An unstable stage actor has trouble separating his roles from real life, leading to tragic consequences. Colman won an Oscar for this because this is the type of showy performance that the Academy loves. It is not the actor's best performance, although the problem may be with the role as written, of a silly Jekyll & Hyde personality. Hasso fares better as his long-suffering companion, and a slim Winters looks very nice as a waitress. It has good cinematography and score, but the script is dull, melodramatic, and contrived. Cukor doesn't help matters with his hammy direction. Too much screen time is devoted to scenes from "Othello," making the film quite tedious.
Review of A Double Life
