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The Man with Two Faces (1934 film)

May 09, 2024

The Man with Two Faces is an American drama film directed by Archie Mayo, and starring Edward G. Robinson and Mary Astor. The supporting cast features Ricardo Cortez, Louis Calhern, Mae Clarke, and David Landau. The story was adapted by Tom Reed and Niven Busch from the play The Dark Tower by George S. Kaufman and Alexander Woollcott.

The Man with Two Faces
1934 theatrical poster
Directed byArchie Mayo
Screenplay byTom Reed
Niven Busch
Based onThe Dark Tower
1933 play
by George S. Kaufman
Alexander Woollcott
Produced byRobert Lord
Hal B. Wallis
Jack L. Warner
StarringEdward G. Robinson
Mary Astor
CinematographyTony Gaudio
Edited byWilliam Holmes
Music byLeo F. Forbstein
Bernhard Kaun
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release date
  • August 4, 1934 (1934-08-04)
Running time
72 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Man with Two Faces was actress Margaret Dale's last film and her only talkie. She and Anton Stengel are the only two actors from the Broadway play to appear in the film. In 2010, this film became available on DVD from the Warner Archive Collection.[1][2][3][4]

Plot edit

Jessica Wells (Mary Astor) is a beautiful and talented actress, returning to the stage after a three-year absence. Although her triumphal return seems certain, family and friends are shocked when Vance (Louis Calhern), her long-lost husband with a criminal past, shows up at the family home. He immediately exerts his influence on the vivacious Jessica, and she becomes a sleepwalking automaton blindly obeying orders.

The avaricious and opportunistic Vance (who appears carrying pet mice in a cage) has heard that his wife holds half the rights to the play in which she will be featured, a prospective hit, but a certain disaster in her somnambulist state.

Stage star Damon Wells (Edward G. Robinson) lends theatrical prestige to his sister's comeback while helping to reclaim her talent as her acting coach. He and Jessica's manager (Ricardo Cortez) realize that the verminous Vance must be dealt with at once, so Damon begins an elaborate ruse, presenting himself to the schemer as the bearded French theatrical producer Jules Chautard.

Vance is lured to a hotel room by Jules/Damon, thinking that he will be paid handsomely for Jessica's half-interest in the play, but is instead drugged and then stabbed to death. Damon cannily covers his tracks in the murder, but he accidentally leaves a few theatrical mustache-whiskers when closing a Gideon Bible.

Police Sergeant William Curtis cracks the case when he connects the artificial hair to the art of an actor and confronts Damon in his dressing room. The detective, however, is aware of the suspicious past of the victim and not unsympathetic to the actor. Wells is left with the suggestion that he can perhaps act his way out of the rap.

Cast edit

(in credits order)

References edit

  1. ^ The American Film Institute Catalog of Feature Films: 1931-40 by The AFI c.1993
  2. ^ (Wayback)
  3. ^ "The Man with Two Faces, for order, Warners Archive Collection". Wbshop.com. Retrieved 2014-02-26.
  4. ^ The Broadway League (1933-11-25). "The Man with Two Faces presented originally on Broadway as The Dark Tower at the Morosco Theatre, November 25, 1933 to January 1934, 57 performances;". Ibdb.com. from the original on 2014-03-02. Retrieved 2014-02-26.

External links edit

May 09, 2024
with, faces, 1934, film, with, faces, american, drama, film, directed, archie, mayo, starring, edward, robinson, mary, astor, supporting, cast, features, ricardo, cortez, louis, calhern, clarke, david, landau, story, adapted, reed, niven, busch, from, play, da. The Man with Two Faces is an American drama film directed by Archie Mayo and starring Edward G Robinson and Mary Astor The supporting cast features Ricardo Cortez Louis Calhern Mae Clarke and David Landau The story was adapted by Tom Reed and Niven Busch from the play The Dark Tower by George S Kaufman and Alexander Woollcott The Man with Two Faces1934 theatrical posterDirected byArchie MayoScreenplay byTom ReedNiven BuschBased onThe Dark Tower1933 playby George S KaufmanAlexander WoollcottProduced byRobert LordHal B WallisJack L WarnerStarringEdward G RobinsonMary AstorCinematographyTony GaudioEdited byWilliam HolmesMusic byLeo F ForbsteinBernhard KaunProductioncompanyFirst National PicturesDistributed byWarner Bros PicturesRelease dateAugust 4 1934 1934 08 04 Running time72 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish The Man with Two Faces was actress Margaret Dale s last film and her only talkie She and Anton Stengel are the only two actors from the Broadway play to appear in the film In 2010 this film became available on DVD from the Warner Archive Collection 1 2 3 4 Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 References 4 External linksPlot editJessica Wells Mary Astor is a beautiful and talented actress returning to the stage after a three year absence Although her triumphal return seems certain family and friends are shocked when Vance Louis Calhern her long lost husband with a criminal past shows up at the family home He immediately exerts his influence on the vivacious Jessica and she becomes a sleepwalking automaton blindly obeying orders The avaricious and opportunistic Vance who appears carrying pet mice in a cage has heard that his wife holds half the rights to the play in which she will be featured a prospective hit but a certain disaster in her somnambulist state Stage star Damon Wells Edward G Robinson lends theatrical prestige to his sister s comeback while helping to reclaim her talent as her acting coach He and Jessica s manager Ricardo Cortez realize that the verminous Vance must be dealt with at once so Damon begins an elaborate ruse presenting himself to the schemer as the bearded French theatrical producer Jules Chautard Vance is lured to a hotel room by Jules Damon thinking that he will be paid handsomely for Jessica s half interest in the play but is instead drugged and then stabbed to death Damon cannily covers his tracks in the murder but he accidentally leaves a few theatrical mustache whiskers when closing a Gideon Bible Police Sergeant William Curtis cracks the case when he connects the artificial hair to the art of an actor and confronts Damon in his dressing room The detective however is aware of the suspicious past of the victim and not unsympathetic to the actor Wells is left with the suggestion that he can perhaps act his way out of the rap Cast edit in credits order Edward G Robinson as Damon Wells Jules Chautard Mary Astor as Jessica Wells Ricardo Cortez as Producer Ben Weston Mae Clarke as Daphne Flowers Louis Calhern as Stanley Vance Arthur Byron as Dr Kendall John Eldredge as Horace Barry Jones David Landau as Sergeant William Curtis Emily Fitzroy as Hattie Martha s Housekeeper Henry O Neill as Inspector Crane Anton Stengel as Stage Manager Arthur Aylesworth as Morgue Keeper Margaret Dale as Aunt Martha Temple Virginia Sale as Peabody Weston s SecretaryReferences edit The American Film Institute Catalog of Feature Films 1931 40 by The AFI c 1993 The AFI Catalog of Feature Films 1893 1993 The Man with Two Faces Wayback The Man with Two Faces for order Warners Archive Collection Wbshop com Retrieved 2014 02 26 The Broadway League 1933 11 25 The Man with Two Faces presented originally on Broadway as The Dark Tower at the Morosco Theatre November 25 1933 to January 1934 57 performances Ibdb com Archived from the original on 2014 03 02 Retrieved 2014 02 26 External links editThe Man with Two Faces at IMDb nbsp synopsis at AllMovie The Man with Two Faces at the TCM Movie Database The Man with Two Faces at the American Film Institute Catalog lobby poster the film reviewed extensively during a birthday tribute to Mary Astor 2013 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Man with Two Faces 1934 film amp oldid 1222096556, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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