Dead Ringer (1964 film)
Dead Ringer (also known as Who Is Buried in My Grave?) is a 1964 American horror film made by Warner Bros. It was directed by Paul Henreid from a screenplay by Oscar Millard and Albert Beich from the story La Otra by Rian James, previously filmed in a Mexican version starring Dolores del Río.[1] The music score was by André Previn and the cinematography by Ernest Haller. The film stars Bette Davis, Karl Malden and Peter Lawford with Philip Carey, Jean Hagen, George Macready, Estelle Winwood, George Chandler and Cyril Delevanti.
| Dead Ringer | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Paul Henreid |
| Written by | Story: Rian James Screenplay: Albert Beich Oscar Millard |
| Based on | La Otra aka Dead Pigeon |
| Produced by | William H. Wright |
| Starring | Bette Davis Karl Malden Peter Lawford Philip Carey Jean Hagen |
| Cinematography | Ernest Haller |
| Edited by | Folmar Blangsted |
| Music by | André Previn |
Production company | Warner Bros |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 115 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,200,000 |
The film marks the second time Davis played twin sisters, the first being in the 1946 film A Stolen Life.
Plot
At the funeral of her husband Frank, wealthy widow Margaret DeLorca (Bette Davis), meets up with her identical twin sister, dowdy and downbeat Edith Phillips (also played by Davis), from whom she has been estranged for 18 years. The two return to DeLorca's opulent mansion, where they argue about their falling out over Margaret's marriage to DeLorca, who originally courted Edith. Margaret had forced Frank to marry her by telling him she was pregnant with his child. However, Edith finds out from Margaret's chauffeur (George Chandler) that the couple were childless, and becomes resentful, realizing how Margaret had trapped Frank into marriage. While Margaret now enjoys a life of ease and wealth, Edith is struggling financially; her business, a cocktail lounge, is losing money and she is threatened with eviction for not paying her bills.
After ushering her boyfriend, police sergeant Jim Hobson (Karl Malden) out of her apartment and brushing off her birthday plans with him, Edith begins planning her revenge. Edith phones Margaret to insist she come over so that they may settle their score. When Margaret arrives, she admits there never really was a pregnancy and Edith shoots her in the head. In a frenzy, Edith begins swapping their clothes, framing Margaret's murder as her own suicide. Before leaving the crime scene, she places the watch Jim gifted her onto Margaret's body. She then returns to the DeLorca mansion and assumes Margaret's identity, but while she may look like Margaret, the staff immediately become suspicious.
The house's Great Dane, known for hating Margaret, has suddenly taken to her immediately. Not only that, but Edith is a smoker - something Margaret was adamantly against. The maid (Monika Henreid) is puzzled when "Margaret" chooses not to put her very valuable jewelry in the safe, not knowing that Edith has no idea what the combination is. Eventually, because of her failure to imitate her sister's signature, Edith purposely burns her hand on a poker she has heated in the fire in order to have a plausible excuse not to sign her name with her right hand. The attorney informs her that Frank had left Edith $50,000 in his will, which now will be returned to the estate. This news renders Edith’s murder of her sister pointless.
Meanwhile, Jim visits "Margaret" several times, asking questions about the death of Edith. Edith is troubled about having to lie to Jim and tries to offer him the wristwatch as a keepsake - a gesture Jim recoils from. He remarks that "Margaret" is unaware of the significance of the watch, and it painfully reminds him of the birthday evening which was the last time, as far as he is concerned, that he ever saw Edith alive.
Edith's scheme runs into unforeseen trouble when she discovers that Margaret's lover, Tony (Peter Lawford), has unexpectedly shown up and very quickly sees through her charade. Tony blackmails Edith over the killing of Margaret, and receives very expensive jewelry as payment. Edith then learns that Margaret and Tony had conspired to murder Frank by poisoning him with arsenic. Tony and Edith quarrel; when he threatens her, Margaret's Great Dane attacks and kills him.
Jim has become suspicious about DeLorca's death and leads an investigation in which the police eventually exhume Frank's body and find traces of arsenic. When Jim arrives to arrest her, Edith confesses her true identity. Jim is repulsed and does not believe her, telling her "Edie would never hurt a fly". Henry, the faithful butler, is revealed to have known what was happening all along when he quietly asks what she would have him say at trial; she is touched that she has had a friend all through the deception, who even now is prepared to stand by her.
Edith, as Margaret, is tried, found guilty of murder, and sentenced to death. Aware that she has indeed committed murder, although not the one she is being accused of, Edith submits to justice. As she is taken away from the courthouse, a troubled Jim approaches her and asks if she really is Edith. By virtue of loving him and wanting to spare him any more doubt, or grief over losing her a second time, she enigmatically reminds him that "Edith would never hurt a fly", and departs.
Cast
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Notes
The plot of Dead Ringer had been used in a 1946 Mexican film, La Otra, directed by Roberto Gavaldón and starring Dolores del Río. Dead Ringer was remade in 1986 as Killer in the Mirror, a television movie starring Ann Jillian.[2]
The film takes place in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills. The interior scenes were shot inside and outside the grounds of the Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills. The bar scene was filmed at the corner of Temple and Figueroa in downtown Los Angeles. The burial scene was shot inside the Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles.
The jazz combo in Edie's Bar was composed of electronic organist Perry Lee Blackwell and drummer Kenny Dennis, both noted musicians, but uncredited in the film. Blackwell can be seen as a lounge singer at the piano in the 1959 romantic comedy “Pillow Talk”, starring Doris Day and Rock Hudson.
This was the final film of cinematographer Ernest Haller. The trick process shots in A Stolen Life were created by him, and he improved upon the process here. Makeup artist Gene Hibbs was hired due to his unique talent for making older actresses look younger through a "painting" technique.[3]
The film was directed by the actor Paul Henreid, Davis' co-star in the 1942 romantic drama Now, Voyager. Monika Henried, one of his two daughters, plays Janet (the maid).[4]
Henreid called making the film "a wonderful experience".[5]
Critical reception
The film has received acclaim from modern audiences and critics. It holds a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 9 reviews.[6]
References
- ^ Chandler, Charlotte (2006). The Girl Who Walked Home Alone: Bette Davis, A Personal Biography. Simon and Schuster. p. 324. ISBN 9780743289054.
- ^ "Dead Ringer (1964) - Paul Henreid | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie". AllMovie.com.
- ^ "Dead Ringer". Turner Classic Movies. September 21, 2022.
- ^ "Monika Henreid presents Dead Ringer".
- ^ Alpert, D. (Oct 13, 1963). "Other end of megaphone gives Henreid new outlook". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 168339025.
- ^ "Dead Ringer (1964)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
External links
- Dead Ringer at IMDb
- Dead Ringer at AllMovie
- Dead Ringer at the TCM Movie Database
- Dead Ringer at the American Film Institute Catalog