The Man with My Face (1951)

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

This is one of those films where premise is intriguing but execution is sloppy. Chick Graham (Barry Nelson) comes home on one day to find out his doppelganger has taken his place. The police shows up and his wife Cora (Lynn Ainley) and business partner Buster (John Harvey) confirm that doppelganger is real Chick and Chick is fake. Chick escapes and tries to prove his identity. The plot turns more and more ridiculous and implausible, but energetic direction, fast pace action and enjoyable double performance by Barry Nelson turn 'The Man with My Face' passable time waster entertainment.

****SPOILERS****This film noir really pushes the envelope to the limit here in wanting us to believe that a plot was hatched back during WWII by the then Cora Cox,Lynn Ainley, and her brother Buster, John Harvey, to get the clueless in what is planned for him Chick Graham, Barry Nelson, involved in a $1,000,000.00 bond robbery and end up taking the rap for it! What's even more ridicules is that the two conspirators in this bazaar scheme just happen to have someone, without the help of plastic surgery, Chick's exalt look-alike the on the lamb bank robber Albert Rand, not surprisingly also played by Barry Nelson, step into Graham's shoes and take over his identity to pull, in having Graham take the blame for it, this whole crazy scheme off!The victim in all this Chick Graham finds out that something is wrong when coming home after a hard days work at the office at his and Buster's accounting firm and finds his double the on the run bank robber Burt Rand replacing him as Cora's husband! And even worse his cute and lovable pet dog Jiggs ends up attacking him as if he's an intruder! Kicked out of his own home and now, in thinking that he's bank robber Burt Rand, wanted by the police all Chick can do is get his head together and track down the clues to prove that he's really Chick Graham not Burt Rand! Meanwhile electronic salesman Al Grant, John Kane, who found out what Rand, the real one, and Buater were all about ends up, in trying to blackmail them, mauled to death by dog trainer and also a member of the Rand/Buster/Cora conspiracy Meadows,Jim Boles, trained vicious attack dog King.****SPOILERS**** Everything finally works out for Chick in the end with him reunited with his former flame Mary Davies, Carole Mathews, who could positively identify him as Chick Graham not Burt Rand. And as for Burt Rand he in the end is mistaken by Meadows in, by discarding his business suite and mussing up his hair, trying to make himself look like Chick to fool the police that he sets attack dog King on him! Where the two, in a life and death struggle, end up falling to their death off a 150 foot cliff into the Caribbean Sea! Really hard to take in just how unbelievable, even for a Hollywood movie, it is but still entertaining if you throw logic and common sense straight out of the window and just sit back enjoy the show.

Barry Nelson starred or guest starred in about 60 T.V. shows from the 1950's to the 1980's. He even starred in three different television series in the 1950's, none of which lasted a full season. His triumphs on television included being the first James Bond on film/video in a 1954 "Climax" episode based on Ian Fleming's "Casino Royale" and an excellent made for television suspense movie called "The Borgia Stick" (1967). Three "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and a "Twilight Zone" episode also adds to his reputation.This is only one of four theatrical features that he starred in. "Undercover Maizie" (1947), "The First Traveling Saleslady" (1956) and "Mary Mary" (1963)were the other three. In truth, the female leads: Ann Sothern, Ginger Rodgers, Debbie Reynolds were the stars of these three movie. Thus this is really the only theatrical movie where Nelson was the main star.It is a showy part with Nelson being both the protagonist and antagonist. He handles both part well. Nelson was never a flashy actor, but he always brought sincerity and charm to his roles.Carole Matthews also was known mainly as a television actress from the 1950's and 1960's. She was in about 50 television shows, but only playing leading roles in a half dozen or so. She also starred in about half a dozen low budget movies like this one. Like Nelson, she is also a fine actress who is quite believable even in unbelievable movies like this one. It is sad she never got better roles and never became a star.Like D.O.A., this film noir starts with a totally fantastic plot and then tries to convince you that it is possible. A man arrives home one day to find that a double has taken over his life. Unlike D.O.A., this one doesn't convince you that such a thing is possible, but it is fun, nevertheless and you have the give the script credit for trying.Perhaps the real star of the movie is a Doberman Pincher who does his best to convince you that he is a trained assassin. He doesn't quite make it, but he is a handsome and well trained dog.The movie is nicely photographed and has lots of great shots of Puerto Rico circa 1954. This is no masterpiece, but it is interesting and original enough to keep one watching for its short length of 70 minutes.

THE MAN WITH MY FACE is a better-than-average B movie with some of the attending convenient plot devices, but enough twists and turns to satisfy most Noir fans. Visually, it has enough Noir style to appear connected to the main Noir cycle. The film's plot fits Noir expectations neatly, and it's only limited by a few B movie contrivances. With its unusual setting and well-played lead performance, this is a movie deserving a look by all Noir enthusiasts.Only two well-known names appear in the cast: lead Barry Nelson and Jack Warden (in a very small role). Nelson shows himself to be more than capable in a dual role. He doesn't differentiate the characters terribly much, but plays them both with conviction. There is a timely reference for Barry Nelson too: he was the first James Bond seen on screen by US audiences, in the 1954 TV version of CASINO ROYALE. As Cora, Lynn Ainley is very hard-edged and unsympathetic. Even her final act speech of regret won't soften most viewers toward her. She's a greedy harpy who deserves her fate. Everyone else is just fine in the film, with an interesting appearance by Jack Elam-look alike Jim Boles, as Meadows the Doberman trainer. Director Edward Montagne (THE TATTOOED STRANGER) made a mark later in TV sitcoms (especially MCHALE'S NAVY). Author Samuel W. Taylor should not be confused with the Samuel A. Taylor credited with the screenplay for VERTIGO, despite some slight connections between the stories.Right from the opening credits, it's clear that THE MAN WITH MY FACE will not take place in typical Noir territory. And like many other superior B movies, the locations are used to advantage. The city of San Juan, beaches, hotels and shops contribute a unique look and atmosphere. Several local amateur residents are given small acting roles as well. The final chase sequence appears to have been shot at the decayed Fort San Cristobal. It provides plenty of dark passageways and vertiginous precipices to keep things interesting.Synopsis **SPOILERS AHEAD**The plot is pure Noir, with a fairly original twist. "Chick" Graham (Barry Nelson) works for a small insurance company in San Juan, partnered with his brother-in-law Buster Cox (John Harvey). One day, Chick leaves the office and heads home. When he arrives there, his wife Cora (Lynn Ainley) and her brother claim not to know who he is. The two are very insistent, and even Chick's beloved dog doesn't seem to recognize him. What's going on? A very confused Chick is then stupefied when a man identical to himself (also played by Nelson) walks in and claims to be Chick Graham. Cora threatens to call the police, and in fact does so when the real Chick becomes insistent that the whole thing must be a gag. Poor confused Chick is carted off by San Juan policeman. But he manages to escape when a vicious Doberman meant to attack him instead knocks over the policeman.Now a familiar Noir narrative begins, as Chick sets out to determine just what has been happening, and who this mysterious Chick #2 can be. Sitting in a hotel bar, Chick (#1) is greeted by a salesman who recognizes him and Chick tells the man to meet him at the office later to help with his investigation. But greed gets the best of the salesman and he cooks up a scheme to blackmail Graham. Unfortunately for him, the salesman proposes his scheme to Chick #2 (now revealed to be a man named Al Grant), who with his henchman makes quick work of the salesman by way of the vicious Doberman. So Chick is back to square one. He contacts a former girlfriend he jilted before marrying Cora. The girlfriend, Mary Davis (Carole Mathews) obviously still loves Chick and despite the insistence of her cynical brother (Jack Warden), she agrees to help him solve the mystery. At this point, another woman, Juanita, enters the film, a former romantic associate of Al Grant. Juanita, accosts Chick on the street and angrily insists he come to her apartment. Thinking he will gather more information for his quest, Chick goes along. After convincing Juanita that he is not the man she thinks he is, Chick leaves. Later, poor Juanita is found dead and Chick Graham is the prime suspect for her murder. With his handsome visage on the front page of every San Juan newspaper, Chick really needs to work fast to clear his name. Eventually, Chick and Al meet again, and Al plans to kill Chick so that Al and Cora can flee on the next plane, along with several hundred thousand dollars in embezzled funds. Fortunately, Chick outsmarts even the tenacious Doberman left to guard him. He escapes and, after a very effective chase sequence, manages to expose the criminals for what they are.THE MAN WITH MY FACE has a combination of the "wrong man" theme (best seen in Hitchcock's THE WRONG MAN) and the doppelganger idea (exemplified in THE SCAR). The film has a strongly Noir sense of oppression, felt mainly in the narrative and not supported very much by the visual style. It's a well-done B movie with a unique location, some exciting episodes and a fine performance by Barry Nelson. A worthy submission to any B-Noir catalog.