While Kate is unable to save her sister, she is able to save her sister’s wedding ring, which allows everyone who finds her to think that it was Patty that survived and not Kate.Ĭonfronted by this case of mistaken identity, Kate does the only thing a twin would do in such a situation and plays along thinking that she’ll move in on Patty’s sweet life. A storm is promptly whipped up complete with embarrassing special effects (in contrast with the special effects used to composite two Bettes in the same shot which were okay) and it isn’t long before Kate’s yelling “evil twin overboard!” Luckily, all of this filler was promptly forgotten once Kate goes back to the house on the island thinking that Patty would be gone.īut Patty is home and she and Kate decide to go out in a boat for a little sailing. This middle part where Kate becomes a success, has an art show at a gallery, and runs into a really grubby, intense artist prone to hypercriticism has nothing to do with either the beginning part or the last part of the movie. Sure men like cake, but you know what makes cake even better? No, not more layers you fools! Frosting! A cake needs a little frosting to make it really appetizing and guess whose cake is all slathered up with Bill’s favorite flavor, Vanilla Hussy Creme?Īs boring as the first part of things was, you could at least understand that they were attempting to set up the story for the rest of the flick. But why the switchover to the other twin? So it is that even though Kate has done her best to not only keep Patricia out of the picture, but also to hide the fact that there even is a Patricia, it’s a chance meeting on the docks while Bill is waiting on Kate that vaults Patty into the picture.īy the time of the local barn dance, it’s pretty clear where his intentions lie when he dances with Patty while Kate is left to fume with her cousin. Of course, the beauty of evil twins is that even when the good twin knows the other one is prone to nefarious activities, all it takes is a moment alone with their target and all the precautions in the world can’t save you. I’m guessing it was because she was afraid that Patty would steal this guy away from her. Kate’s relationship with Bill progresses, but for some reason she never wants him to go to her place. It did manage to add a good fifteen minutes to things that were quite needless. I’d like to say that the whole artist angle really added some vital moments to the film, but that would be my evil twin talking. You see, Kate is an artist in addition to being a repressed plain Jane with a whore for a twin sister. He usually doesn’t carry passengers, but he makes an exception in her case and doesn’t mind when she uses the two hour trip to sketch his portrait. She manages to miss the last ferry of the day, but is able to cajole Glenn Ford’s Bill into giving her a lift to the island. Kate (she’s the mousy twin) comes to an island off the coast of Massachusetts to visit her sister, Patricia. The movie though is such a plodding affair that we don’t even get to the underwhelming evil twin stuff until about a half hour into things. The dirty tricks in the movie aren’t terribly dirty and the silly plot twists, while silly, don’t carry all that much in the way of high stakes consequences. One need only to look at films such as The Great Lie and The Old Maid to see how these things should at least be attempted (actual execution is another thing entirely). Spoiling your “twin tricks Glenn Ford” gimmick by having him get the better twin after already dumping her for her slightly sluttier sister doesn’t make much sense and limits the sort of screeching drama that a movie of this sort demands.Ī slow moving film that never amounts to much and frequently languishes on the shoals of extraneous plot points, A Stolen Life seems to be scripted without any concept of what a Bette Davis movie involving dirty tricks and silly plot twists is all about. You know you’re in for some rough sailing when it’s the evil twin that goes over the side of the boat leaving the goody-goody twin to assume her identity.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |