Chained for Life (1952)

A Siamese twin kills the husband who left her. The courts have to decide if she is convicted of murder, how can they punish her sister, who had nothing to do with the crime?

Director:

Harry L. Fraser

Writers:

Nat Tanchuck (screenplay), Albert DePina (additional dialogue) (as Albert de Pina)

Stars:

Violet Hilton, Daisy Hilton, Mario Laval

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Violet Hilton	...	Vivian Hamilton (as The Hilton Sisters)
Daisy Hilton	...	Dorothy Hamilton (as The Hilton Sisters)
Mario Laval	...	Andre Pariseau
Allen Jenkins	...	Hinkley
Patricia Wright	...	Renée
Alan Keys	...	Defense Attorney
Norval Mitchell	...	Judge Mitchell (as Norvel Mitchell)
Edna Holland	...	Mabel
Brian O'Hara	...	Mr. MacKenzie
Herbert Lytton	...	District Attorney
Jack Mulhall	...	Dr. Thompson
James Hope	...	(as Jim Hope)
Roy Regnier	...	Rev. Dr. Burnham
Zena Barry	...	(as Zena Bary)
Tony Iavello	...	Singer (as Tony Lavello)

Storyline

Siamese twins are a singing act, apparently in vaudeville. Their manager, to drum up business bribes a man who has a shooting act to become romantically involved with her. The bribe works and business increases dramatically. The man proposes marriage and the proposal is accepted. He walks out on her on their wedding night to remain with his assistant with whom he has a relationship. The sister of the rejected bride shoots him during his act. The movie starts with the judge, who is hearing the case without a jury, advises us, the audience, that this is a difficult case. The movie poses the question of whether he can punish the one who is the shooter without punishing the other sister.

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Plot Keywords:

exploitation film | psychotronic film | siamese twins | murder | 

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Taglines:

Joined together, how can they make love to separate husbands?

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Much of the plot was derived from real events in the lives of Siamese twins Daisy Hilton and Violet Hilton: the sham-marriage for publicity; the difficulty getting a marriage license due to morals concerns; the vaudeville singing career.

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Quotes

Vivian Hamilton: we've always said we were like other people yet different; from the moment we started to crawl and the leg of the table got between us and we couldn't pass.

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Connections

Featured in Bound by Flesh (2012)

User Reviews

Lame performances, lovely voices.

If you've missed "Chained for Life," you haven't missed much. Based loosely (very loosely) on Siamese twins Daisy and Violent Hilton's lives, Chained For Life is low melodrama at its lamest. The starring ladies did, however, sing very sweetly, and their musical performances are worth sitting through the rest of the movie.

The movie opens with a judge begging the audience for help in resolving a terrible dilemma. The action moves to a courtroom, where conjoined twin Vivian Hamilton is on trial for the shooting death of her sister Dorothy's two-timing husband. The story unfolds in flashback as various characters are called to testify about how a publicity stunt turned to cruel heartbreak and eventually murder.

With a premise close to the sisters' real-life romances, "Chained for Life" could have been compelling drama in the hands of competent writers, a competent cast, and a director capable of pulling adequate performances out of Daily and Violet. We're left with a pure exploitation film, memorable only for its novelty.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

January 1952 (USA)

Also Known As:

Enchaînées pour la vie

Company Credits

Production Co:

Spera Productions Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min 70 min (Film Detective DVD-R)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1