The Dark Mirror (1946)

A man is found murdered, with witnesses convinced about the woman they saw leaving his apartment. However, it becomes apparent that the woman has a twin, and finding out which one is the killer seems impossible.

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 Collins / Ruth Collins
Lew Ayres	...	Dr. Scott Elliott
Thomas Mitchell	...	Police 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:

same actress playing twin role | one actress for twin sisters | actress playing multiple roles | evil twin | twins | 

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Taglines:

Twins! One who loves... and one who loves to kill!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1947 (Turkey)

Also Known As:

Der schwarze Spiegel

Filming Locations:

Samuel Goldwyn Studios - 7200 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

International Pictures (I),Nunnally Johnson Productions

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 Hedda Hopper Show - This Is Hollywood" broadcast a 30 minute radio adaptation of the movie on January 11, 1947 with Lew Ayres and Olivia de Havilland reprising their film roles.

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Goofs

The daytime overhead general shot of the police car arriving at the Medical Building with the witnesses gives the pedestrians opposite shadows to those of the vehicles. In the following mid shots the direction of light has changed again.

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Quotes

Dr. Scott Elliott: Not even nature can duplicate character, not even in twins.

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Connections

Remade as Dark Mirror (1984)

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Soundtracks

Symphony No. 4 in Em (1st movement), Opus 98
Music by Johannes Brahms (uncredited)
[Playing on the radio in Dr. Elliott's apartment]

User Reviews

very tough to believe,...but it still is wonderful

Okay, with my background as an ex-therapist and psychology teacher, I was quick to notice that there was a lot of psychological mumbo-jumbo in this film. The whole notion of a "nice twin" and an "evil twin" just seems like a silly cliché.

However, if you ignore the improbability of the film, you will be rewarded with a pretty exciting and original film. Olivia DeHavilland plays identical twins and the split screen and other tricks were done pretty seamlessly. Her acting, as usual, was lovely to watch. The film also starred Thomas Mitchell as the cop and Lew Ayers as the psychologist--and both were at about their best.

The story excels in regard to how it portrayed the sociopathic sister. She was pretty realistic, as she was a good example of an Antisocial Personality Disorder--having no conscience and being highly manipulative.

Some other things that I found interesting were the excellent plot twists and suspense elements. Also, I was surprised when I noticed that at least some of the Rorschach cards (for the "ink blot test") were real cards--these are NOT supposed to be shown to the general public and are to only be used for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. And the responses the women gave were pretty realistic. I guess someone slipped up, huh?