A Double Life (1947)

Anthony John is an actor whose life is strongly influenced by the characters he plays. When he's playing comedy, he's the most enjoyable person in the world, but when he's playing drama, ... See full summary »

Director:

George Cukor

Writers:

Ruth Gordon, Garson Kanin

Stars:

Ronald Colman, Edmond O'Brien, Signe Hasso

Won 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ronald Colman	...	Anthony John
Signe Hasso	...	Brita Kaurin
Edmond O'Brien	...	Bill Friend
Shelley Winters	...	Pat Kroll
Ray Collins	...	Victor Donlan
Philip Loeb	...	Max Lasker
Millard Mitchell	...	Al Cooley
Joe Sawyer	...	Ray Bonner
Charles La Torre	...	Stellini
Whit Bissell	...	Dr. Stauffer
John Drew Colt	...	Stage Manager
Peter M. Thompson	...	Asst. Stage Manager (as Peter Thompson)
Elizabeth Dunne	...	Gladys
Alan Edmiston	...	Rex
Art Smith	...	Wigmaker

Storyline

Anthony John is an actor whose life is strongly influenced by the characters he plays. When he's playing comedy, he's the most enjoyable person in the world, but when he's playing drama, it's terrible to be around him. That's the reason why his wife Brita divorced him; although she still loves him and works with him, she couldn't stand living with him anymore. So when Anthony accepts to play Othello, he devotes himself entirely to the part, but it soon overwhelms him and with each day his mind gets filled more and more with Othello's murderous jealousy.

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Plot Keywords:

actor | character says you're hurting me | character says you keep out of this | have cake and eat it too idiom | f rated | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian Swedish

Release Date:

1948 (Turkey)

Also Known As:

The Art of Murder

Filming Locations:

Republic Studios - 4024 Radford Avenue, North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kanin Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the film, Ronald Colman plays a fictional actor who stars in the longest-running "Othello" in history. In real life, actor Paul Robeson, who had just become the first black actor to star in an otherwise white production of "Othello" on Broadway, had just completed the longest run of the play.

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Goofs

From all appearances during the opening sequence, Anthony John's new comedy is just opening on Broadway - deliverymen carry a fresh sign into the lobby covered with blurbs from rave reviews, leading lady is asked to look at new publicity photos and theater is packed during scene from play. But suddenly, it's revealed that this play has been running a year and is actually about to close. In reality, virtually all plays close due to dwindling attendance (and don't have SRO audiences in last days, as does this one) nor do producers waste money on advertising and publicity on productions that have already posted closing notices, as appears to be the case here since actors are already discussing their next jobs.

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Quotes

Anthony John: How's the chicken cacciatore?
Pat Kroll: It's your stomach.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits appear against a theatre image with stage curtain.

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Connections

Remade as The Alcoa Hour: A Double Life (1957)

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Soundtracks

Opus 10 No. 3 in E Major
(1829-32) (uncredited)
Written by Frédéric Chopin
Played a bit on piano by Brita

User Reviews

Certainly a hidden gem.....

I was astonished at how good this picture was - Ronald Colman's scenery chewing was great, as well as the script and all supporting performances, as well as it being one of George Cukor's better but least seen works. It is a very disquieting film, almost in a Hitchcockian sort of way, and perhaps that accounts for its obscurity. Besides, an early Shelley Winters film is all right by me (carumba!) Hopefully you can find a better print than the one I saw on cable which looked like it was culled from a 16mm positive. C'mon, film preservationists, get on it!