Strange Impersonation

Year: 1946

Grade: B-

Country: USA

Director: Mann

Review

a strange film by anthony mann standards. it has some noir elements, but i wouldn’t qualify it as a noir, especially considering the ending. it’s about a woman doctor who is working on a new anesthetic, during her experimentation something goes wrong and her face is severely injured. her best friend betrays her and steals her man. later a woman who has a grudge against the chemist robs her, but is killed by the chemist accidentally. people mistake the robber for the chemist and the chemist escapes and takes on the robber’s identity. it gets even more twisted than that down the line, but i don’t want to give away too much. it’s definitely an interesting film because in some ways it’s far ahead of its time. there are a few moments of corny direction, but those are outweighed by mann’s storytelling ability and camera movement/placement. honestly, i was disappointed by the picture because it was anthony mann and i was expecting great things, but, in absolute terms, it’s not a bad picture at all. the ending seemed tacked on or put their to please some producer. that said, it did have an impact on me, though i’m ashamed to admit that i fell prey to it.