'A Stolen Life' is designed to give Bette Davis an interesting dual role--and she plays it extremely well, more introspective than usual. With Glenn Ford, Walter Brennan and Dane Clark in support, it's an interesting melodrama of good sister vs. bad sister when the bad one falls in love with the good twin's sweetheart. Romantic rivalry goes into high gear and the plot thickens when the bad twin is accidentally killed in a boating accident--thus giving the good woman an opportunity to pose as her sister in order to be close to her former lover. While it's all highly improbable, especially when described in plot outline, there are a lot of good touches that make the film absorbing, entertaining and believable. Glenn Ford plays the confused young lighthouse keeper convincingly. Dane Clark has a peripheral role as a cynical artist that completely wastes his talent and seems to serve no useful purpose. Walter Brennan, Charles Ruggles and Bruce Bennett have good supporting roles. The trick photography gives the illusion that Davis is really two separate personalities--very effective indeed. For Davis fans, this is a "must see" film. Smoothly directed by Curtis Bernhardt, there's a tasteful background score by Max Steiner that appropriately accompanies images of a New England village setting.
Review of A Stolen Life
