BETTE DAVIS obviously relished playing twin sisters, especially if it gave her a chance to steal every scene she was in with her over-the-top kind of performing that her fans expected and adored.
This is a true campy delight because it not only gives her the spotlight (and the most clever lines), but is a reminder of how good her old Warner movies were when they were scored by a master like Max Steiner. Here we have Andre Previn giving a richly orchestrated score similar to the kind that adorned her earlier melodramas--and it works!! And the photography is very reminiscent of the grandiose kind that filled films like DECEPTION and MR. SKEFFINGTON with shadowy noir characteristics.
Bette plays twin sisters, one rich, one poor, who are leading very different kinds of lives. When the poor one (Edie) kills Margaret to take over a better, wealthier life style, she soon realizes that she knows too little about her sister's relationships with men. Peter Lawford turns out to be one of her sister's more obnoxious boyfriends and, mercifully, the plot soon disposes of him in one of the film's more horrific moments.
Bette has to contend with all sorts of problems, including the fact that her boyfriend (when she was Edie) is KARL MALDEN and he seems to be snooping around with too much intensity. The script contrives a lot of other hurdles for her to overcome and herein lies the fascination in wondering how she will fool everyone until the denouement.
The loose ends are tied up neatly in a final scene that comes as a payoff for all that happened before...and the last line is a corker.
Bette's fans will love this one, even though it came late in her career at a time when it would have helped if she looked a bit younger for the romantic moments.
This is a true campy delight because it not only gives her the spotlight (and the most clever lines), but is a reminder of how good her old Warner movies were when they were scored by a master like Max Steiner. Here we have Andre Previn giving a richly orchestrated score similar to the kind that adorned her earlier melodramas--and it works!! And the photography is very reminiscent of the grandiose kind that filled films like DECEPTION and MR. SKEFFINGTON with shadowy noir characteristics.
Bette plays twin sisters, one rich, one poor, who are leading very different kinds of lives. When the poor one (Edie) kills Margaret to take over a better, wealthier life style, she soon realizes that she knows too little about her sister's relationships with men. Peter Lawford turns out to be one of her sister's more obnoxious boyfriends and, mercifully, the plot soon disposes of him in one of the film's more horrific moments.
Bette has to contend with all sorts of problems, including the fact that her boyfriend (when she was Edie) is KARL MALDEN and he seems to be snooping around with too much intensity. The script contrives a lot of other hurdles for her to overcome and herein lies the fascination in wondering how she will fool everyone until the denouement.
The loose ends are tied up neatly in a final scene that comes as a payoff for all that happened before...and the last line is a corker.
Bette's fans will love this one, even though it came late in her career at a time when it would have helped if she looked a bit younger for the romantic moments.