Introduction
Welcome to my corner! This week, I'm sharing my thoughts on the film A Stolen Life. The TCM television channel played A Stolen Life as part of their 'Dangerous Twins' lineup on June 26. Enjoy!
A Stolen Life
A Stolen Life is a 1946 American drama film starring Bette Davis, who also produced it. The film, based on the 1935 novel A Stolen Life by Karel Josef Benes, was directed by Curtis Bernhardt. Among the supporting cast are Glenn Ford, Dane Clark, Peggy Knudsen, Charlie Ruggles and Bruce Bennett. It is a remake of the 1939 British film Stolen Life starring Elisabeth Bergner and Michael Redgrave.
It was nominated for Best Special Effects (William C. McGann; Special Audible Effects by Nathan Levinson) at the 19th Academy Awards but lost to Blithe Spirit.
The Second time Davis played twin sisters was in Dead Ringer (1964).
Plot: Reserved Kate Bosworth (Bette Davis) returns home to Cape Cod to work on her painting, and meets and falls in love with young engineer Bill Emerson (Glenn Ford), who is working at the lighthouse for the summer. When Bill meets Kate's twin pat, he mistakes her for Kate and is confused by and drawn to her charged sensuality. Heartbroken when Bill marries Pat, Kate buries herself in her work and the coaching of angry artist Karnock (Dane Clark), until an improbable situation arises involving Bill.
Acting: Bette Davis played Kate and Patricia Bosworth. Do I even have to introduce Better Davis at this point? She played two roles effortlessly.
She was nicknamed "The Queen of Hollywood"; she was known for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters and her larger-than-life personality. Her four most notable titles are All About Eve, Now, Voyager, Dark Victory and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?. It's hard to choose a favorite after seeing so many Bette Davis movies, but still not having seen them all. My current favorite is The Man Who Came to Dinner.
Glenn Ford played Bill Emerson. I'm not well-versed in Glenn For. I knew the name but not the face. He was a prominent actor between the 40s and 60s. His four most notable titles are Gilda, Superman, Pocketful of Miracles and The Doctor and the Girl.
Dane Clark played Karnock. What a mean character he was. I expected his role to be a little larger and to play out differently, but most of this movie didn't play out like I thought it would. His four most notable titles are Whiplash, Pride of the Marines, Hollywood Canteen and Destination Tokyo.
The other minor roles included: Walter Brennan as Eben Folger, Charlie Ruggles as Freddie Linley, Bruce Bennett as Jack R. Talbot, Peggy Knudsen as Diedre, Esther Dale as Mrs. Johnson, Clara Blandick as Martha and Joan Winfield as Lucy.
Technical Aspects: Many of the Oscar-nominated special effects pioneered by this film were employed later on similar projects requiring actors to play their own twins, including The Parent Trap (1961), The Patty Duke Show (1963), and Bette Davis' unofficial remake of this film Dead Ringer (1963).
This film, along with his previous post-war picture, Gilda (1946), relaunched Glenn Ford's career after spending two years in the U.S. Marines during World War II.
This film's special visual effects, which allowed two images of Bette Davis to seamlessly appear in a single frame and carry on conversations with one another, were nominated for an Academy Award but lost out to ethereal fantasy Blithe Spirit (1945).
First film of Bette Davis as a producer under her new contract with Warner Brothers. (Note the "A B.D. Production" in the opening credits.) Davis left the day-to-day work of producing the film to others, but she did choose this project and hired the writer and director.
This was the last film Bette Davis made at Warner Brothers (during her contract from 1932-1949) to make a profit upon release.
Other actors considered for the role of Bill were Dennis Morgan and Robert Alda, both of whom were under contract to Warner Brothers at the time. But, Bette Davis insisted on Glenn Ford, who was under contract to Columbia Pictures. After seeing a secret screen test of Ford that was done by Davis, Jack L. warner gave in and paid Columbia to have them loan him out for this film.
Because of her constant insistence for better productions to work on, and an overall better atmosphere on set, Jack L. Warner asked Bette Davis to produce the film. it would be the first and the only time she would be able to do this. Reportedly, she was so overworked and also intrigued by this job that she started a relationship with the director of this film to iron out her mind.
Final Thoughts: A Stolen Life did not end how I was expecting it to. Perhaps I've seen too many Bette Davis movies that don't have the happiest of endings, that I was left baffled at this movie's conclusion. There were no big twists or unnecessary drama. It was honestly bewildering for me. The majority of Bette Davis movies I've seen (including the second twins movie she did call Dead Ringer) involved murder, darkness, plots, etc., but this was a relatively innocent movie about twins' intertwining lives, despite being pat of the 'Dangerous Twins' lineup on TCM.
I was on the edge of my seat waiting fort the tide to turn, but it never did. It was probably one of the most innocent Bette Davis movies I've seen thus far, though I'm not done watching Bette Davis yet.
Where to watch it: According to Google, A Stolen Life is not currently available to stream/watch with a service. However, you can purchase or rent a digital copy for a few dollars. I've also donated a DVD copy of the film to the Emil M. Larson Public Library in Clark for you all to enjoy if you choose to.
That's it for this week! What were your thoughts? Feel free to share them with us! You can call us, email us, visit us at the office, leave us a comment or message on Facebook, or even mail us something. Keep the comments, suggestions, questions, submissions, etc. coming our way! We'd love to hear from you!
