A Double Life
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| A Double Life | |
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 DVD cover |
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| Directed by | George Cukor |
| Produced by | Michael Kanin |
| Written by | Ruth Gordon Garson Kanin |
| Starring | Ronald Colman Signe Hasso Edmond O'Brien |
| Music by | Miklós Rózsa |
| Cinematography | Milton R. Krasner |
| Distributed by | Universal International Pictures |
| Release date(s) | December 25, 1947 |
| Running time | 104 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
A Double Life is a 1947 film noir which tells the story of an actor whose mind becomes affected by the character he portrays. The movie starred Ronald Colman and Signe Hasso. It was directed by George Cukor and written for the screen by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin.[1]
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[edit] Plot
Celebrated stage actor Anthony John (Ronald Colman) has driven away his actress wife Brita (Signe Hasso) with his erratic temper. However, they star together in the play Othello. Gradually, his portrayal of a jealous murderous man undermines his sanity. The actor eventually kills his mistress, Pat Kroll (Shelley Winters), but does not remember doing it.
[edit] Background
[edit] Noir analysis
Julie Kirgo wrote that A Double Life is truly a picture of opposing forces, mirror images and deadly doubles: "Anthony John is at war with Othello, the elegant world of the theater is opposed to the squalid existence of Shelley Winters' Pat Kroll, and illusion versus reality are all conveyed in opposing lights and darks of Krasner's luminous photography."[2]
[edit] Cast
- Ronald Colman as Anthony John
- Signe Hasso as Brita
- Edmund O'Brien as Bill Friend
- Shelley Winters as Pat Kroll
- Ray Collins as Victor Donlan
- Philip Loeb as Max Lasker
- Millard Mitchell as Al Cooley
- Joe Sawyer as Pete Bonner
- Charles La Torre as Stellini
- Whit Bissell as Dr. Stauffer
[edit] Critical reception
When the film was release frilm critic Bosley Crowther lauded the frilm, writing, "We have it on the very good authority of Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, who should know—they being not only actors and playwrights but wife and spouse—that what seems a fairly safe profession, acting, is as dangerous as they come and love between people of the theatre is an adventure fraught with infinite perils. Especially is it risky when an actor takes his work seriously and goes in for playing "Othello." Then handkerchiefs and daggers rule his mind. At least, that is what is demonstrated in a rich, exciting, melodramatic way in the Kanin's own plushy production...George Cukor, in his direction, amply proves that he knows the theatre, its sights and sounds and brittle people."[3]
Critic Jerry Renshaw wrote, "A Double Life is an unusually intelligent, literate noir that is a classy departure from the pulpy "B" atmospherics often associated with the genre. Keep an eye out for Paddy Chayefsky and John Derek in minuscule bit parts."[4]
[edit] Awards
It won Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Ronald Colman) and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture. It was nominated for Best Director and Best Writing, Original Screenplay.
[edit] References
- ^ A Double Life at the Internet Movie Database.
- ^ Silver, Alain, and Elizabeth Ward, eds. Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style, film noir analysis by Julie Kirgo, page 95, 3rd edition, 1992. Woodstock, New York: The Overlook Press. ISBN 0-87951-479-5.
- ^ Crowther, Bosley. The New York Times, film review, February 20, 1948. Last accessed: March 29, 2008.
- ^ Renshaw, John. Austin Chronicle, film review, February 23, 1999. Last accessed: March 29, 2008.
[edit] External links
- A Double Life at the Internet Movie Database
- A Double Life at Allmovie
- A Double Life at the TCM Movie Database
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