The Dark Mirror

Moviecut—The Dark Mirror

It's an entertaining mystery. Olivia De Havilland plays identical twins, one of whom is guilty of murder. But, you know identical twins. It's hard to tell them apart. It's driving the Chief Detective, Thomas Mitchell, nuts. Either Ruth was walking in Jefferson park while Terry was stabbing a swain to death -- or the other way round. A psychologist who happens to specialize in twin research, Lew Ayres, is called into the case and manages to unravel it. The burden of the film falls on De Havilland, and it's a heavy one. She doesn't only have to play two slightly different characters; she has to play three, because one of the two is covering up a psychotic personality. She does her best to pull off the psychotic monster when it emerges at the end, but it's obviously a strain on her talent because she pops her eyes out and goes through more mental contortions than Humphrey Bogart's Captain Queeg on the witness stand. Olivia De Havilland is simply too nice a lady. She's no longer the spring chicken of the Errol Flynn movies of ten years earlier but she remains beautiful -- and more than that; delicate, vulnerable, winsome, and edible. It would be a sin to think of her legs. In fact, though, she can be pretty bawdy. In a later interview she described some trouble that Errol Flynn was having with his tights during a kissing scene in "Robin Hood." That's what being schooled in a convent will do to you. Thomas Mitchell is the exasperated cop; Lew Ayres with a thin mustache is the psychologist who examines the twin sisters. Actually, he shows them a couple of Rorschach ink blots and at least one of them is from the real Rorschach series and showing them in a movie today would be a justiciable offense. The murderous twin's answers are rather revealing too, in a subtle way. Tainted without being obvious. The writer must have done his homework. I speak to you as your psychologist. That will be ten cents. It's always tricky to pull off a twin movie successfully. It involves a lot of clever work on the part of the visual effects team when the two identical characters appear on the screen at the same time. They've done a splendid job here. It must be said that without the twin angle there's nothing special about the movie. It's a routine B murder mystery. But with the talent exercised by the writer, the director, and especially De Havilland, it's a neater job than you might expect.

"The Dark Mirror" is an excellent psychological thriller about murder, jealousy, suspects who are identical twins and a psychologist who helps the police to identify a murderer. The atmosphere of the piece is, at times, rather unsettling and intense but it's also intriguing and extremely enjoyable to watch. The 1940s was a period when there was a great deal of public awareness of psychoanalysis and Freudian psychology and so the methods used to identify the evil twin in this story would certainly have held a lot of interest and fascination for audiences at that time. An investigation into the murder of a well known doctor seems to start off well for police Lieutenant Stevenson (Thomas Mitchell) as he quickly has witnesses at his disposal who can positively identify the young woman who was seen coming out of the victim's apartment on the night of the murder. The woman in question works on a magazine stand in the medical building where the late doctor worked but Stevenson encounters a problem when she is able to provide compelling evidence that she was actually four miles away from the murder scene at the critical time. Later, Stevenson discovers that the suspect is one of a pair of identical twins but then he confronts another problem as the two sisters are unwilling to cooperate and he is unable to make any further progress without any evidence to prove which one is the culprit. It's at this point that he calls in the assistance of Dr Scott Elliott (Lew Ayres), a psychologist whose speciality is research into the characteristics of identical twins. Dr Elliott carries out a number of tests involving "inkblots", "word association" and polygraphs from which he identifies which sister is capable of committing murder and he then works with Lieutenant Stevenson on a scheme to trap the evil twin into exposing her own guilt. Robert Siodmak's style of direction is impressive and very effective in building up the suspense. There are some passages where the mood becomes quite sinister and the masterful use of light and shadow enhances this atmosphere enormously. Examples of this are the opening sequence during which the camera surveys the contents of a dark room before discovering the murder victim and a scene involving the twins in which one sister is almost entirely engulfed in shadow. The techniques used to show both twins on screen simultaneously are totally convincing and Olivia De Havilland's performance in her dual role displays great subtlety and intelligence. The way she conveys the sisters' many similarities whilst also portraying their differences in an understated manner is very accomplished and best appreciated on repeat viewings. Thomas Mitchell is also entertaining as the competent, unassuming and good humoured detective who is often bewildered by what he discovers. Fans of "Final Analysis" will notice some similarities with this movie; however, in a typical neo-noir subversion of expectations, in the 1992 film, both identity swapping sisters are actually evil. "The Dark Mirror" is a stylish movie and the generally swift and natural manner in which the action unfolds contributes greatly to its overall appeal.

This was an entertaining whodunnit. But was far to light - almost Disney light at times that I struggled with the tone of the film. Olivia de Havilland is very good at playing twins. One has committed murder and the other is a dupe. Nice Sunday morning mystery movie but not film noir.

This film can be summed up in one word: silly. Or if you prefer two: low budget. It starts off as though it might be a black comedy, and though it is clearly not to be taken too seriously, it never quite decides. Twin sisters: one a murderess, the other either an accomplice or covering up for her, or...pick a motive. Yes, there is some clever camera-work using one actress – Olivia de Havilland – to play both, but these sort of tricks were certainly not new in 1946, regardless of how they were effected. And low budget really does say it all. If there is a mystery to be solved here it is why was such a plot wasted on a film that had no real love interest, no chases, no punch-ups, heck, we don't even see the victim's body, alive or dead. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about "The Dark Mirror" is that its star is still alive at the time of writing. Olivia de Havilland is now 97, and was still acting up until 5 years ago. She could have been forgiven for dying of embarrassment within a twelvemonth of this monstrosity's release.

THE DARK MIRROR is a lesser-known entry into the canon of films noir that dominated Hollywood in the mid-Forties. Directed by Robert Siodmak (THE KILLERS), it is a psychological thriller focusing on the attempts of Lt. Stevenson (Thomas Mitchell) and psychiatrist Dr. Scott Elliott (Lew Ayres) to discover the killer of a well=established doctor. The only snag is that the chief suspects are a pair of identical twins, Ruth and Terry Collins, both played by Olivia de Havilland, who refuse to divulge any further information. Siodmak's narrative focuses in detail on the twins' psychology, by deliberately frustrating our desire to find out who is the 'good' and the 'bad' twin. The costume-designs apparently make this process of distinguishing quite straightforward - one wears white, the other black as the film unfolds - but the twins' responses to Elliott's psychological tests challenge our preconceptions. De Havilland has a rare chance to play the role of a 'bad' woman and grasps it with both hands; her Chicago accent is both harsh yet beguiling. It's clear that, as the 'bad' twin, she can seduce anyone she likes, even those men who proclaim their ability to see through any psychological games. Nunnally Johnson's script is taut and fast-moving (in the print I saw, the film lasts only eighty-one minutes), while Siodmak makes clever use of atmospheric lighting, especially shadows projected on the back will behind the twins, to suggest that they are somehow pursued by internal demons. THE DARK MIRROR might not be as celebrated as other films of similar genre, but it nonetheless captures some of the emotional uncertainties and moral that characterized the material of that period; its ending is particularly cleverly structured.

As stated in everyone's write-ups, this is a story of a murder with a twist; the perp is one of two identical twins. One alibis for the other, and since both can't be prosecuted for the crime, the guilty one walks. This does not sit well with Insp. Thomas Mitchell, who tries to think of a way to implicate the guilty one - whichever one that is. And so he enlists the help of psychiatrist Lew Ayres. At first, the murder is presented as an unsolvable conundrum and in a light-hearted vein, but things get serious thereafter and, unfortunately, the plot begins to bog down over some technical psychological data. But Olivia DeHavilland saves the day and the movie with a splendid performance (or two) as the twins. Gradually there appear personality differences so that even the audience can tell the difference between the two. Not many actresses could have pulled off the layered performances of the twins, but not many actresses are as proficient or as skilled as DeHavilland. This is another neglected gem from Universal's cobwebbed movie vaults that needs to be put into circulation by that comatose studio. It is one of Ms. DeHavilland's best performances and raises an average, talky movie to classic status.

The postwar interest in Freudianism (probably precipitated by returning veterans suffering from shell-shock) was, in Hollywood, put to facile and often sinister ends. The Dark Mirror is no exception, despite the talents of scriptwriter Nunnally Johnson and director Robert Siodmak. Simply put, De Havilland plays a woman and her "evil" twin (though they use the word "insane"). When it's first revealed, in the investigation of a murder, that the two (Ruth and Terry) are dead ringers, the orchestral score chortles with little musical jokes at the expense of police detective Thomas Mitchell (who is wasted). Luckily the tone darkens towards the middle of the movie and De Havilland rises from blandness to effective histrionics -- could she scowl! -- at least in her evil incarnation. Inadvertently amusing are the name-necklaces and monogram pins the twins sport, undoubtedly to orient the audience. These big-city dames traipse around like high-school girls, lugging huge "T"s and "R"s on their tailored suits.

The Dark Mirror is directed by Robert Siodmak and adapted to screenplay by Nunnally Johnson from a story by Vladimir Pozner. It stars Olivia de Havilland, Lew Ayres, Thomas Mitchell, Richard Long and Charles Evans. Music is by Dimitri Tiomkin and cinematography by Milton Krasner. A man appears to have been murdered by one of the identical twin Collins sisters, but both of whom have an alibi. The police and the psychiatrist have their work cut out... Straight out of the corner of postwar Hollywood that began to take fascination with mental illness, The Dark Mirror triumphs more as a technical exercise than as anything resembling thought provoking analysis. The simplistic Freudian elements aside, film is impressively mounted and performed by Siodmak and de Havilland respectively. Story follows the trajectory of a cat-and-mouse game, with the makers nicely putting us the viewers into the same struggle the authorities have in sussing out which sister is the damaged killer. Siodmak's (The Spiral Staircase) attention to detail and grasp of mood setting really lifts the piece to greater heights. Aided by the considerable photographic skills of Krasner (The Set-Up), Siodmak creates a world of psychological disturbance, a place aligned with suspense and symbolism. Right from the doozy of an opening scene to the denouement, Siodmak manages to keep the contrivances to the rear of the play and let de Havilland and the visual textures be the prime focus. The effects work is very good, with de Havilland having to quite often play off against herself. Sure in today's age of High Definition et al, you don't have to stretch your viewing experience to see how the effects were done, but why would you? Just enjoy de Havillland's riveting performances in the dual roles (see also her excellence in The Snake Pit two years later), her skillful little subtleties as she deftly plays out the respective psychological traits of sibling rivalry gone astray. Is it a gimmick movie? Well no not really, it's honest about what it wants to achieve in terms of psychiatric observations and treatments. Yet lesser lights than Siodmak, Krasner and de Havilland would have struggled to make it work, especially as the romance angle in the screenplay nearly derails the requisite mood come the finale. Thankfully, in spite of some obvious negatives, it's still well worthy of viewing investment. 7/10

Hey! I'm certainly no prude, but, regardless of whether it's "just-a-movie", or not, I am one who thinks it's absolutely deplorable when a "professional" (such as a physician or a psychiatrist) who, due to having a very low standard of ethics, becomes romantically involved with one (or more) of their patients. And this, I'm sorry to say, was the case here in The Dark Mirror. Supposedly a "respected" psychiatrist, Dr. Elliot, who was psycho-analyzing both Ruth & Terry Collins (to determine if either one of these identical twins could, in fact, be a murderess) became romantically involved with the "good" twin. (natch) The doc literally came onto this woman like a horny-toad buzzard, passionately and frequently embracing her, and kissing her, and telling her that he loved her. And I don't care that this was "just-a-movie" (even if it was from the 1940s), I think that this sort of unprofessional behaviour was absolutely despicable and completely unacceptable. And I definitely don't think that even "in-the-name-of-love" any movie (unless it's *-trash) should give the green-light to something as contemptible as this in nature. No movie should treat this lousy business of a doctor sleeping with a patient as if it were alright. 'Cause it's not! When it comes to the likes of a professional's morals and ethics, it is very, very wrong. Indeed! And, like, who the hell did the producers of this picture think they were telling the audience that it's OK for a psychiatrist (out of his own selfish desires) to encourage sexual relations with his/her patient? And for that, this film only rates one star from me.