| Stolen Face | |
| Director: | Terence Fisher |
| Producer: | Anthony Hinds |
| Music: | Malcolm Arnold |
| Cinematography: | Walter J. Harvey |
| Editing: | Maurice Rootes |
| Studio: | Hammer Film Productions |
| Runtime: | 72 minutes |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
Stolen Face is a 1952 British film noir directed by Terence Fisher and starring Paul Henreid, Lizabeth Scott and André Morell.[1] A plastic surgeon falls in love with a pianist, but she is engaged to someone else, so he remodels the face of an ex-convict to resemble the pianist, and marries her.
Lady Harringay arrives in her chauffeur driven Rolls Royce at the offices of her plastic surgeon in central London and is disappointed when he tells her that he can do no more.
The plastic surgeon, Dr. Philip Ritter, drives with a friend to Holloway Prison and interviews a disfigured prisoner. After almost having a car crash on the way back, he decides to take a holiday in the countryside.
He then falls in love with Alice Brent, a gifted and beautiful concert pianist. They meet by chance at a country inn, and romance soon develops. However, Alice is already engaged to be married and, afraid to tell Ritter, runs away. Ritter is devastated.
Back at his London surgery, Ritter receives a phone call from Alice, who informs him she is to marry David. Meanwhile, Ritter's new patient is Lily Conover, a female convict whose face is disfigured. The love-struck surgeon believes he can change her criminal ways by constructing her new face to resemble that of Alice. He does so, and they marry.
However, Lily has not changed her ways. She soon grows bored with Ritter's sedate lifestyle, and returns to a life of crime and partying. She is reckless in her behaviour, and unabashedly flirtatious with other men, and he comes to despise her.
As Alice completes her latest concert tour, David knows there is something wrong with her. He guesses she is in love with someone else, and calls off the engagement. Alice goes to see Ritter, who confesses what he has done.
Later, an upset Ritter leaves London for Plymouth, believing that the situation can never be reversed. Lily follows him, however, and takes the same train, where she becomes drunk and aggressive towards Ritter. Alice believes Ritter is so upset he may harm Lily, or even kill her if provoked, and she too joins the train. She arrives just as the two are arguing, and engaged in a physical struggle as Ritter tries to prevent the intoxicated Lily from falling out of the carriage. As Alice enters, Lily accidentally falls against the loose carriage door, and falls out of the train.
The film ends as Lily is discovered dead at the side of the tracks, and Ritter and Alice are reunited.
The film was shot at Hammersmith's Riverside Studios with sets designed by art director Wilfred Arnold.
In contemporary reviews Variety said: "Pacing is laborious though Henreid and Scott provide some substance. ... Picture’s chances are mild.";[2] Boxoffice wrote: "What started out as an admirably original and highly engrossing idea to background a dual-role performance was virtually ruined through mallet-handed scripting and direction, resulting in over-dramatic delineations and situations."[3]
Leslie Halliwell reviewed the film as: "Quickie melodrama which proved fairly popular because of its Hollywood stars."[4]
In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as “mediocre” and wrote the one-word review: ''Grim.''[5]
The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "Take this early Hammer melodrama with a ton of salt and you may enjoy its wild fantasy about sexual obsession and the incredible achievements of plastic surgery. Two 1940s stars, past their prime, were dragged to Britain to boost international sales."[6]
Writing in his biography of Terence Fisher, Peter Hutchings says: "Stolen Face is [hard] to classify; sometimes linked with SF and horror because of its subject matter – a surgeon operating on a woman to transform her into a replica of another woman – it is probably more accurate to think of it as a rather perverse romantic melodrama."[7]