A Stolen Life (1946)

Director:

Curtis Bernhardt

Writers:

Karel J. Benes (novel) and
Catherine Turney (writer)

Release Date:

6 July 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

BETTE DAVIS IN HER GREATEST OF ALL HER TRIUMPHS! (original ad - all caps)

Plot:

Kate Bosworth and her twin sister Patricia fall in love with Nantucket lighthouse inspector Bill Emerson...

Plot Keywords:

Twins | Lighthouse | Boat | Sister | Kept Husband

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Bette Davis	...	Kate Bosworth / Patricia Bosworth
Glenn Ford	...	Bill Emerson
Dane Clark	...	Karnock
Walter Brennan	...	Eben Folger
Charles Ruggles	...	Freddie Linley (as Charlie Ruggles)
Bruce Bennett	...	Jack R. Talbot
Peggy Knudsen	...	Diedre
Esther Dale	...	Mrs. Johnson
Clara Blandick	...	Martha
Joan Winfield	...	Lucy

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:TV-PG | Australia:G | West Germany:16 | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #10763, Adult Audience) | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Long Beach Airport - 4101 E. Donald Douglas Drive, Long Beach, California, USA

Company:

B.D. Production

Trivia:

Because of her constant insistence for better productions to work on, and an overall better atmosphere on set, Jack L. Warner asked Bette Davis to produce the film. It would be the first and only time she would be able to do this. Reportedly, she was so overworked and also intrigued by this job that she started a relationship with the director of this film to iron out her mind.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "You Bet Your Life: (#2.32)" (1952)

Soundtrack:

The Sailor's Hornpipe

Bette has fun with dual role in good soaper...

'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.