A Stolen Life (1946)

Redundant and unnecessary.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Man, give me two Bette Davises for the price of one and I could do much more with them than this movie does.Bette plays twins, a good one and a somewhat naughty one, who find themselves caught up in some melodramatic angst when they both fall for the same jackass, played decidedly unwinningly by Glenn Ford. The good twin, Kate, initially has him, but the naughty one, Pat, eventually steals him. But then Pat dies, and Kate assumes her identity so that she can have him back, only to realize that Pat has made a complete shambles of her life, her relationship with this lunkhead included. My wife and I kept waiting for what we were sure was going to be the money shot scene, Pat showing up at the last minute, not dead after all, to further complicate Kate's predicament. But that doesn't happen. Pat stays disappointingly dead, and Kate gets her man as Kate, though why anyone would want him remains the film's greatest mystery.The fun in "A Stolen Life" is watching Bette act with herself through the help of some really impressive and Oscar-nominated special effects. She hands herself a cigarette, straightens out her own lapels, all of it visually seamless. But her acting is just as impressive as the effects. She does an impressive job not only making it look like she's interacting with another person but also at giving the two twins subtly distinctive personalities.Dane Clark is also in the film, though I'm not sure why. He's yet another jackass who the film puts forward as a possible love interest for Kate, but then drops completely from the screenplay without telling us what the point was for him ever being there in the first place."A Stolen Life" is either a gender studies goldmine or nightmare depending on your point of view. On the one hand, the casual sexism and emotional indifference to women is nearly impossible to stomach from a modern-day standpoint. But on the other hand, the film is a fascinating if queasy time capsule of what the entertainment world thought of gender relations in post-WWII America, or at least what it thought audiences wanted to see.Grade: B-

One of my favorite Bette Davis movies...it is romantic,the musical score is just perfect,it's scandalous,the ocean scenes,wardrobes are very nice, and Betty in her prime,her walk,her eyes,her diction and the ability to pull off the twin sister act with perfection....and of course Glen Ford as the leading man was absolutely great with a demeanor only he could portray...and the ending was perfectly set and was electric,intoxicating,very romantic....I loved this movie Gem ! She,Bette Davis, is one of my four favorite female thespians......the other three being Dorothy Dandridge ,Barbara Stanwyck and Olivia de Haviland from that Golden era. I only wish I could have seen "A stolen life" on the big screen.....My mom always talked about Bette Davis when I was growing up , I didn't discover her for myself until I was in my forties and I am so glad I did........I love good movies......this is a must see !

Whether or not she actually produced is questionable and more of a footnote in her career before the cameras, and after all, that is what really drew in the public. A STOLEN LIFE, a remake of an earlier movie starring Elisabeth Bergner (herself the subject a story that would bring life to Mary Orr's now classic story "The Wisdom of Eve", which would be made into what is known today as ALL ABOUT EVE) is a not-very plausible melodrama about twin sisters Pat and Kate Bosworth who engage in some interesting identity-swapping once one of them drowns in an unfortunate boat accident. Davis co-stars with herself and looks like two different people. Trick editing and a matting effect that would later be used to great effect in David Croneberg's male answer to this film -- his classic (and perverse) DEAD RINGERS -- is the real star of this movie; because of it, the interactions with the two sisters is a sight to watch instead of being hokey to a point where you would be able to see the split in the middle of the screen. It would probably have benefited more if at the time, dramas would be given the green light to explore the possibilities of twins as Kristoff Kieszliwski did in THE DOUBLE LIVE OF VERONIQUE instead of having the surviving sister be drawn into a more conventional plot of deception. But this wasn't the case and the result is a movie that has an implied lot to say about women who are loose in morals and the fate that befalls them. Equally implicit is the notion that the surviving sister cannot find happiness until she has to become the "bad" one and fool the bland man who was taken away from her by her "bad" sister. It's been the stuff of Spanish soap operas left and right, particularly Mexican soaps which have told this story over and over again with little variations on the title "The Usurper" ("La Usurpadora") and even "Vida Robada", virtually a literal translation of "Stolen Life". But then again, no one could do soaps better than Bette, and in this one, she's her only competition.

I found the first half of the picture dragged for me, with a lot of dark shadows, and meandering scenes at the light house. Once the story picked up, and the "evil" twins goes over the side of the boat, then I knew I was in for some good old fashioned Bette Davis fun. I was very impressed with the creation of the "twins." For 1946, I found the scenes quite convincing, and wondered how they did that. The sets were fabulous, I'd take any of those houses, but thought the costumes were somewhat lacking. No, "Now, Voyager" stunning outfits for sure. Glenn Ford was fine, and very young, however I didn't care for the struggling artist side story. I would like to have seen much more of Kate trying to pass herself off as Pat, for that was the fun part of the film for me.