A curiously subdued and leisurely-paced melodrama starring Bette Davis in a dual role. Albert Beich and Oscar Millard concocted the enjoyably contrived screenplay, based upon Rian James' short story "Dead Pigeon", involving estranged twin sisters--one wealthy and haughty, the other poor and noble--who reunite at the funeral of the rich twin's husband. Davis had played lookalikes before (in 1946's "A Stolen Life), and even earlier did the good sister-bad sister routine (in 1942's "In This Our Life"); still, she brings her considerable star-wattage to this tale, doing grand justice to the musty 'impersonation' bit while providing a fascinating wallow for her fans. The film starts off with a bang, but director Paul Henreid (Davis' co-star in "Now, Voyager") is too fussy and smooth to keep the kinetic charge going. Karl Malden is his usual blustery self playing a police sergeant who's always on the scene at just the right moment, ditto Peter Lawford as a gigolo, but Davis rides high above the clichés and carries the movie on her stalwart shoulders. *** from ****

Okay, some of it can get silly.But this one is worth suspension of disbelief.My question is:if the Sainted Frank was so much in love with Edith, why did he waste no time whatsoever jumping into bed with her twin sister, Maggie? (Maybe "having to marry" Maggie was his punishment for having cheated on Edie. It was a heavy price to pay.) Frankly, had I been in Edie's place, when Maggie told me that she was pregnant and Frank "had" to marry her, I would have slapped her into the next week.I did not blame the "good" sister one bit for recoiling from "Tony Collins", Peter Lawford's gigolo character. He came off as MEGA-sleazy.Peter Lawford, at one time, was a very handsome man, but by the time they made this movie, his looks were all but gone and he looked bloated and was pretty much going through the motions. Sadly for him, he had another twenty years to live.Jean Hagen's character DeDe Marshall is the type of woman I can't stand...rich, pampered, empty-headed.Karl Malden gave his usual solid performance, and I love Estelle Winwood in any thing she's in. Estelle was Tallulah Bankhead's roommate and I wish she would've written a book about that experience. It would have been a best seller.I liked the dog, Duke, but him killing someone? Great Danes are not attack dogs....and you could see in the closeup that the dog was a fake.Nevertheless, I've always liked this movie and was so glad when I could get it on DVD.

If you buy Bette Davis as a bar owner in love with Karl Malden, then you might find this claptrap enjoyable. Otherwise, be warned, this is really a very un-stylish camp horror film clearly made to cash in on Davis' post Baby Jane rebirth.Davis plays twins (one is rich, one is the aforementioned bar owner). One of them kills the other and takes her place. The dead sister's sleazy gigolo boyfriend (the ideally cast Peter Lawford) suspects something right away and sees dollar signs. In addition to Lawford, the supporting cast includes Jean Hagen and a kooky Estelle Winwood. Davis is Davis, Malden is stern and capable. The movie, however is sunk by the dull direction of actor Paul Henreid.

In Los Angeles, after eighteen years without speaking to each other, Edith Phillips meets her twin sister Margaret de Lorca (Bette Davis) in the funeral of Maggie's husband and former love of Edith that died of heart attack. Maggie invites Edith to visit her mansion, and Edith finds through her sister's driver that Maggie used a fake pregnancy to trick her and marry her passion. When Edith arrives in her bar, she is evicted by her landlord. Edith calls Maggie, kills her and assumes her identity. The police, including her boyfriend Sergeant Jim Hobbson (Karl Malden), believe that Edith committed suicide in an act of despair. Edith lures Maggie's servants and friends, but when Maggie's lover Tony Collins (Peter Lawford) appears, the situation becomes complicated for her."Dead Ringer" is a great film-noir, with thriller and black humor in an ironic story where justice is reached through the wrong and unexpected way. I have never had the chance to see the original Mexican movie "La Otra", but this remake is magnificently supported by the awesome Bette Davis, performing double and ambiguous roles that permit her to be rich, poor, simple, sophisticated, killer and victim. Her final line to Jim Hobbson ("-She wouldn't hurt a fly!") gives a bitter touch of class and irony to the conclusion of this enjoyable film. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Alguém Morreu em Meu Lugar" ("Somebody Died in My Place")