Dead Ringer (1963) User Reviews

Two Great Performances by Bette Davis!

[nneprevilo · 8/10 · 24 September 2006]

Many of the films of the 60s were boring as hell. It took a star like Bette Davis to bring the necessary fire to this double role as twins in "Dead Ringer." In other hands, this might have been unworthy, but with Davis' magical screen presence, you can't take your eyes off her (both of her!) Even in small scenes, she's real and radiant (when Jim gives her the watch for her birthday). Andre Previn's score is superb. I loved the music after Edith storms out of Margaret's bedroom in the beginning of the film when she sees the portrait of her sister's dead husband and HER former lover, followed by that tender moment with the butler.

With the performances that got Oscar nominations during the '60s, some were pretty dull. Compared to them, Bette deserved a nod for best actress. Davis was wonderful in this. Her years of acting experience before the cameras was on full display in every scene...she was the consummate professional.

Did you notice Perry Blackwell at the organ? She also appeared in the Doris Day/Rock Hudson hit,"Pillow Talk" as the nightclub singer a few years prior. The drummer in this was married to Nancy Wilson!

No Good - Bad Turn Goes Unpunished

[theowinthrop · 8/10 · 18 August 2006]

Bette Davis essayed twin sisters twice. The first was A STOLEN LIFE, one of her last good Warner Brother films in the late 1940s, wherein the good sister watches helplessly while her bad sister steals Glenn Ford from her, but she gets a second chance at Glenn when the bad sister is killed in an accident and the good one can take over her life (hence the title).

Then there was this film made nearly two decades later. Despite some far out plot twists, most people think that DEAD RINGER is the better film.

By 1964 Davis had discovered (like her rival Joan Crawford) that their career could survive playing in "grande guinol" films. WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? and HUSH, HUSH SWEET CHARLOTTE, were followed by DEAD RINGER, THE NANNY, and THE ANNIVERSARY (my personal favorite - and actually the least bloody of these films). DEAD RINGER and THE NANNY tie for being the most sympathetic roles for Bette in these films.

In DEAD RINGER, Edith Philips is the twin sister of wealthy widow Margaret De Lorca. Edith owns a run - down bar, and it is going into bankruptcy, and she is facing eviction. Her closest friend (closer if she would watch his signals) is Police Sgt. Jim Hobbson (Karl Malden). But she is consumed with anger and jealousy at her sister because Margaret married the man who Edith should have married. So Margaret's current security is due to her stealing Edith's boyfriend (similar to the plot in A STOLEN LIFE). So she invites Margaret to her home, and shows Margaret a letter that she has written. It is Edith's suicide note, and as Margaret reads it she realizes that she is about to become Edith permanently.

Edith has planned this a bit, but she does not plan for two problems. Sgt. Hobbson is in a bad state because he loved Edith, and he keeps visiting her identical twin "Margaret". This is upsetting to Edith, who did not plan to hurt her boy-friend. Secondly she discovers Margaret had her secrets too. The late Mr. De Lorca may have died in too timely a fashion (wink, wink), and Margaret had a boy - friend too who helped her, a playboy named Tony Collins. Tony is curious about "Margaret's" lack of interest (or even awareness) of him, until he begins to put two and two together, Then he becomes very demanding to his supposed lover.

The climax of the film is quite twisty, if predictable after awhile. But the final moment between Davis and Malden is sadly touching in it's way. The film may also have the best dramatic performance by Lawford as a villain in his film career (finally he cuts loose and shows what he could do). Not one of Davis's greatest films, but an interesting one, and worth viewing.

A Double Dose Of BETTE DAVIS !!!

[Kelt Smith · 7/10 · 24 October 2000]

DEAD RINGER stretches credibility, but is an enjoyable little thriller. The story opens in 1964 Los Angeles where financially struggling Edith (DAVIS) goes to the funeral of wealthy twin Margaret's husband, Frank DeLorca. The two sisters have not seen each other for 20 years because Edith had originally been dating Frank, and Margaret stole him away from her claiming pregnancy. Margaret invites Edith back to her home after the funeral and once there, insults her by offering her cast off clothing. A quarrel ensues where Edith accuses Margaret of never having loved Frank and therefore denying both Frank and Edith of true happiness. In a huff Edith leaves in Margaret's chauffer driven Cadillac. While talking to the chauffer during the ride home, Edith learns that the pregnancy ploy that Margaret had used years before was a lie. When Edith arrives at her small bar in a seedy part of town, she is confronted by her rental property agent, who informs her that since she is 3 months behind in rent, he wants her gone. The one bright spot in Edith's life is the friendship that she has with Sergeant Hobbson (KARL MALDEN). In fact he remembers her birthday and gives her a watch, but Edith is so consumed with her problems that she is almost oblivious to his being there. In her apartment above the bar, now angry at her sister and somewhat irrational, Edith devises a plan to have Margaret visit, at which time she will murder her and take on her identity. Edith phones Margaret and orders her to come to her bar with the ruse that she "knows everything". Margaret goes, believing that Edith has some other knowledge. In an interestingly filmed manner, Edith manages to shoot her sister, change clothes, and make it look as though "Edie" has committed suicide. She now leaves in "Margaret's" chauffered car and steps into a grand life. Only now, she'll have to contend with pulling it off. Physical resemblance aside, Edith must now adopt "Margaret's" lifestyle. She must also convince everyone in "Margaret's" orbit from household servants to friends to Tony Collins (PETER LAWFORD), Margaret's lover, that she is Margaret. Worse, Sergeant Hobbson starts snooping around and unearths alot of things. Things that were not intended to come to light...... Former DAVIS co-star PAUL HENRIED stays within the guidelines with his job as the film's director. He should not have used daughter MONIKA HENRIED as Margaret's maid. Her delivery is flat, and apparently in her early twenties looks more like a young woman of means than a personal maid. JEAN HAGEN is light and airy as shallow friend Dede Marshall, ESTELLE WINWOOD is very good as annoying relative Dona Anna. PETER LAWFORD is also very good as the suave and slimy aging stud muffin Tony Collins. KARL MALDEN is tender in his early scenes, then all business in his latter ones. BETTE DAVIS is excellent playing 2 very different sisters. Her mannerisms and delivery are clearly separate depending on which role she is in. She's down to earth and practical as the down on her luck Edith. As the frivilous Margaret, DAVIS is coy and somewhat flighty, dismissing away what displeases her with a wave of her hand. This is a signature performance of DAVIS, and she runs with it, pulling out all the stops along the way !!!

A great performance by a great actor.

[PWNYCNY · 1 July 2013]

This movie could easily have become a sad and pathetic parody of the final stages of a great actor's career. Instead it marks another pinnacle in the history of one of Hollywood's greatest players, Bette Davis. There are not enough superlatives to describe her performance. Not only does Davis carry the movie, she is the movie. Her performance transcends the material. This movie is an example of where the actor succeeds in elevating the script. The story is cleverly written and beautifully photographed in a black and white context that sets the mood for the movie. But it is Bette Davis's performance as a twin which makes this movie not only watchable but fun to watch. Like Bette Davis herself, this movie has aged well. Davis has since departed us but her legacy lives on in her many wonderful movies, including this one.

"Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the fairest twin of all?"

[ClassicAndCampFilmReviews · 7/10 · 5 June 2005]

Nobody in film has yet portrayed evil bitch, and sometimes crazy evil bitch, as well and as often as the late great Bette Davis, as evidenced by such films as "Of Human Bondage", "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane", and "The Nanny", just to name a few that come immediately to mind. Capable of spitting out lines such as "Ah'd luv tuh kiss yuh, but ah jus' washed mah hair" (from "Cabin In the Cotton", 1932), "Every time you kissed me, I had to wipe my mouth! Wipe my mouth!" (from "Of Human Bondage", 1934) to "But Blanche, yuh ahhh in that chair, yuh ahhhhhhh!" (from "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane", 1962), Bette Davis made a lucrative living with her hip-swinging sashaying stride and her mannerisms that still make her a favorite of drag queens everywhere.

In "Dead Ringer", Bette was once again cast in the dual role of good sister/bad sister (Edith Phillips/Margaret DeLorca) similar to her dual roles in "A Stolen Life" (1946, with Glenn Ford). Paul Henreid, her co-star in "Now Voyager" - remember him in the classic scene that involved his lighting two cigarettes and handing Davis's character one of them - directs. "Dead Ringer"'s premise is simple: good sister impulsively tries to step into shoes of deceased bad sister in an ill-conceived move to improve her own quality of life, without thinking of the inherent consequences. In this case, as in the case of "A Stolen Life", Davis inherits the dead bad sister's myriad mix of self-imposed problems, but with worse consequences.

And as veteran filmgoers have realized for many years, the family dog always knows who's who.

Karl Malden, as Davis' earnest boyfriend (and cop) Sgt. Jim Hobbson is basically re-enacting his earnest boyfriend characterization from "A Streetcar Named Desire", and Peter Lawford, who was a real-life playboy and drunk, (in addition to allegedly acting as a bit of a pimp for the Kennedys, circa the Marilyn Monroe/John F. Kennedy/Robert Kennedy liasons era), plays Tony Collins...the drunken playboy boyfriend of the dead bad sister, Margaret DeLorca.

"Dead Ringer" was made in an era of more rudimentary special effects, so Davis's two characters interacting almost face-to-face in some scenes was quite innovative for the time, well-done (better than the obvious stand-in used for some scenes) and still holds up well.

Fun times ensue for all. Classic Bette melodrama.

Bette's Triumphant Return to Warner Bros!!!

[williwaw · 9/10 · 17 March 2011]

Bette Davis the greatest female star in the history of Warner Bros returned to the studio to make this excellent film. ( Bette's great comeback hit, 'Whatever Happened to Baby Jane' was filmed at the old Producers Studio aka Raleigh Studios on Melrose but was released by WB).

Jack Warner gave Bette Davis carte Blancha on this film after Bette's great hit in 'Whatever Happened to Baby Jane'. I liked 'Dear Ringer' a lot and Bette Davis has a field day playing both parts. Karl Malden is very professionally as always. WB contract Star Phil Carey has a small role.

Paul Henried so memorable a co star of Bette's directs 'Dead Ringer' in crisp fashion and the cinematography in gorgeous black and white is first rate. I miss the B@W movies!

Read that Lana Turner was offered this movie first but turned it down. Not sure if that is true or just another one of the many Bette-related stories that circulate. In any event, glad Bette Davis got the part. Fine drama.

Paramount and Sony Columbia name Buildings after Film People who have made great contributions to those studio lots, Paramount has buildings named after Hal Wallis, Lucille Ball, Mae West, Marlene Dietirich, et al and Sony Columbia has buildings or stages named after Kim Novak, William Holden, Rita Hayworth, Frank Capra et al, and I wish Warner Bros would name a building on its fabled movie lot after WB's greatest female star Bette Davis.

fun film with extra Davis

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 12 August 2005]

Bette Davis is a poor bar owner and the wealthy widow who stole her sister's boyfriend in "Dead Ringer." Davis played twins before in "A Stolen Life." This time, she's Edie and her sister, the recently widowed Margaret DeLorca. The two have been estranged for many years - Margaret slept with Edie's boyfriend, DeLorca, said she was pregnant, and married the guy. The baby, a boy, died. On the way home from the funeral and a visit with her sister, Edie learns from the chauffeur that Margaret never had a baby. Edie kills her sister and switches identities with her, leaving Margaret in her place, in her clothes. By taking Margaret's identity, she also leaves behind her boyfriend, a police detective played by Karl Malden.

Edie soon learns that Margaret's life was - well, complicated. For one thing, she's involved with Peter Lawford. And there's more! Bette Davis does a great job as both sisters. This is an entertaining film that Davis fans won't want to miss.

Two Bettes for the price of one

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 21 February 2020]

There were a lot of reasons to see 'Dead Ringer' (also known as 'Dead Image'), not to be confused with David Cronenberg's brilliant 1988 'Dead Ringers', which also has twins as its main characters magnificently portrayed by Jeremy Irons. The title sounded unsettling. Bette Davis was a cinematic legend and a fantastic actress, one of the best. It had Andre Previn providing the music score. It was interesting seeing actor Paul Henreid as director. And the premise sounded great.

While the 1960s was not one of the best decades for Davis (though not quite twilight years quality in the same way as late Joan Crawford), there were exceptions that were very good to brilliant. 'Whatever Happened to Baby Jane' gets my vote as the best of them all, but 'Dead Ringer' is also one of her better 1960s films and comes close to that film's quality. Just as tense, just as powerful and almost as demented. It also showcases what made Davis so good as an actress, if not as much as her work throughout the 40s and in the early-50s, and shows how versatile she was.

Occasionally it plods, namely in the early stages when setting up. Otherwise there is very, very little to dislike.

'Dead Ringer' is a very stylish and atmospheric looking film, especially the photography and the sometimes eerily shadowy lighting that fondly reminds one of film noir. Previn's music score is some of his best, most haunting and most orchestrally sonorous work on film and adds so much to the unsettlement, masterly stuff. Henreid's direction is suitably gritty and generates a lot of tension and taut pacing.

Moreover, the script is tightly structured and intelligent, flowing beautifully. The final line is pretty unforgettable. The cleverly plotted story is very suspenseful and genuinely frightening, while with nothing too predictable or credibility straining. The ending is clever and ties things up very believably. The characters are written well, with the twins very meaty characters (especially Edith).

All the cast do great jobs, even Peter Lawford who doesn't always do much for me. Karl Malden is a strong presence as always and even 'Singin in the Rain's' Jean Hagen shows up in a very different role to the one she plays in that film. Stealing the film quite rightly is Davis in one of the better portrayals of twins on film and she does brilliantly in making both of them interesting characters with never one-dimensional characteristics and a wide range of emotions. She is equally brilliant as both, but ever so slightly better as the meatier Edith.

Summing up, a great film and one of Davis' best 1960s films. 9/10

Davis excels in another twin role...aided and abetted by Andre Previn's masterful score...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 21 August 2006]

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.

She Wouldn't Hurt a Fly!

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 17 June 2007]

In Los Angeles, after eighteen years without speaking to each other, Edith Phillips meets her twin sister Margaret de Lorca (Bette Davis) in the funeral of Maggie's husband and former love of Edith that died of heart attack. Maggie invites Edith to visit her mansion, and Edith finds through her sister's driver that Maggie used a fake pregnancy to trick her and marry her passion. When Edith arrives in her bar, she is evicted by her landlord. Edith calls Maggie, kills her and assumes her identity. The police, including her boyfriend Sergeant Jim Hobbson (Karl Malden), believe that Edith committed suicide in an act of despair. Edith lures Maggie's servants and friends, but when Maggie's lover Tony Collins (Peter Lawford) appears, the situation becomes complicated for her.

"Dead Ringer" is a great film-noir, with thriller and black humor in an ironic story where justice is reached through the wrong and unexpected way. I have never had the chance to see the original Mexican movie "La Otra", but this remake is magnificently supported by the awesome Bette Davis, performing double and ambiguous roles that permit her to be rich, poor, simple, sophisticated, killer and victim. Her final line to Jim Hobbson ("-She wouldn't hurt a fly!") gives a bitter touch of class and irony to the conclusion of this enjoyable film. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Alguém Morreu em Meu Lugar" ("Somebody Died in My Place")

Underrated later Bette Davis film

[vincentlynch-moonoi · 7/10 · 7 July 2011]

There's a lot to like about this movie, and some things to not like about it. But after watching this film a second time, I have to admit it's better than I remembered it being. I think part of the problem I had with the film is that it seemed like quite a step down from Bette Davis films from the 1940s such as "Dark Victory", "The Letter", and "In This Our Lives". Instead, this is a bit noir-ish and has its own set of attributes.

Interestingly, it was directed by Paul Henreid, once one of Bette Davis' costars.

A mature Bette Davis kills her rich twin sister (a double role) for a variety of reasons. The question is, will she get away with it? Davis turns in a strong performance, as does the boyfriend of the "poor" sister, cop Karl Malden. I'm not a fan of Peter Lawford, but this is one of a few films where he turned in a strong performance, sleazy though his character may be. Other supporting stars simply do their jobs...nothing notable.

This is the second time Bette Davis played twin sisters, the other time was 1946's "A Stolen Life". "A Stolen Life" is undoubtedly the better film, but this is not a remake. It is a different story all together.

What I didn't like in this film was the early dialog between the two sisters. Frankly, it seemed a bit childish. The rest of the script -- in terms of dialog seemed fine. And, there are several quite delicious plot twists. Make no mistake, this is not a who-done-it. We know who done it from beginning to end, although, as mentioned, there are some surprises along the way. This is a neat little thriller in Davis' later common character -- the witch...or something that rhymes.

Although I haven't raised my rating from the original "7" I gave it, on review it's a very strong "7", rather than a very weak "7".

Dead Ringer-Classic Bette At Her Best ****

[edwagreen · 10/10 · 9 September 2006]

Bette Davis is just fabulous here as the embittered sister who kills her recently widowed twin sister and assumes her identity.

What makes this film so good is what Bette has to go through to keep this charade going. From the handwriting, to recognizing friends and rooms in the mansion, Bette has a field day.

The irony here is great when Bette realizes what a witch her sister is but it's too late to do anything about it. Just seeing why Bette goes to the chair at the end is just unbelievable.

Surrounded by an excellent supporting cast consisting of Peter Lawford as the playboy boy-friend of dead sister Margaret and Karl Malden as the man who loved Edith, the sister who has done the killing.

This film has been tremendously under-rated. Not to be missed!

The Great Bette helps this rise above mediocrity.

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 9 March 2013]

While she scored better in 1964 with a Tennessee Williams like heroine in "Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte", Bette Davis also shined with dual roles (for the second time in her career) in this update of the type of film she had been appearing in for 20 years. Having played rivals of sisters, cousins and old acquaintances of such divas as Olivia de Havilland, Mary Astor and Miriam Hopkins, she now finds the toughest competition of them all-herself! A re-tread of "A Stolen Life" (where she also played two twins, one good and one bad), here the rivalry is one more evenly matched. Maggie is a wealthy widow with many secrets; Eadie is the well-liked owner of a pub in a poor section of Los Angeles where she is known for giving hand-outs to those less fortunate than herself. (And believe me, she is not so fortunate, so this is supposed to tell us that she is extremely kind hearted). When she goes to the funeral of her sister's husband (who happened to be the love of her life), all the old resentments come out, and Eadie decides to play just like her to get even for all the past hurts. Those include man-stealing and lying, especially about what caused the late husband to marry Maggie in the first place.

Davis is convincing in making us believe the differences between each of the sisters. Neither is alike in common characteristics. Davis fans will be amused by the wealthy Maggie's declaration that she quit smoking years before while Eadie puffs like a locomotive. It is the poor but resourceful Eadie who gets the upper hand, taking over her sister's life and discovering that Maggie had a few horrifying secrets of her own that render her actually quite evil.

As the police officer in love with the simple living Eadie, Karl Malden is excellent, her down-to-earth protector who is awestruck when he meets "Maggie" after Eadie has assumed her life. Peter Lawford is the hideously sleazy gigolo lover of Maggie's who guesses the truth and uses it to his advantage, his life eventually literally going to the dogs. A religious freak in-law played by Estelle Winwood, a pre-historic looking butler played by Cyril Delavanti and a gossipy socialite played by Jean Hagen round out Maggie's social set, with director Paul Henreid's real-life daughter playing Maggie's suspicious maid.

Davis helps the plot rise above the obviousness of it, especially with how she arranges to switch lives, something too delicious to spoil. The result shows how an apparent kindly woman can turn to ruthlessly evil when pushed to the edge. While Davis is matronly looking as both characters, she makes you realize that neither character is someone that you'd want to mess with. Thanks to her performance, this film rises above predictability and silliness and is totally satisfying with a delightful denouncement at the ending.

Latter day Davis

[arturus · 3/10 · 11 May 2005]

This is Davis at the nadir of her career, when acting ceased to be a passion and became a way to pay the bills (her daughter's wedding, perhaps?). Davis is mannered and unconnected to the material and to the other actors in their scenes, doing the right things but without the inner fire of her early work, and overplaying all over the place. But you just can't keep your eyes off her! She's about 15 years too old to play these two sisters; the bad makeup and "lifts" under her wigs do little to hide this fact. Even as the rich pampered sister, in expensive clothes, she looks frumpy and out of shape, even dowdy, a look which is right for the "poor" sister Edie, but not for Margaret. It's a sad thing to watch this great talent go through the motions.

The production, a first rate studio job, is a classic Warners melodrama, which could have been made in the 30s but for the slightly smarmy 60s overlay. It's full of plot holes: the twins would not have had the same fingerprints or dental work and it'd have been easy, even without DNA evidence to tell them apart from these and made it clear just WHO was standing trial for whose murder! But it is a movie after all, and it does have some fun moments in spite of this. Henreid's direction is adequate, though he could have given stronger direction to Davis and reined her in more, as she claimed to like strong directors. Perhaps their being good friends stood in his way. The supporting cast of character players is very good. Previn's score is masterfully chilling.

DOUBLE DOSE OF DAVIS

[cubria · 21 May 2001]

Through out the years many critics have said that the movies that Bette Davis did during the 60's were bad and campy at best, I tend to disagree. While some of them were not the best movies, Davis was always her best in them. Davis couldn't give a bad performance.

DEAD RINGER is a good movie with a good script and veteran actors doing what they do best. Definitely a good way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

A giddily insane plot with great acting by both Bette Davis and Bette Davis

[secondtake · 7/10 · 8 June 2010]

Dead Ringer (1964)

From that crazy, Gothic, overblown, fabulous last decade of Bette Davis's career, another wild one. And we get not one, but two Davis characters, twins, and the scenes where they are both shown (seamlessly) it's a kind of Bette Davis gluttony. Luckily, she's a great actress, and she pulls makes the melodrama burn. The movie makes no secret of being over the top, the plot outrageous and engaging enough to pull along all the other unlikely and exaggerated scenes.

The weakest link here is possibly the direction, under actor Paul Henreid's hand (most famous as the second male lead in Casablanca). As amazing as the plot is by nature (filled with double-crossing treachery and murder), it actually drags a little at times. But not for long. The cinematography is really amazing (the great Ernst Haller at work--he did so many truly stellar movies it's breathtaking), amazing enough to study, the camera arcing around a stairway, or playing with the light turning on and off. The music is an odd mix--the harpsichord jingles are both perfect in setting a creepy mood and tacky for seeming to cheapen the drama--and it's classical conductor Andre Previn (Mia Farrow's onetime-husband) in charge. But counteracting this is some great funky early sixties organ jazz in a few scenes (the two performers are uncredited), what you might expect from a Sam Fuller movie.

As awesome as this movie seems as a bit of delicious excess, something to roar about, eyes glued to the visuals, it's also a little awkward, just a shade. Like Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte, The Nanny, and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane, it's in the pantheon of cult Bette Davis movies, an early 1960s attempt to keep both her career and the old-fashioned Hollywood drama alive. It manages to do both.

The absolute best!.....

[MarieGabrielle · 9/10 · 26 July 2007]

Bette Davis here excels in "Grand Guignol" version of melodrama.

She looks intimidating and beautiful, has several lovers, and a life of deception. This is a must not miss film, which I watched with my mother as a child.

Ms. Davis plays Edie, the understated down at heel bar owner who is in love with modest detective Karl Malden. She is tired of her life, and after owing a great deal of money, attempts to reconcile with her wealthy sister, Mrs. DeLorca.

Mrs. DeLorca (also Davis) is an opportunist. Not happy, but wealthy. Somehow a change of identity occurs, and Edie ends up dead.

Beautiful cinematography as Edie's sister in her Beverly Hills Mansion. Duke, the Great Dane ( great dog) adds a nice nuance to the story. There are also some amusing scenes with Peter Lawford as an ex-lover, now discarded.

All in all this is a superior film which you will want to watch more than twice. Highly recommended. 9/10.

Familiar but Well Done "Evil Twin" Movie

[mrb1980 · 7/10 · 20 April 2017]

Bette Davis is the whole show in this film that again recycles the "evil twin" plot. Two sisters, Margaret (rich, widowed, and condescending), and Edie (poor and slovenly) begin to talk again after years of estrangement. Because of a simmering grudge over Margaret's late husband, Edie kills Margaret and assumes her identity and lavish lifestyle. Margaret's boyfriend Tony (Peter Lawford) soon figures out the switch, tries blackmail, and is mauled to death by Margaret's huge dog. Karl Malden plays Edie's police detective boyfriend, and although he's good, Malden just looks confused all the time. Since no one could get away with crime in a 1964 movie, Edie is sentenced to death as Margaret for poisoning her husband!

The movie moves along swiftly, aided by such old pros as Jean Hagen, Ken Lynch, and George Macready. There's a strange subplot about religion that really doesn't add very much to the plot. However, watching Peter Lawford wrestling with a stuffed dog head is worth the price of admission. There's also very good direction by Davis' old costar Paul Henreid. It's no classic, but this is wonderful for fans of Davis, who easily steals the show.

"You haven't got that much!"

[BumpyRide · 9/10 · 17 June 2004]

Some movies are just too enjoyable not to watch, especially if you enjoy thrillers with a unique twist and Bette Davis. I like to think of this as the second half of "A Stolen Life" where Bette replaces her mean sister and takes on her life. The story is essentially the same, but we see more of the dilemma of trying to pass as the other sister. Even though Bette's character is a murderess, we hope she gets away with it. The poker scene always has me squirming in my seat. The supporting cast is good too, Karl Malden was never one of my favorites, but he's not bad in this movie. On a side note, did anyone else notice the bar singer as the same singer in Pillow Talk?

Bad bette.

[valstone52 · 6/10 · 11 March 2020]

Watching this film now, love Davis in almost everything. But Peter lawford as a playboy is hilarious. Never saw the appeal for him. Main claim to fame was marrying a Kennedy. Wasn't that good of an actor either.

Excellent Movie

[dan-2522 · 9/10 · 15 February 2008]

This is movie of a type they don't make any more- regrettably. It goes way beyond melodrama and has a plot with twists and turns that is way beyond most movies nowadays. The script is clever as opposed to contrived and keeps the tension up right up till the end. Undeniably this movie is a star vehicle for Bette Davis who carries off the dual roles of two sisters with amazing ease and aplomb. The supporting actors - Karl Malden & Peter Lawford are similarly excellent. Made at a time when special effects were still pretty rudimentary- it is all the more "clever" for the seamless way in which some scenes are covered. Fans of other Davis's films of the 60's that reached into the bizarre, horror genres - this one stands with the best of them. I highly recommend it.

A delicious stew...though one which never quite achieves its thriller aspirations

[moonspinner55 · 7/10 · 11 April 2011]

A curiously subdued and leisurely-paced melodrama starring Bette Davis in a dual role. Albert Beich and Oscar Millard concocted the enjoyably contrived screenplay, based upon Rian James' short story "Dead Pigeon", involving estranged twin sisters--one wealthy and haughty, the other poor and noble--who reunite at the funeral of the rich twin's husband. Davis had played lookalikes before (in 1946's "A Stolen Life), and even earlier did the good sister-bad sister routine (in 1942's "In This Our Life"); still, she brings her considerable star-wattage to this tale, doing grand justice to the musty 'impersonation' bit while providing a fascinating wallow for her fans. The film starts off with a bang, but director Paul Henreid (Davis' co-star in "Now, Voyager") is too fussy and smooth to keep the kinetic charge going. Karl Malden is his usual blustery self playing a police sergeant who's always on the scene at just the right moment, ditto Peter Lawford as a gigolo, but Davis rides high above the clichés and carries the movie on her stalwart shoulders. *** from ****

Bette Steals Another Life

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 7 July 2012]

Among her contemporaries Bette Davis is the only one I know who managed to carry off playing twin sisters twice in films. The first time was in A Stolen Life and in 1964 she did it again in Dead Ringer. The first time she was a good and a bad twin, but in Dead Ringer both twins commit evil acts during the course of the movie.

Bette's former co-star Paul Henreid directed her in Dead Ringer with co- stars Karl Malden and Peter Lawford. Back in the day one twin stole the man the other was in love with because he was rich, prosperous, and part of old California society. That one got rich, the other never married and now lives owning a bar that she's way behind in debt with.

When the husband dies the bar owner learns that back in the day he was tricked into marriage with a false pregnancy story and as the family was Catholic he married her and couldn't divorce. That sets the bar owner into a murderous frenzy and she kills the widow and then assumes her place while she also fakes a suicide story.

With a few bumps along the way Bette settles into the other Bette's life. Then a lowlife boyfriend played by Peter Lawford comes back in the picture. Lawford is a gigolo/golf pro and he and society Bette have some deep secrets. The rest you can see for yourself.

Oddly enough A Stolen Life also involved a twin taking another's place and as for the rest of the story, if you know what happens in The Postman Always Rings Twice you know what happens here.

With the possible exception of Whatever Happened To Baby Jane, Dead Ringer maybe Davis's best film of the Sixties. She throws herself into both roles so well that it like watching twins in action. She also has a nice group of supporting players in roles they are well cast in. But this one is Bette's show.

Watch her steal another life.

Bette Davis a powerful force

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 15 November 2014]

Edith Phillips (Bette Davis) meets up with her estranged twin sister Margaret de Lorca at Margaret's husband Frank's funeral. Edith has her money losing cocktail lounge while Margaret is lording her wealth over her. Frank was courting Edith originally until he had an affair with Margaret. After Margaret's claim to be pregnant, Edith never talked to them again. Margaret tells Edith that the child died before a year old but the family chauffeur recalls that she was never pregnant. Later, Edith lures Margaret to her lounge where she kills Margaret and assumes her identity. She makes Margaret up to look like her having committed suicide. People have their suspicions including Margaret's lover Tony Collins (Peter Lawford) who starts blackmailing her. Edith's boyfriend police sergeant Jim Hobbson (Karl Malden) continues to investigate her supposed suicide and also the death of Frank de Lorca.

Bette Davis is a powerful force. That's what this movie gives with her on the screen. Director Paul Henreid could have tightened up some of the scenes to elevate the tension. For example, the scene of Edith setting up Margaret's body as a suicide takes forever. It could have been done better and with more intensity. No matter what, Bette Davis exudes screen presence.

An acceptable, but not superior latter day Davis vehicle

[ccmiller1492 · 4/10 · 3 April 2004]

"Dead Ringer" is an acceptable but not a superior latter day Bette Davis vehicle. As always, she's fascinating to watch, especially at this stage of her career which features her more repellant qualities. Karl Malden, as always, gives a good performance as the suspicious investigator. To my mind, however, the film is worth watching mainly for the two sequences in which the reliably obnoxious Peter Lawford (the Hugh Grant of his day) gets his comeuppance. First, when Malden grabs him by his golf shirt and roughs him up, and then when Lawford's character is deservedly savaged to death by mastiffs. See this one, it's not a great film but it is an entertaining entry of it's kind.