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Bette Davis plays Bette Davis not once but twice in this over-the-top tale of a sister who kills and then replaces her twin. The result is a thoroughly far-fetched and yet somewhat predictable thriller that succeeds in being a broad amount of fun.
Karl Malden and Peter Lawford hold out the cast, but the film belongs to Davis, and she clearly relishes the film’s every excess, owning the script like a tailor-made gown. Indeed, considerable of the pleasure in watching Listless RINGERS is the fun of seeing Davis play with such diminutive restraint, and the movie makes consume of every Davis mannerism imaginable.
This movie will never develop any critic’s short list, and over her long career Davis certainly made a tall many finer films and gave a mountainous many more artful performances. But as a late-night popcorn fest for Bette Davis fans, Dull RINGERS is hard to beat.
The juicy thriller “Plain Ringer”, is a personal favourite of mine and is a classic example of that titillating genre that keen venerable performers appearing in macabre stories which sprung up in the early 1960’s as a result of the sensational box office success of “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? “. The films made in the wake of Baby Jane’s success were to provide many customary actresses and actors such as Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, and Ray Milland, with meaty leading roles in lower budgeted thrillers and terror stories for the rest of that decade. Whatever failings these films may acquire critically they are quiet immensely arresting and certainly gave the musty actors eager a original lease of life career wise at the time. I enjoy that “Monotonous Ringer”, starring the legendary Bette Davis in the dual roles of two long estranged identical sisters caught up in a web of envy, intrigue, deception and finally kill is one of the best of the cycle. Produced by Warner Bros., the studio where Davis was once the undisputed Queen in the 1930’s and 40’s, “Listless Ringer”, has an irresistably expensive gape to it and is the ultimate star vehicle for the ageing Davis where she gets the current opportunity to act opposite herself. “Unimaginative Ringer”, and “Baby Jane”, began a flurry of work for Davis for the next ten years in films of varying quality such as the Immense Guignol gems “Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte”, in 1964 and “The Nanny” in 1965 through to the truly bizarre “The Anniversary”, in 1968. “Tiring, Ringer”, however is one of the more interesting efforts in this genre and Bette Davis as always gives her all in her dual roles.
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Buy,Download, Or Stream Dead Ringer! Click Here
Based on a narrative by Rian James, “Dreary Ringer”, stars sage Bette Davis in the dual role of Margaret DeLorca/Edith Phillips, two long estranged sisters who are suddenly brought together at the funeral of Margaret’s husband Frank. It is far from a gratified reunion as the sisters have a long smouldering emnity for each other ever since Margaret stole Frank away from Edith on the excuse that Frank had got her pregnant. Not helping the location is the fact that while Margaret went on to lead a glittering life enjoying the DeLorca millions, Edith remained unmarried and struggled to gain a living running a heavily in debt cocktail lounge in a seedy allotment of San Francisco. Margaret makes some very patronising amends by offering Edith cast off clothes help at the house after the funeral however the bitter Edith begins to design a deadly view of her bear when she discovers from the family chaffeur on the drive home that there was no child and that Margaret had deceived her to derive Frank fo rherself. Excited over having her whole life ruined by her sister Edith calls Margaret to her home that evening and then murders her sister and cutting he rhair and taking her clothes assumes her sister’s identity abet at the DeLorca mansion. However things dont go as smoothly as Edith first belief as she has to regain obsolete to odd surroundings, current people, and worst of all a very unexpected and eventually troublesome “boyfriend” in Margaret’s secret lover Tony Collins (Peter Lawford) . Edith finds herself drawn further into a shocking world of shaded mail when she discovers that Margaret and Tony actually murdered Frank and that Tony has discovered her masquerade and wants to be paid off. Edith’s beau, well meaning Sergeant Jim Hobbson (Karl Malden), also begins to become suspicious and when Frank’s body is exhumed and he is discovered to have died from poisoning the gather closes in around Edith. Edith is successful in getting Tony out of the procedure when he is savaged by the family dog but her problems escalate when Edith then finds herself up on a kill charge for the crime her sister had commited. Not wanting to waste Jim’s loving impression of her Edith keeps up the charade of actually being Margaret who is condemmed to die in the gas chamber at San Quentin and she helpful allows Jim to absorb it was Edith who died attend at the house and not Margaret as she goes off with the police to be executed.
“Twice the apprehension as murderous twins!”, cried the trade papers about Bette Davis at the time of the release of “Expressionless Ringer”, however never could this film be termed a upright terror distress as it is more a psychological thriller with Gothic overtones to it. Despite the time period it was made in “Slow Ringer” closely resembles one of those outmoded star vehicles from the 1930’s which had the lead actress centre stage throughout the proceedings. Despite it’s short comings in the narrative department this is a Bette Davis explain all the plot and Davis handles the work where she is seemingly acting with her double very well. This was the second time she had played identical twins eager in destroy, the first time being succor in 1946 in “A Stolen Life”. She manages extremely well in giving both Margaret and Edith very sure personalities and mannerisms and her scenes where she is playing Edith after she murders her sister and is trying to adjust to Margaret’s lifestyle at the mansion are especially proper. Considering the Davis powerhhouse at centre stage it is incredible that there are some other engaging performances in this film especially Peter Lawford as the boozy, gloomy mailing boyfriend of Margaret’s who cottons on to Edith’s deception and wants his portion of the goodies. His work with Davis as he begins to blackmail her character is especially considerable and creates alot of the dramatic tension in the second half of the legend as Edith’s view begins to unravel. Karl Malden as Edith’s ever right fiancee who by his investigation unknowingly signs his beloved Edith’s death warrant thinking she is Margaret is also effective in his playing and both Jean Hagen as flighty socialite Dede Marshall and especially outmoded actress Estelle Winwood as the religious zealot Dona Anna acquire titanic impressions with their itsy-bitsy mask time. “Dumb Ringer”, boasts very high production values which gives this “B” grade fable a style which is quite unexpected. The expend of the luxurious Doheny Estate for the exterior shots is a obedient choice and gives those scenes shot there an expensive stare and feel so vital in creating the gargantuan contrast in the fortunes of Edith and Margaret. The musical earn by Andre Previn is also a colossal favourite of mine and is excellently chosen and incorporated into the action creating alternately eerie and oppressive feelings through the course of the film. Interestingly “Plain Ringer”, is directed by Bette Davis’ weak “Now Voyager” co star Paul Henreid. While he might seem a odd choice for the directing duties his direction here is place on as he lets the action disappear along at a tedious rush building in tension and complexity as the narrative develops. He wisely allows the characters of the two sisters to be fully mapped out which allows great of the drama of when Edith pretends to be Margaret to have its possess built in tension.
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Glossy star vehicles for ageing actresses really are an worn species in note day Hollywood where no one ever seems to be over 35 years of age. Thankfully the fluke success of “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? “, allowed many actresses from the 1930’s and 40’s to preserve working in similiar roles. Regardless of how the material in these films was viewed critically Bette Davis was never less than compelling on camouflage and she certainly displays all of her star quality here in “Tiring, Ringer” turning a fairly ordinary cramped thriller into something you can indulge in time and again. Passed off by many as camp fluff never to be taken seriously I instead devour the film and Bette Davis’ performance in particular more from the point of it being from that last period of the swiftly disappearing studio system in he early 1960’s that aloof saw studios tailoring vehicles for particular actors and actresses and managing to give even relatively extreme budget efforts such as this a gloss and sheen unheard of in the “Unusual Hollywood”, of the 1970’s onwards. Be Pleased Bette Davis playing twin sisters on a collison course of hatred, deception and assassinate in the stylish Large Guignol thriller “Tiring, Ringer”.