Dead Ringer

Director: Paul Henreid Paul Henreid

Overview

"Though he's most famous for his portrayal of Victor Laszlo in 1942's Casablanca, actor Paul Henreid took a few turns behind the camera as evidenced by this 1964 thriller starring Bette Davis as twins Margaret DeLorca and Edith Phillips. After landing the beau they both sought after by falsely claiming she was pregnant, Margaret lives a life of luxury as the wife of a wealthy man. Now, 20 years later, a broke and lonely Edith has returned for revenge. After killing the recently widowed Margaret, Edith assumes her identity with plans of living the life she feels she's deserved all along. But in order to pull it off, she'll have to play the role of Margaret connivingly enough to fool her servants as well as a local playboy and the police. Dead Ringer was remade in 1986 as Killer in the Mirror, a made-for-television movie starring Ann Jillian."

Product Details

Release Date:	08/10/2004
UPC:	0085393352523
Original Release:	1964
Rating:	NR
Source:	STUDIO DISTRIBUTION SERVS LLC
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:55:00
Sales rank:	21,950

Special Features

Commentary by Charles Busch and "Bette Davis Speaks" author Boze Hadleigh; "Double Take: A Conversation With Boze Hadleigh"; Vintage featurette "Behind the Scenes at the Doheny Mansion"; Theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Bette Davis	Edith/Margaret
Karl Malden	Sgt. Jim Hobbson
Peter Lawford	Tony Collins
Philip Carey	Sgt. Ben Hoag
Jean Hagen	Dede
George Macready	Paul Harrison
Estelle Winwood	Matriarch
George Chandler	George
Mario Alcalde	Garcia
Cyril Delevanti	Henry
Monika Henreid	Janet
Bert Remsen	Dan
Charles Watts	Apartment Manager
Ken Lynch	Capt. Johnson
Charles Meredith	Defense Lawyer

Technical Credits

Albert Beich

Oscar Millard

Paul Henreid	Director
Albert Beich	Screenwriter
Oscar Millard	Screenwriter
William H. Wright	Producer
Robert B. Lee	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Although it would be wrong to call Dead Ringer a great film, it's undeniably great fun -- and actually a better film than its reputation would lead one to believe. Coming after Bette Davis's spectacularly over-the-top performance in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, Ringer is generally considered part of the star's "Grand Guignol" cycle of films, but in fact it's less campy than others in this series and is a bit closer to some of her earlier "bad girl" pictures. That's not to say that the star doesn't have a grand old time chewing a bit of scenery here; Ringer presents her with plenty of opportunities to show how far she could go, and she takes delicious advantage of these moments. But it also allows here some very nice quieter moments, some opportunities for subtlety and nuance which she also clearly relishes. And this is where Ringer's screenplay scores some points, for while it's far from a great drama, it does provide some ambiguities in both the characters Davis plays which add for more depth than one would expect. The supporting cast is quite good, with even Peter Lawford turning in a more-than-decent performance and Karl Malden and Jen Hagen especially deserving of mention. Paul Henreid's direction is pretty standard, but he knows enough to keep David front and center. More importantly, he knows how to let ace cinematographer Ernest Haller photograph her and how to let Haller and editor Folmar Blangsted make the "twins" segments work. And there's also Davis' unforgettable and unbelievable rendition of "Shuffle Off to Buffalo," which must be experienced to be believed.