| Dead Ringer | |
| Director: | Paul Henreid |
| Producer: | William H. Wright |
| Based On: | La Otra aka Dead Pigeon |
| Starring: | Bette Davis Karl Malden Peter Lawford Philip Carey Jean Hagen |
| Music: | André Previn |
| Cinematography: | Ernest Haller |
| Editing: | Folmar Blangsted |
| Studio: | Warner Bros |
| Distributor: | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Runtime: | 115 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Budget: | $1,200,000 |
Dead Ringer (also known as Who Is Buried in My Grave?) is a 1964 American psychological thriller made by Warner Bros. It was directed by Paul Henreid from a screenplay by Oscar Millard and Albert Beich, from the story La Otra by Rian James, previously filmed in a Mexican version starring Dolores del Río.[1] The soundtrack is by André Previn and the cinematography by Ernest Haller. The film stars Bette Davis, Karl Malden and Peter Lawford with Philip Carey, Jean Hagen, George Macready, Estelle Winwood, George Chandler and Cyril Delevanti.
The film marks the second time Davis played twin sisters, the first being in the 1946 film A Stolen Life.
For 18 years, twin sisters Margaret and Edith have been estranged. It started when Margaret faked a pregnancy to "steal" Edith's fiancé, Francesco "Frank" DeLorca, a rich American military officer both sisters dated during World War II. Now Frank has passed away, mourned by both sisters. Margaret will be secure for the rest of her life, thanks to her husband's fabulous wealth. But Edith's prospects are dismal. Her business, a cocktail lounge, is losing money, and she is threatened with eviction for not paying her bills. Edith thus plans revenge against Margaret, phoning her to come to her room above the bar so that they may settle their score. Soon after Margaret arrives, Edith shoots her, and swaps clothes with the corpse, framing Margaret's murder as her own suicide. She then takes over the DeLorca mansion by assuming Margaret's identity. But the mansion's servants become suspicious.
For one thing, the house's Great Dane, known for hating Margaret, behaves devotedly to Edith. Second, Edith is a smoker, something Margaret was adamantly against. Meanwhile, Jim, a police detective who had been seeing Edith steadily before her "suicide", visits the fake Margaret several times, asking questions. Edith's scheme runs into trouble when Margaret's lover, Tony, unexpectedly shows up and quickly sees through her charade. Tony blackmails Edith over the killing of Margaret, receiving expensive jewelry as payment. But after Edith discovers Margaret and Tony had conspired to murder Frank by poisoning him, Tony and Edith quarrel; when he threatens her, Margaret's Great Dane attacks and kills him.
Already suspicious about DeLorca's death, Jim leads a police investigation, exhuming Frank's body and later finding traces of arsenic. When Jim arrives to arrest "Margaret", Edith confesses her true identity. But Jim refuses to believe her, telling her "Edie would never hurt a fly". Retaining her pose as Margaret, Edith is tried, convicted of murder, and sentenced to death. As she is taken from the courthouse, Jim approaches her and asks if she really is Edith. She denies it, reminding him that he said "Edith would never hurt a fly". She then departs for her appointment with the gas chamber.
The plot of Dead Ringer was the same as that of the 1946 Mexican film, La Otra, directed by Roberto Gavaldón and starring Dolores del Río. Dead Ringer was remade in 1986 as Killer in the Mirror, a television movie starring Ann Jillian.[2]
The film takes place in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills. The interior scenes were shot inside and outside the grounds of the Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills. The bar scene was filmed at the corner of Temple and Figueroa in downtown Los Angeles. The burial scene was shot at the Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles.
The jazz combo in Edie's Bar was composed of electronic organist Perry Lee Blackwell and drummer Kenny Dennis, both noted musicians, but uncredited in the film. Blackwell also appears as a lounge singer in the 1959 romantic comedy Pillow Talk.
This was the final film of cinematographer Ernest Haller. The trick process shots in A Stolen Life were created by him, and he improved upon the process here. Makeup artist Gene Hibbs was hired due to his unique talent for making older actresses look younger through a "painting" technique.[3]
The film was directed by the actor Paul Henreid, Davis's co-star in the 1942 romantic drama Now, Voyager. Monika Henreid, one of his two daughters, plays Janet, the maid.[4]
Henreid called making the film "a wonderful experience".[5]
The film has received acclaim from modern audiences and critics. It holds a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 10 reviews.[6]