A Double Life (1947)

TOMATOMETER

71%

——

Critic Consensus: No consensus yet.

AUDIENCE SCORE

69%

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Movie Info

Ronald Colman won an Academy Award for his portrayal of an off-the-beam actor in A Double Life. A beloved stage star, Anthony John (Colman), has problems with his private life due to his unpredictable outbursts of temper. This trait has already cost him his wife, Brita (Signe Hasso), and threatens to sabotage his career. Nonetheless, Anthony makes his peace with Brita, and the two actors star in a new Broadway staging of +Othello. The play is a hit, running over 300 performances, but the pressures of portraying a man moved to murder by jealousy takes its toll on Anthony. In a fit of delirium, he strangles his casual mistress, Pat (Shelley Winters), but retains no memory of the awful crime. Press agent Bill Friend (Edmond O'Brien), unaware that Anthony is the killer, uses Pat's murder as publicity for +Othello. Anthony becomes enraged at this cheap ploy, and attacks Friend. At this point, Anthony realizes that he has been living "a double life" and is in fact Pat's murderer. A Double Life was written for the screen by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, who occasionally digress from the melodramatic plotline to include a few backstage inside jokes.

Cast

Ronald Colman
as Anthony John
Ronald L. Coleman
Signe Hasso
as Brita
Edmond O'Brien
as Bill Friend
Shelley Winters
as Pat Kroll
Paddy Chayefsky
as Photographer
Philip Loeb
as Max Lasker
Joe Sawyer
as Pete Bonner
Millard Mitchell
as Al Cooley
Charles La Torre
as Stellini
Whit Bissell
as Dr. Stauffer
John Drew Colt
as Stage Manager
Peter Thompson
as Assistant Stage Manager
Elizabeth Dunne
as Gladys
Alan Edmiston
as Rex
Art Smith
as Wigmaker
Sid Tomack
as Wigmaker
Wilton Graff
as Dr. Mervin
Harlan Briggs
as Oscar Bemard
Claire Carleton
as Waitress
Betsy Blair
as Girls in Wig Shop
Janet Warren
as Girls in Wig Shop
Marjorie Woodworth
as Girls in Wig Shop
Curt Conway
as Reporter
Nina Gilbert
as Woman
John Derek
as Police Stenographer
Buddy Roosevelt
as Fingerprint Man
Fred Hoose
as Laughing Man
Bruce Riley
as Man at Party
Wayne Treadway
as Man at Party
Pete Sosso
as Tailor
Mary Worth
as Woman in Audience
Robert Emmett Keane
as 2nd Photographer
Kay Lavelle
as Large Woman
Sarah Selby
as Anna
Kevin Alexander Clark
as Barry
Harry Bannister
as 2nd Actor
Joann Dolan
as Ellen
Laura Brooks
as Dowager
Joyce Mathews
as Janet
Harry Oldridge
as Stagehand
Nick Dennis
as Stagehand
Barry Macollum
as Stagehand
Frank Richards
as Stagehand
Janet Manson
as Girls in Lobby
Augusta Roeland
as Girls in Lobby
Angela Clarke
as Lucy
Russ Conway
as Reporter
Reginald Billado
as Reporter
Fernanda Eliscu
as Landlady
Joseph E. Bernard
as Husband
Charles Jordan
as Bartender
Walter McGrail
as Steve
Joey Ray
as Boyer
Hazel Keener
as Woman
Ethel May Halls
as Woman
Maude Fealy
as Woman
Jamesson Shade
as Guest
Cedric Stevens
as Guest
George Sherwood
as Guest
Don McGill
as Man at Party
Carl Milletaire
as Customer
Hal Melone
as Head Usher
George M. Manning
as Usher
William Norton Bailey
as Detective
Elmo Lincoln
as Detective
Edward Wragge
as Actor
Phil MacKenzie
as Police Photographer
Howard Mitchell
as Tailor
Watson Downs
as Bootmaker
Albert Pollet
as Costume Designer
Laura Kasley Brooks
as Dowager
Elektra Rozanska
as Audience
Beatrice Gray
as Audience
Katherine Marlowe
as Audience
Yvette Reynard
as Audience
Clare Alden
as Audience
Doretta Johnson
as Audience
Diane Stewart
as Audience
John Chapin Morgan
as Audience
Mike Stokey
as Audience
Leander De Cordova
as Audience
George Douglas
as Audience
James F. Cade
as Audience
Harry Hays Morgan Jr.
as Guest
Jerry Salvail
as Audience
Guy Bates Post
as Actor in 'Othello'
Leslie Denison
as Actor in 'Othello'
David Bond
as Actor in 'Othello'
Virginia Patton
as Actor in 'Othello'
Thayer Roberts
as Actor in 'Othello'
Percival Vivian
as Actor in 'Othello'
Boyd Irwin
as Actor in 'Othello'
Fay Kanin
as Actor in 'Othello'
Frederic Worlock
as Actor in 'Othello'
Arthur E. Gould-Porter
as Actor in 'Othello'
Elliott Reid
as Actor in 'A Gentleman's Gentleman'
Georgia Caine
as Actor in 'A Gentleman's Gentleman'
Mary Young
as Actor in 'A Gentleman's Gentleman'
Ray Collins
as Victor Donlan
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Critic Reviews for A Double Life

All Critics (7)

It was the role of a lifetime, for any actor, but Colman got it, and he nailed it. He won an Oscar and a Golden Globe, and he deserved them.

Sep 26, 2012 | Full Review…
Combustible Celluloid

Colman faz um belo trabalho como o perturbado ator que falha em separar realidade da ficção, mas Cukor e seus roteiristas se perde nos aspectos da produção que devem ao noir, tornando-a frágil e artificial.

Feb 19, 2009 | Rating: 2/5
Cinema em Cena

Subtle, well-directed drama.

Aug 8, 2008 | Full Review…
Classic Film and Television

Ronald Colman won a Best Actor Oscar for his ornate and hammy performance as an obsessed matinee-idol stage actor cracking up before our eyes.

Feb 2, 2007 | Rating: B | Full Review…
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Cukor's first teaming with writers Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin draws on the professional hazard of actors who fail to distinguish between their lives on stage and off; Ronald Colman won the Oscar for this part.

Jun 18, 2006 | Rating: B | Full Review…
EmanuelLevy.Com
View All Critic Reviews (7)

Audience Reviews for A Double Life

Coleman allegedly pulls this one of his hat for an Oscar win at the end of his career but I wasn't terribly impressed. Silly at times.

John Ballantine
John Ballantine

Super Reviewer

An actor gets too involved in his roles and eventually looses himself in the role of Othello. Colman gives a great performance in this movie.

Aj V
Aj V

Super Reviewer

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A Double Life Quotes

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