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Very best movie i ever watch

Great Film overall

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

A typically offbeat British National production produced by the ill-fated Louis H. Jackson (the company went bankrupt the following year) and directed by the mysterious Alfred Travers with a plot that feels like a silent continental melodrama. James Wilson's low keyed photography suits the drab, sordid nature of the story as well as enhancing the believable interaction throughout the film of twin brothers both played by Herbert Lom; achieved with the aid of nimble use of a stand-in, skillful editing and the occasional unostentatious use of trick photography.Lom's compelling portrayal of two identical but distinct twin brothers made him a star. Terence de Marney is such a skunk as he gets away with shameless daylight robbery (which the law predictably proves complacently powerless to redress) that I felt even the drastic reprisal taken against him let him off lightly. Holes can doubtless be picked in the plot, but it delivers powerful drama right up to the (very) bitter end.

This is a very fine and interesting film noir — among the better films of post-war British cinema. The story with twin trapeze artists might be a bit far-fetched in some aspects, but the opening of the film is brilliant, as is the ending. The photography is in beautiful dark tones and the music accompanying the trapeze acts is excellent. Herbert Lom is convincing in the role of both twins. I think the merit of his subtle performance lies above all in not exaggerating too much the difference in character between the two twins. Extreme characterization is normally a much easier option for an actor or actress when one thinks of other famous stars playing twins, such as Bettie Davis, who did this twice in "Stolen Life" and "Dead Ringer", or Olivia de Havilland in "The Dark Mirror". This is an excellent British film noir which deserves to be much better-known. Apart from this, I have not seen any more films by Alfred Travers, who seems to be a totally forgotten director. Astonishingly, hardly anything seems to be known about his life and career (apart from the titles of the films he directed), not even the date of his death. This must surely have happened, as the only scant detail available about this director is that he was born in 1906, in Constantinople.

I remember seeing this film some forty years ago. I was still at school and found it curiously absorbing. In fact I could'not stop telling everybody about it for days afterwards. I recall the film creating an atmosphere at once dark and foreboding. There was an understated menace in the air much as in the opening pages of a story by H.P. Lovecraft. The plot was relatively straight forward but with a delicious twist at the end that has been likened to a tale by O. Henry. What carries the film is the sublime performance of Herbert Lom. Now there was an actor who played the archetypal smooth villain of his day. In fact I cannot think of any other actor who so consummately conveyed villainy with such effective "European" sophistication and grace. A role portrayed to perfection in "The Ringer" with Donald Wolfit, "the Golden Salamander" and later, "Northwest Passage" with Kenny More and Lauren Bacall. Shades of Conrad Veidt of an earlier generation. Herbert Lom was a busy actor who appeared in numerous film and theatre productions during the fifties and sixties. Few will remember that he took the lead role when "The King and I" first came to London at Drury Lane (I think) and that he was the natural choice for the Harry Lime role in the radio version of "The Third Man" (circa, 1951). His brooding "European" looks and deep and accented speech were instantly recognised by the audiences of his day and although never a major top-of-the-bill star, was a respected member of any cast (e.g. "and with Herbert Lom as Napoleon") and by todays standards would be considered an A-list celebrity.

The film is a wonderful portrayal of a dark triangle involving identical twins who form an elegant acrobatic circus act and eventually seek revenge on an unfaithful women. They plan a "perfect crime" on which the film turns. I have not seen the film in about 50 years. It used to show up on local TV quite frequently in the 50's but seems to have disappeared and unjustly so. I only hope it still exists? If it is available I do urge it's viewing.Lom plays the dual role of the twin brothers and this , in itself , is cleverly handled. The O'Henry like ending is affecting and again gives the film a further degree of individuality.