Psychologist works with the police in determining which of two sisters committed a murder--the trouble is, the ladies are identical twins, with one sibling apparently covering up for the other. Good optical effects and editing can't quite make this scenario convincing, particularly as Olivia de Havilland is wide-eyed and artificial in both her incarnations; the histrionic schlock music rising up in the background doesn't help, either. Director Robert Siodmak's work is hit-and-miss: he handles doctor Lew Ayres' investigation scenes well, however the opening interviews in the police station are awfully corny. Nunnally Johnson adapted his screenplay from an original story by Vladimir Pozner (who alone was Oscar-nominated). The plot builds to a melodramatic boil, yet the final tally isn't all that intriguing. ** from ****

BBC TV has been filling its schedules with a host of B&W fillers in recent weeks. A number of them I have never heard of and would never want to hear of. The Dark Mirror was one of those unknowns, or so I thought. As the story unfolded it dawned on me why I knew where the story was heading before the curtain closed on the ending credits..........I had seen the re-make in the 80s when the commercial network used to hover up the big name TV movies from America.SPOILERS BEYOND........Thankfully I have no long term memory of how Jane Seymour played the role as Olivia de Havilland is very good in this 85 minute noir treasure as the mixed up twins one of whom is a murderess. She is aided by some clever effects work for the time and a dapper Lew Ayres who plays the psychologist who must help the police solve a teasing crime of identity as the witnesses suddenly realise that their certainty is less certain when the twins are revealed.The use of ink spots and polygraphs make this quite a modern themed film and there are one of two moments of impeccably sparky dialogue amongst the cast that lifts this film well above the normal short reelers of its time.Beyond the main two cast members Thomas Mitchell provides able support as the cynical detective puzzled but determined to close the case. His ramshackle look is the kind of cop that modern day sleuths try and copy, but Mitchell fills those gumshoes with ease.Finally a mention for Dimitri Tiomkin's score which has the peaks and troughs of emotional strings in all the right places and has been parodied so many times since.A worthy watch on a rainy day.7/10

It's an entertaining mystery. Olivia De Havilland plays identical twins, one of whom is guilty of murder. But, you know identical twins. It's hard to tell them apart. It's driving the Chief Detective, Thomas Mitchell, nuts. Either Ruth was walking in Jefferson park while Terry was stabbing a swain to death -- or the other way round. A psychologist who happens to specialize in twin research, Lew Ayres, is called into the case and manages to unravel it.The burden of the film falls on De Havilland, and it's a heavy one. She doesn't only have to play two slightly different characters; she has to play three, because one of the two is covering up a psychotic personality. She does her best to pull off the psychotic monster when it emerges at the end, but it's obviously a strain on her talent because she pops her eyes out and goes through more mental contortions than Humphrey Bogart's Captain Queeg on the witness stand.Olivia De Havilland is simply too nice a lady. She's no longer the spring chicken of the Errol Flynn movies of ten years earlier but she remains beautiful -- and more than that; delicate, vulnerable, winsome, and edible. It would be a sin to think of her legs. In fact, though, she can be pretty bawdy. In a later interview she described some trouble that Errol Flynn was having with his tights during a kissing scene in "Robin Hood." That's what being schooled in a convent will do to you.Thomas Mitchell is the exasperated cop; Lew Ayres with a thin mustache is the psychologist who examines the twin sisters. Actually, he shows them a couple of Rorschach ink blots and at least one of them is from the real Rorschach series and showing them in a movie today would be a justiciable offense. The murderous twin's answers are rather revealing too, in a subtle way. Tainted without being obvious. The writer must have done his homework. I speak to you as your psychologist. That will be ten cents.It's always tricky to pull off a twin movie successfully. It involves a lot of clever work on the part of the visual effects team when the two identical characters appear on the screen at the same time. They've done a splendid job here.It must be said that without the twin angle there's nothing special about the movie. It's a routine B murder mystery. But with the talent exercised by the writer, the director, and especially De Havilland, it's a neater job than you might expect.

Fans of this movie will be delighted to know that the new DVD release from Olive Films is in pristine condition and makes viewing it a double pleasure, especially for de Havilland fans.THE DARK MIRROR ('46) is a brisk, supercharged 85 minutes, a taut psychological suspense tale directed by Robert Siodmak (who directed THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE and THE KILLERS). Dimitri Tiomkin's clever background score is an added bonus.It stars Olivia de Havilland in a fascinating dual role as Ruth and Terry Collins, sisters involved in the murder of a doctor they were both dating. When good sister Ruth gives her bad twin an alibi, detective Thomas Mitchell asks psychiatrist Lew Ayres to determine which twin could be the killer, based on their differing personalities. Of course he falls in love with the good twin and solves the case in an effective ending which gives de Havilland the chance to do some real emoting. A clever scene has the bad twin pretending to be the good one in a serious talk with doctor Ayres in which he reveals what makes the psycho sister tick.It's a double-layered cat-and-mouse scene in which he is really talking about her (not her sister) and de Havilland's reactions are fascinating to watch. Thomas Mitchell is excellent as a relentless but befuddled detective unhappy with the game the sisters are playing. Richard Long has a small role as an admirer of one of the twins--or is it both of them? Bit roles are well played with occasional flashes of humor and the whole thing moves swiftly under Siodmak's tight direction.By the way, 1946 was a strong year for de Havilland. After being off the screen for more than two years due to legal action against Warner Bros., she suddenly had four films in release: DEVOTION (as Charlotte Bronte), THE WELL GROOMED BRIDE, TO EACH HIS OWN and THE DARK MIRROR, entering a four-year period climaxed at the end of the decade by THE SNAKE PIT and THE HEIRESS--and two Oscars.Summing up: two Olivia de Havilland's are better than one. Life magazine reported that she "contributes to the impression gained from TO EACH HIS OWN that she is the actress to beat for this year's Academy Award."