twice. The first was A STOLEN LIFE, one of her last good Warner Brother films in the late 1940s, wherein the good sister watches helplessly while her bad sister steals Glenn Ford from her, but she gets a second chance at Glenn when the bad sister is killed in an accident and the good one can take over her life (hence the title).

Then there was this film made nearly two decades later. Despite some far out plot twists, most people think that DEAD RINGER is the better film.

By 1964 Davis had discovered (like her rival Joan Crawford) that their career could survive playing in "grande guinol" films. WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? and HUSH, HUSH SWEET CHARLOTTE, were followed by DEAD RINGER, THE NANNY, and THE ANNIVERSARY (my personal favorite - and actually the least bloody of these films). DEAD RINGER and THE NANNY tie for being the most sympathetic roles for Bette in these films.

In DEAD RINGER, Edith Philips is the twin sister of wealthy widow Margaret De Lorca. Edith owns a run - down bar, and it is going into bankruptcy, and she is facing eviction. Her closest friend (closer if she would watch his signals) is Police Sgt. Jim Hobbson (Karl Malden). But she is consumed with anger and jealousy at her sister because Margaret married the man who Edith should have married. So Margaret's current security is due to her stealing Edith's boyfriend (similar to the plot in A STOLEN LIFE). So she invites Margaret to her home, and shows Margaret a letter that she has written. It is Edith's suicide note, and as Margaret reads it she realizes that she is about to become Edith permanently.

Edith has planned this a bit, but she does not plan for two problems. Sgt. Hobbson is in a bad state because he loved Edith, and he keeps visiting her identical twin "Margaret". This is upsetting to Edith, who did not plan to hurt her boy-friend. Secondly she discovers Margaret had her secrets too. The late Mr. De Lorca may have died in too timely a fashion (wink, wink), and Margaret had a boy - friend too who helped her, a playboy named Tony Collins. Tony is curious about "Margaret's" lack of interest (or even awareness) of him, until he begins to put two and two together, Then he becomes very demanding to his supposed lover.

The climax of the film is quite twisty, if predictable after awhile. But the final moment between Davis and Malden is sadly touching in it's way. The film may also have the best dramatic performance by Lawford as a villain in his film career (finally he cuts loose and shows what he could do). Not one of Davis's greatest films, but an interesting one, and worth viewing.

Nobody in film has yet portrayed evil bitch, and sometimes crazy evil bitch, as well and as often as the late great Bette Davis, as evidenced by such films as "Of Human Bondage", "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane", and "The Nanny", just to name a few that come immediately to mind. Capable of spitting out lines such as "Ah'd luv tuh kiss yuh, but ah jus' washed mah hair" (from "Cabin In the Cotton", 1932), "Every time you kissed me, I had to wipe my mouth! Wipe my mouth!" (from "Of Human Bondage", 1934) to "But Blanche, yuh ahhh in that chair, yuh ahhhhhhh!" (from "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane", 1962), Bette Davis made a lucrative living with her hip-swinging sashaying stride and her mannerisms that still make her a favorite of drag queens everywhere.

In "Dead Ringer", Bette was once again cast in the dual role of good sister/bad sister (Edith Phillips/Margaret DeLorca) similar to her dual roles in "A Stolen Life" (1946, with Glenn Ford). Paul Henreid, her co-star in "Now Voyager" - remember him in the classic scene that involved his lighting two cigarettes and handing Davis's character one of them - directs. "Dead Ringer"'s premise is simple: good sister impulsively tries to step into shoes of deceased bad sister in an ill-conceived move to improve her own quality of life, without thinking of the inherent consequences. In this case, as in the case of "A Stolen Life", Davis inherits the dead bad sister's myriad mix of self-imposed problems, but with worse consequences.

And as veteran filmgoers have realized for many years, the family dog always knows who's who.

Karl Malden, as Davis' earnest boyfriend (and cop) Sgt. Jim Hobbson is basically re-enacting his earnest boyfriend characterization from "A Streetcar Named Desire", and Peter Lawford, who was a real-life playboy and drunk, (in addition to allegedly acting as a bit of a pimp for the Kennedys, circa the Marilyn Monroe/John F. Kennedy/Robert Kennedy liasons era), plays Tony Collins...the drunken playboy boyfriend of the dead bad sister, Margaret DeLorca.

"Dead Ringer" was made in an era of more rudimentary special effects, so Davis's two characters interacting almost face-to-face in some scenes was quite innovative for the time, well-done (better than the obvious stand-in used for some scenes) and still holds up well.

Fun times ensue for all. Classic Bette melodrama.

Bette Davis plays twin sisters, one glamorous, the other homely, in this tale of deception, betrayal, and murder. What makes the story so fascinating is its delicious irony, as the homely sister, Edith, becomes ever more ensnared in her own tangled web.

The story is marred slightly by some obvious contrivances and plot holes. But it has lots of twists and turns. And Bette Davis, with her memorable voice, her gestures, and those Bette Davis eyes renders the Edith character engaging, as she realizes something important that she had not foreseen, and then makes an effort not to be found out. It's all about the internal tension of faking a false identity.

Much of the plot is consumed in detail, as we watch Edith squirm and fret when confronted with small tasks like switching clothes with a corpse, faking a signature, or determining the combination to a wall safe. These action details are somewhat tedious. But they give Davis lots of opportunity to act.

The film's B&W cinematography is fine. The split screen technology wherein both sisters appear together in the same scene is rather self-conscious, but was quite advanced for its time. Rear screen projection is another technique that is used, but seems primitive by today's technical standards. The film's lighting is quite good.

The film gets off to a really good start with a snazzy, and very Hitchcockian, title sequence accompanied by Andre Previn's excellent original score. The film's supporting cast includes Karl Malden, Estelle Winwood, and Jean Hagen. But, though they are all credible in their roles, this film belongs to Bette Davis. It's her show. And a viewer's response to the film will hinge largely on their impression of Bette Davis and her ability to play two roles. Personally, I think she did a splendid job.

Bette Davis is a poor bar owner and the wealthy widow who stole her sister's boyfriend in "Dead Ringer."

Davis played twins before in "A Stolen Life." This time, she's Edie and her sister, the recently widowed Margaret DeLorca. The two have been estranged for many years - Margaret slept with Edie's boyfriend, DeLorca, said she was pregnant, and married the guy. The baby, a boy, died.

On the way home from the funeral and a visit with her sister, Edie learns from the chauffeur that Margaret never had a baby.

Edie kills her sister and switches identities with her, leaving Margaret in her place, in her clothes. By taking Margaret's identity, she also leaves behind her boyfriend, a police detective played by Karl Malden.

Edie soon learns that Margaret's life was - well, complicated. For one thing, she's involved with Peter Lawford. And there's more!

Bette Davis does a great job as both sisters. This is an entertaining film that Davis fans won't want to miss.