25. A Stolen Life

I wasn't sure that A Stolen Life was going to be a good movie -- Bette Davis plays identical twins who are romance by Glenn Ford. Well, let me tell you, this is an entertaining movie that pre-dates The Patty Duke Show and does a remarkably good job with creating the twins.

The two twins Kate and Patricia Bosworth (both played by Davis) are vacationing on an island. Kate misses the boat out to the island and has to get a ride in from Bill Emerson (Ford). He reluctantly takes her to the island, and during the ride she begins to draw him. Kate fancies herself to be a bit of an artist, and she decides to complete a portrait of the lighthouse keeper -- who Bill just happens to work for. They begin to have a little romance when Bill meets Patricia, the evil twin, and falls in love with her. Bill describes the difference between Patricia and Kate by saying "You [referring to Kate] were like a cake without the frosting...and today she's got the frosting." (Burn!) Kate can't fight her sister for Bill, so Pat ends up marrying Bill.

Kate decides to exhibit some of her art, but a random artist named Karnock (Dane Clark) shows up at her exhibition and insults her and her art, saying, "I bet you're not even a real woman. I know your kind." They eventually begin working together, with Karnock teaching Kate about art. Bill shows up to get Kate's help in picking out a birthday present for Pat, and Karnock realizes that she's in love with him.

Eventually, Pat and Kate end up back on the island together. They decide to go sailing, and the little sailboat capsizes in a sudden storm. Pat goes under, but not before Kate tries to pull her back into the boat and miraculously pulls off her wedding ring. Can you guess where this is going?

Everyone thinks that Kate is Pat, and she decides to play along with it so she can have Bill. But Kate begins to realize that not everything was sunshine and roses between Bill and Pat. It turns out that Pat even had a man on the side, and Bill is ready to file for divorce. Kate tries everything she can think of to get Bill to love her again, but it doesn't work. Eventually Kate leaves Bill because she can't live life as a liar. "To a man like Bill, the truth is the only way" she tells her friend after admitting that she is Kate, not Pat. So Kate goes to Bill's special place on the island, and guess who shows up? Bill says he wasn't ready for Katie. He fell in love with Pat, but it wasn't right. Big kiss, and it's over!

A Stolen Life was really entertaining. The evil twin angle is really interesting, and seems very technologically advanced. Davis is great at playing both twins, and the last hour or so when she is Kate pretending to be Pat is really interesting. Ford is adorable, as always, and smokes a mean pipe. My only complaint is the artist character. It seems as though he is supposed to help Kate learn about herself, but their romance is not really even finished, so in some ways he seems a bit superfulous. But I would definitely recommend catching A Stolen Life if it's on TV. Honestly, you can't really go wrong with a Bette Davis film!

FILE UNDER: Classic Film ; 31 Films in 31 Days Challenge