Movie Review: The Dark Mirror (1946)

Hello, everybody!

It is so fun to watch actors and actresses in different roles. You can compare the characters to each other and see how wide a range the actor or actress can play. Today I'm going to review a movie where an actress played TWO roles! That actress is the fabulous Olivia de Havilland who is turning 104 today!

My guarantee: On ALL of my reviews there are NO spoilers unless I give you warning. This is spoiler free!


The Dark Mirror (1946):

Dr. Frank Peralta was murdered and two people undoubtably saw Miss Collins with him that night. Police Lt. Stevenson talks to her, but she has a solid alibi where three people saw her miles away at the same time. Lt. Stevenson is trying to get more information out of her when he learns that she is an identical twin! He knows that one of them committed the murder and one was out walking in the park, but they refuse to tell him who was where! And it's impossible to tell the difference between them. He gets a twin specialist to try to figure it out without either of them knowing what he is up to. Which girl did it, and more importantly, why?

'"What am I supposed to say to that?"

"I'm just waiting to see."'

Genre: Mystery, Drama, Film noir.
Length: approx. 85 minutes.
Costumes: 9, they weren't magnificent, but I really liked the way they really incorporated the clothes with the girls same outfits as opposed to when they have a T and an R on their jackets.

Script: 10, no bad words!

"For a policeman you sure spend a lot of time thinking about love."

Crew: Directed by: Robert Siodmak. Written by: Nunnally Johnson & Vladimir Pozner.
Starring:
Olivia de Havilland as Terry Collins & Ruth Collins.

Lew Ayres as Dr. Scott Elliott.

Thomas Mitchell as Police Lt. Stevenson.

Richard Long as Rusty.
Charles Evans as Dist. Atty. Girard.
Gary Owen as Franklin.
Lester Allen as George Benson.
Lela Bliss as Mrs. Didriksen.

Cinematography: 10, ah, black and white is so cool. There is such an awesome element here of Olivia de Havilland playing both of the girls, so the had to film twice and merge the two together. I could spot several of the transitions. As you would suspect from the title, the use of mirrors was fantastic!

Cinematography by: Milton Krasner.
Music: 7, it helped build the suspense and tension really well, but even though I just saw it this morning I can't think of what it was.
Music by: Dimitri Tiomkin.

"I don't get it, I just don't get it. It doesn't make anymore sense to me than Chinese music."

Quotes: N/A, I just watched this movie this morning, so I don't know how often I'll quote it, yet. I wouldn't suspect that I'd do it a lot.

"You know, there ought to be a state law against the sale of gloves to murderers."

Content: 8, there is murder and manipulation, but it is shown as being wrong. There is also a bit of smoking, but I think that's it!

Originality: 9, movies where there are twins are rare, so I love it! The plot was very original.
Good For: fans of Olivia de Havilland, mystery and film noir lovers.
Age Range: It is very clean, but I think the ages here are old based on the story. It seems that younger viewers just wouldn't be interested! I thought it was great, but it might be boring for a 12 year old.
Overall Score: 8.5!


This is my entry in Charity of The Sacred in the Secular's Olivia de Havilland Blogathon! As I said above, she is 104 today! That is amazing.

I loved seeing her play two characters in this! At the beginning it was hard to tell them apart, as it is meant, and I'm sure with a rewatch I would nail it, but at the ending the development was so vivid. Just subtle parts were so important. Ah, so good. I don't watch a lot of thriller or suspense movies, but this was good. I guessed what was going to happen at the end seconds before it did happen, but I'm still thoroughly satisfied with it. It shows how terrible manipulation is, and the difference in personalities.

Thanks to Charity for giving me an excuse to watch this! Check out the other entries HERE.


Thanks to all of you for reading! Happy Birthday, Olivia de Havilland! Readers, tell me your favorite of her roles!

MovieCritic