The Dark Mirror (1946)

A woman suspected of murdering her doctor boyfriend has an identical twin sister. When both twins have an alibi for the night of the murder, a psychiatrist is called in to assist a ... See full summary »

Director:

Robert Siodmak

Writers:

Nunnally Johnson (written for the screen by), Vladimir Pozner (original story)

Stars:

Olivia de Havilland, Lew Ayres, Thomas Mitchell

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Olivia de Havilland	...	Terry / Ruth Collins
Lew Ayres	...	Dr. Scott Elliott
Thomas Mitchell	...	Lt. Stevenson
Richard Long	...	Rusty
Charles Evans	...	Dist. Atty. Girard
Garry Owen	...	Franklin (as Gary Owen)
Lela Bliss	...	Mrs. Didriksen
Lester Allen	...	George Benson

Storyline

A woman suspected of murdering her doctor boyfriend has an identical twin sister. When both twins have an alibi for the night of the murder, a psychiatrist is called in to assist a detective in solving the case. Through a series of tests, he discovers which twin actually committed the crime and in the course of his investigation he falls in love with the normal twin.

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Plot Keywords:

twins | identical twins | detective | doctor | alibi | 

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Taglines:

When he called her "killer"... and took her twin in his arms... Did he know which was which?

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Genres:

Film-Noir | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 October 1946 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der schwarze Spiegel

Filming Locations:

Goldwyn Studios, 1041 North Formosa Avenue, West Hollywood, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

International Pictures (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"The Screen Guild Theater" broadcast a 30 minute radio adaptation of the movie on February 2, 1948 with Lew Ayres reprising his film role.

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Goofs

When Dr. Elliott is sitting on the leather couch in his apartment talking to Lt. Stevenson, a moving shadow (from something above like a boom mic) appears on the lamp behind the doctor.

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Connections

Remade as Dark Mirror (1984)

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Soundtracks

"Frankie & Johnny"
Music by Hughie Cannon (uncredited)
Played on the cigarette music-box in the Collins sisters' apartment

User Reviews

Intrigue, suspense, and murder in this classic of noir cinema

A murder is committed, an identical twin sisters, Ruth and Terry(Olivia de Havilland) are suspects. A prominent psychologist(Lew Ayres) and a detective(Thomas Mitchell) investigate the deeds to determine which good-bad siblings killed the mysterious corpse, because one of whom is a psycho and nutty woman.

This noir film contains suspense, tensions, psychological drama, love story and is quite entertaining. Excellent actress Olivia De Havilland gives a completely convincing tour-de-force as a dual role as good and bad girl . Good and fine secondary cast as Lew Ayres, Thomas Mitchell, Gary Owen and Richard Long. Startling finale climax with an amazing plot twist. Nice special effects perfectly adapted ,enabling De Havilland to play two diverse characters , FX are stunningly made by Deveraux Jennins. This psychological thriller has an interesting screenplay brilliantly written by Nunnally Johnson, also producer. Atmospheric musical score by Dimitri Tiomkin based on classic music and evocative cinematography with lights and shades by Milton Krasner. The motion picture is well directed by German director Robert Siodmak who realized his best films during the 40s. His movies reflect a world of desperation, of dark, of threat and killing . The Siodmak's best films are¨ Phantom Lady¨, ¨The spiral staircase¨ and ¨Criss Cross and The killers¨-both starred by Burt Lancaster-,¨ now acknowledged as a classic noir films in which Robert Siodmak set the pattern of the rest of his Hollywood's work, and of course ¨Dark mirror¨.