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Actors: Bette Davis, Karl Malden, Peter Lawford
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Dead Ringer |
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Edie Phillips attends the funeral of Frank DeLorca, a man she loved and lost to her twin sister, Margaret. Margaret, who has not seen Edie in the 18 years of her marriage, invites Edie to her mansion to catch up. Edie is tense and bitter, taking in Margaret's opulent life and her carefree attitude which shows no grief for her recently departed husband. Revealed from their conversation are the facts that Margaret married Frank because he got her pregnant, though the child died within a year, and that Edie had moved from San Francisco to L.A. and covertly watched Margaret and Frank all these years.
Driven home in Margaret's limo, Edie learns from the chauffeur that there had never been a child. That night, Edie's beau, Sgt. Jim Hobson, shows up to celebrate her birthday by giving her a watch, but says he can't stay as
he's on the job later. Edie then learns from the landlord of her nightclub that she's three months behind in rent and that he wants her out by the end of the month as there's another customer ready to move in with a year's rent money in advance. Edie hatches a plan. She copies her sister's hairdo and calls Margaret to come over. She confronts her with the lie about the child. Margaret confesses she lied so she could marry Frank. Edie's revenge is to kill her and switch identities by swapping looks/clothes and leaving a suicide note signed "Edie" in her sister's hand. It's a close call as Hobson stops by on his job to tell Edie he's able to get off early and take her out. Edie tells him her sister's visiting and is able to send him away.
Impersonating Margaret, Edie deals with the police and Sgt. Hobson regarding "Edith Phillip's suicide and the case is closed. All seems clear for her until Tony Collins shows up. Collins, Margaret's gigolo lover, soon discovers the truth about Edie and begins blackmailing her. Hobson happens
by the DeLorca place to talk about Edie's gravestone and sees Collins manhandling Edie-Margaret, so when he overhears at the office that Collins is trying to sell expensive jewelry to a dealer, his suspicions are up and he joins in snooping around Collins' apartment. They find the jewelry and also a suspicious bag of white powder. Edie has to back up Collins' story that they are lovers and that she gave him the jewelry, but is stunned to learn that the powder is arsenic, capable of inducing the heart attack that Frank
DeLorca died of. When Collins tells her that he and Margaret had murdered Frank to get his money, it's a Mexican standoff until a fortuitous accident gets Collins out of the picture. The irony is that having murdered her sister, Edie as Margaret now must face murder charges for killing Frank
DeLorca. Will she come clean at last? And can she turn to Hobson for help?
--Karen Law, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of Dead Ringer |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Movie
Actual chase scenes or violence - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 10%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 80%
Time/Era of Movie:
- 1960's-1970's
Crime & Police Story?
Yes
Blackmail & Seduction
Yes
If this is a criminal POV story...
- killing innocent people
Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Profession/status:
- small businessman
Age:
- 40's-50's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Hair color?
- brunette (Brown)
Hair style
- medium/shoulderlgn, wavy (woman)
Body type
- average (woman)
Events of movie makes character more...
- tougher
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Hair color
- brunette (Black)
Hair style
- (man) short/standard curly
Body type
- average build (man)
How much in movie?
- 40%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Female
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- athlete/coach
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 20%
Hair color
- brunette (Black)
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- average (man)
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Setting
City?
Yes
City:
- Los Angeles
Misc setting
- fancy mansion
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately messy visuals of dead
Movie makes you feel...
- depressed/sad
How many deaths in film?
- 2
How much use of techno gadgets?
- 1 ()
Kind of violence:
- guns
Check here if B&W
Yes
Any profanity?
- None
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Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Karen Law
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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