***

The first of Cukor's string of fruitful collaborations with screenwriters Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon, a curious melodrama about a Broadway matinée idol who so loses himself in his role as Othello that he carries it over, murderously, into a backstreet affair with a waitress. The theatre scenes are so brilliantly observed, so rich in the sort of affectionate detail that made The Actress a small masterpiece, that the film seems to grind gears uncomfortably when venturing into the grey and shabby B movie world of the murder. All the more so in that it then returns to its happier idiom for a grand finale of on-stage retribution. Flawed, undoubtedly, but fascinating.

***

George Cukor entered a new phase in his career - some critics would call it his creative peak - when he joined forces with the husband-and-wife writing team of Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin for A Double Life (1947), a melodrama set in the world of the theatre. Over the next seven years, he would direct seven films for one or both of the Kanins, including such popular hits as Adam's Rib (1949) and Pat and Mike (1952). In essence, they created their own mini-studio, assembling a production team and even a few recurring cast members who would help them make some of the most intelligent films in Hollywood history.

The Kanins had written their story of an actor who confuses his off-stage life with his on-stage performance as Othello years earlier and sold it to Columbia Studios. Then Harry Cohn, head of the studio, decided not to make the picture and refused to even pay for the script. So the Kanins sold it to Universal-International and arranged to borrow their friend Cukor from MGM. Originally they had hoped to cast Laurence Olivier in the leading role, but when he proved unavailable they went after Ronald Colman.

Excerpt from TCM located HERE

Artisan

Region 1 - NTSC

1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 5.58 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen - 1.33:1

Edition Details:
• None

DVD Release Date: July 22nd, 2003
Keep Case

Chapters 24

ADDITION: Olive Films - Region FREE - Blu-ray - September 12': Significant upgrade as evidenced by the matching screen captures. The DVD is waxy, soft and video-like and the 1080P shows nice grain, layered contrast and a ton more detail via the brighter image. No contest at all - this is a very impressive improvement. The Blu-ray has speckles and some frame-specific damage at the top frame of reel changes - but other than that is quite pleasing. Lossless audio has its mono root limitations and there is even an extra with Martin Scorsese giving a short introduction - bonus! This is a great film with heavy noir leanings. The Olive Blu-ray release is strongly recommended!

***

ON THE DVD: In an effort to cover most essential film noirs, we are going to review some past DVD releases that we may have missed. A Double Life is one of those rare noirs that won a major Academy Award for its star, Ronald Colman. The film also stars underrated Signe Hasso and Shelley Winters in one of the first credited roles. Ronald Colman is terrific as an actor going insane playing the leading role in a Broadway production of "Othello".

Artisan

Region 1 - NTSC