Strange Impersonation (1946)

A research scientist conducting experiments on a new anaesthetic finds herself being blackmailed by a women she accidentally knocked down with her car; the woman wasn't hurt, but a scheming... See full summary »

Director:

Anthony Mann

Writers:

Lewis Herman (story), Mindret Lord,

Stars:

Brenda Marshall, William Gargan, Hillary Brooke

Cast

Cast overview:
Brenda Marshall	...	Nora Goodrich
William Gargan	...	Dr. Stephen Lindstrom
Hillary Brooke	...	Arline Cole
George Chandler	...	J W Rinse, plaintiffs' atty.
Ruth Ford	...	Jane Karaski #1
H.B. Warner	...	Dr. Mansfield, plastic surgeon
Lyle Talbot	...	Insp. Malloy, chief interrogator
Mary Treen	...	Talkative nurse
Cay Forester	...	Miss Roper, interrogation witness (as Cay Forrester)
Dick Scott	...	Detective

Storyline

A research scientist conducting experiments on a new anaesthetic finds herself being blackmailed by a women she accidentally knocked down with her car; the woman wasn't hurt, but a scheming attorney has convinced her she can get a lot of money for the "accident." Meanwhile, the scientist's research assistant, who is in love with her boss' boyfriend, arranges for an explosion in the laboratory that disfigures the scientist's face, in order to take the boyfriend away from her. The scientist has plastic surgery to make her look like the woman who tried to blackmail her - who while struggling with the scientist fell out of a window and was killed - and determines to get back her boyfriend and punish her scheming assistant.

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Plot Keywords:

scientist | research | experiment | laboratory accident | anesthetic

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Taglines:

Hell hath no fury as a woman scalded by acid.

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Genres:

Drama | Film-Noir

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 March 1946 (USA)

Also Known As:

Extraña interpretación

Company Credits

Production Co:

W. Lee Wilder Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

68 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Nora Goodrich: [after being groped passionately in her laboratory] Stephen, remember - science!

User Reviews

Imposter

Two things (and only two things) are worthy of notice here. The first is the simple noir construction - that of a manipulator who toys with the protagonist - here, to take over her role. Nora has no way out of the 'machinery', so the only escape is through a deus ex machina sort of release. Similar to the more harrowing (but ultimately, just as goopy)"The Big Clock".

The second is the 'skeleton' of this movie, similar to the deconstructed anatomical model - it serves as a rough blank upon which much improved storytelling conventions have been added. This has been 'reconstructed' in the guise of "Angel Heart", "Johnny Handsome", "Abre Los Ojos/Vanilla Sky" and countless others.

Otherwise, this is pretentious - poor acting, dull camera work, generic musical score, and shallow science...a B movie, pretending to be something well beyond its reach.