Dead
Ringer is a Juicy Twofer from the One Bette Davis
by
Kristin Battestella
Bette
Davis stars in the 1964 thriller Dead Ringer as
twins one high and one low – leading to an intricate scheme of
scandals, affairs, secrets, blackmail, and murder...
Based
on an earlier Mexican picture, actor turned director Paul Henried
(Casablanca) and writer Oscar Millard (Angel Face) open
Dead Ringer with frenetic, mood setting credits, cemeteries,
Latin, funerals, and veils. The servants are surprised to see the
reunited sisters are twins, and the catching up dialogue is laden
with history – heather to remember wartime trysts in Scotland, one
man between two women, and a shotgun marriage twenty years ago. Large
rooms allow for a stage-like two-hander space while the camera can
cut away to different angles mirroring each sister's facade as the
sordid shade and one on one conversations escalate. Looming portraits
of the deceased man provide sadness over what could have been and our
jilted twin can't let go – leading to angry phone calls, threats,
and purse revolvers. A change of clothes and the right haircut make
our disparate twins look quite alike until choice zooms and tense up
close shots reveal the difference. In spite of some camp – Bette is
getting rough with herself, after all, and we know it – viewers are
already invested in Dead Ringer by time the checkbooks are
slapped from one's hand and sisters are shoving each other into
action. Both performances are so good, and ambient music from the bar
below covers the back and forth shouting. Drum beats countdown as the
note is shown while the gun is drawn, using shrewd editing to not
show shocking shots and familial violence even though we are appalled
all the same by the sibling twists. The desperate, eponymous ruse
takes up the first half hour of the film with suicide notes and
weapons wiped clean. Today's audience, however, will notice slip ups,
smoking mistakes, and flaws in the not so thought through plan. Can
she pull this off or will the family dog and awkward moments with the
servants give away the difference? What's her usual drink or the
combination to the safe? Violent revelations and hocking jewels lead
to arsenic, heart attacks, and maulings. Who exactly did what and
when, who will face justice or get away with it, and what was it all
for anyway? Police questioning creates tense moments amid covering
tracks, entertaining the elite, and estate papers needing signatures
that may not match the handwriting documented on that all important
passport.
Who's
a better match for Bette Davis (All About Eve) than Bette
Davis (Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte)?
Wealthy Margaret DeLorca hates climbing her grand stairs and doesn't
like the way she looks in black, but her late husband was rich and
she offers her frumpy, chain smoking sister Edith Phillips her cast
off couture – it will be out of style by time she's officially out
of mourning. Margaret is sleek, getting massages while on the phone
and unbothered by Mr. DeLorca's passing, which Edith resents since
she loved him first, accusing her sister of never caring about him
before refusing Margaret's proposed money and trips. Margaret claims
to love her sister and insists the man between them was no big deal
while Edith still regrets her snobby need to take whatever was hers
and how Margaret ruined both their lives. She kept up with The
DeLorcas over the decades via the social columns, but Margaret didn't
know they lived in the same city until Edith arrived on a bus for the
funeral. Their lavish life, however, wasn't all it seemed, and
eventually Margaret tries to bribe Edith but she can't forgive her
sister for any amount despite being behind on the rent and facing
eviction from the meager one room apartment above her cocktail
lounge. However, Edith likes the way she looks in her sister's stole
and smiles at her own reflection more when she coifs her hair just
like her sister's. Knowing how she was tricked out of the charmed
life on top of losing what little she has now is apparently too much
for Edith, and although she momentarily feels bad about switching
tender mementos, she goes through with it anyway. Blunders at society
receptions, apologizing, or forgetting the rosary can be dismissed as
distraught – Edith didn't get to be the wife but finds a certain
solace in living with the bittersweet memory of what she wanted. The
audience almost feels sorry for her pathetic state. We want Edith to
get away with it and worry over every slip up even as she gains
confidence in the role, speaking frankly about marriage and all the
things that made her unhappy. She's ready to forget who her sister
was despite ironic codicils in her lost love's will. Sadly, the
deaths and bodies exhumed get out of hand, and ultimately, Edith
plays her part too well.
Honest
policeman Karl Malden (I Confess) brings
Edith a humble watch for her birthday, and Jim Hobbson is is ready to
retire, buy a farm, and giver her the best. It could be a nice little
relationship, but she's hung up on the past and he can tell
something's wrong. Jim's angry at Edith's death and blames himself,
intruding on “Margaret” with investigations and memories she's
trying to forget. Unfortunately, Margaret's jealous playboy lover and
would be golf pro Peter Lawford (Little Women)
also throws a wrench into all Edith's plans. Upon returning
from an island holiday, Tony Collins puts two and two together now
that “Margaret” doesn't like his pillow talk – leading to some
campy surprises, threats, and blackmail. Glamorous brooches, jewels,
and pearls fill the void in his $700 a month love nest, and hey,
$3,000 a month allowance in 1964 would be over $24,000 today! Vintage
L.A. views and classic cars set the ritzy mood alongside furs, hats,
gloves, and tea sets. The cocktail lounge is dark with low ceilings
compared to the lavish estate with mirrors and giant bedrooms bigger
than the poorer relation's entire apartment. Classy accents, nibs,
and silver add sophistication even as Dead Ringer scandalously
shows the ladies in their slips – stripping down the deceased and
removing the stockings after the unseen shot to the temple is
confirmed with two drops of blood. Crescendos punctuate tense scenes
or sadness as needed while the black and white gray-scale creates
shadows and ambiguity. Double stand ins and split screens are
probably obvious to today's special effects savvy audiences, however,
the dual conversations are well done. Rear view mirrors and camera
angles also placing others in the ensemble in visual trickery
likewise play up the duality as cigarette form and lingering smoke
punctuate up close shots. On the 4K television Dead Ringer looks
quite crisp, and the DVD includes a retrospective with Hollywood
author Boze Hadleigh in addition to commentaries and vintage behind
the scenes tours.
There
are similar stories to Dead Ringer –
including an Ann Jillian remake and the recent series Ringer
– that may make the twin
twists common for modern audiences. This isn't horror per se, either,
yet there are certainly disturbing moments thanks to the sibling
violence and dead doppelgangers. Despite a few plot holes, obvious
crimes, and an unclear passage of time, the turnabout drama in Dead Ringer is juicy to the
end. Every scene is packed with layers and discourse thanks to
another tour de force Davis performance worth seeing at least twice,
naturally.
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