In Los Angeles, after eighteen years without speaking to each other, Edith Phillips meets her twin sister Margaret de Lorca (Bette Davis) in the funeral of Maggie's husband and former love of Edith that died of heart attack. Maggie invites Edith to visit her mansion, and Edith finds through her sister's driver that Maggie used a fake pregnancy to trick her and marry her passion. When Edith arrives in her bar, she is evicted by her landlord. Edith calls Maggie, kills her and assumes her identity. The police, including her boyfriend Sergeant Jim Hobbson (Karl Malden),believe that Edith committed suicide in an act of despair. Edith lures Maggie's servants and friends, but when Maggie's lover Tony Collins (Peter Lawford) appears, the situation becomes complicated for her.

"Dead Ringer" is a great film-noir, with thriller and black humor in an ironic story where justice is reached through the wrong and unexpected way. I have never had the chance to see the original Mexican movie "La Otra", but this remake is magnificently supported by the awesome Bette Davis, performing double and ambiguous roles that permit her to be rich, poor, simple, sophisticated, killer and victim. Her final line to Jim Hobbson ("-She wouldn't hurt a fly!") gives a bitter touch of class and irony to the conclusion of this enjoyable film. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Alguém Morreu em Meu Lugar" ("Somebody Died in My Place")

Bette Davis is a poor bar owner and the wealthy widow who stole her sister's boyfriend in "Dead Ringer." Davis played twins before in "A Stolen Life." This time, she's Edie and her sister, the recently widowed Margaret DeLorca. The two have been estranged for many years - Margaret slept with Edie's boyfriend, DeLorca, said she was pregnant, and married the guy. The baby, a boy, died. On the way home from the funeral and a visit with her sister, Edie learns from the chauffeur that Margaret never had a baby. Edie kills her sister and switches identities with her, leaving Margaret in her place, in her clothes. By taking Margaret's identity, she also leaves behind her boyfriend, a police detective played by Karl Malden.

Edie soon learns that Margaret's life was - well, complicated. For one thing, she's involved with Peter Lawford. And there's more! Bette Davis does a great job as both sisters. This is an entertaining film that Davis fans won't want to miss.

Amazingly enough, this is NOT the first or only film Bette Davis played herself and her evil twin sister! In fact, the film is highly reminiscent of the very enjoyable A STOLEN LIFE that Ms. Davis made with Glenn Ford back in 1946. Here, because she's quite a bit older, the romantic aspect of the film is changed, however. Instead of Davis hating her evil sister for stealing her boyfriend and impersonating her to get him back, the film begins with the death of this boyfriend--who the sister had apparently stolen two decades earlier. Filled with justifiable anger over this and the swell life the scummy sister now has (where she is quite rich, while the nice one struggles to make ends meet),the nicer sister decides to make up for lost time--killing the wicked sister and assuming her life. While the plot is clichéd and a bit silly (especially how they try to disguise the use of doubles in the beginning),the film is enjoyable and good for laughs--as it's often over the top. It's like a fun "bad film"--great for those who love watching Davis or Crawford in their juicy 1960s roles.

The biggest difference in the two films is that in A STOLEN LIFE, one sister clearly was good and the other clearly was bad. The good one only stole her sister's identity after she died accidentally. However, the "good" sister in DEAD RINGER isn't exactly good--just not as rotten as her sister. Plus, unlike the previous film, she murders her sister in cold blood--feeling entitled to what her wicked sister has. And, interestingly enough, she was pretty much right--the nasty sister's life was by all rights hers--though killing her was a bit...um...extreme. The way that it's done and showing Davis stripping the corpse of her possessions is quite creepy--with more of a 1960s grittier style. Unfortunately for the surviving sister, her plan, though interesting, isn't completely thought out and soon comes to haunt her. How this happens and what happens next is something you'll have to see for yourself.

Now this brings up the biggest problem with the film. Davis' plan is just too spur of the moment and dumb. There are just too many loose ends to make it a better film. Clichés such as the dog instantly "knowing" which sister is which and the fact that the twin would have different fingerprints aren't really addressed well. I would assume that when an identical twin dies it would be standard practice to ensure which of the two had actually died--especially in cases where foul play is suspected.

Overall, this is a very improbable but very interesting film. You'll probably enjoy watching it--even if it is all very hard to swallow.