Lively, entertaining reviews of, and essays on, old and newer films and everything relating to them, written by professional author William Schoell.

Thursday, September 3, 2015

THE MAN WITH MY FACE

Barry Nelson confronts Barry Nelson with John Harvey 
THE MAN WITH MY FACE (1951). Director: Edward Montagne.

Charles Graham comes home from his office in Puerto Rico one day and discovers another man with his wife who looks exactly like him. His wife, Cora (Lynn Ainley), and his brother-in-law and business partner, Buster (John Harvey) insist to the police that this lookalike is the real Charles Graham. The Man With My Face clues the viewer in as to what's really going on very quickly, minimizing the suspense, although the scheme in which Graham finds himself embroiled is diabolical and there's a very exciting climax that makes good use of very effective Puerto Rican locations. The acting is generally good, with Nelson ["Stopover in a Small Town" on The Twilight Zone] successfully limning two distinctive personalities. Carole Mathews [The Monster and the Ape] is another woman who was once involved with Charles, and Jack Warden [Being There] is her protective brother. Chinita (Marin) makes an impression as the impostor's old girlfriend, Juanita, and Jim Boles makes for a sinister dog trainer with a handsome killer rottweiler. Robert McBride's score isn't bad at all.

Verdict: Fast-paced if illogical mystery with some good acting. **1/2.

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