Bette Davis as Twins Times Two! Tonight on TCM

Great Carol Burnett spoof, "A Swiped Life":

There's a DVD edition of "Dead Ringers" with hilarious commentary from Charles Busch, but unfortunately he's constantly interrupted by the pedantic and dreary Boze Hadleigh.

It's still worth listening to just to hear Busch break up when Bette sings "Shuffle Off to Buffalo," and again when she grasps the red-hot poker to prevent her from being able to sign checks and yowls in pain.

For those "Baby Jane" people, there's this, up first at 8 pm.

I wish Joan had done a movie playing twins.

If she had we would still be watching and quoting from it to this day.

Thanks OP - added them to my DVR.

I read DEAD RINGER was originally intended to star Lana Turner. It’s one of the few roles I’d have liked to have seen her in.

The original DEAD RINGER was made in Mexico in 1946, starring two Dolores Del Rios. And it is FABULOUSLY stylish.

LA OTRA in a restored (and subtitled) print on rarefilmm.com

Thanks, OP. A Stolen Life is one of my favorite one of her movies.

Joan was never loved as much by gay men as Bette was while they were working.

Joan had some great campy roles, like Crystal in "The Women" and the title role in "Mildred Pierce." But it was recognized by pretty much everyone during their lifetimes (except Joan herself) that Bette was much the better actress, and Davis's intensely mannered style made her more of a gay favorite.

Um, is this the one with Olivia deHavilland as twins? I love the scene where she interprets the ink blots. It’s

[quote] Um, is this the one with Olivia deHavilland as twins?

No, honey: that's "Dark Mirror."

Bette Davis and Olivia de Havilland are actually two different people. Their different names should have provided you with a clue.

I rewatched Bette on Dick Cavett last night on YouTube. She's a riot. Her speech and mannerisms were very affected in real life too. It wasn't just her acting style.

Egg ranch?!???

Del Rio's La Otra is on YouTube. She's quite good in it and looks gorgeous.

The wig Bette wore in Dead Ringer was absolutely hideous, and she also wore it in her private life for some time afterward. It was so ugly.

I always called it the Dutch Boy wig and it was quite ugly...

Olivia is such a limited actress that she had to wear name tags for The Dark Mirror to differentiate the sisters.

"From OUTAH SPACE!"

"Yoah not Margaret — you're EDIE!"

And Peter Lawford wrestling with the terrible fake dog head that's attacking him is high camp.

Didn't I play twinsies?...

"A Stolen Life," on the other hand, is a romantic comfort soap. Bette looks great and Glenn is young and hot!

[quote] Bette looks great and Glenn is young and hot!

Well, I knew Glenn was old, but I didn't know just [italic]how[/italic] old until now.

Watched 'Dead Ringer' last night, after recording it on my DVR. WOW - what a movie. Really enjoyed it. It would be great if Hollywood kept making movies like this instead of the Superhero and crappy RomComs they've been flooding the theaters with for the past 25 years.

Hollywood doesn't do camp anymore.

^^No, because camp is high art and requires intelligence.

Paul Henreid acted with Davis twice in the 40s before directing her in "Dead Ringer." They were both born in 1908, were heavy smokers, and Henreid died of a stroke just a couple of years after her.

I don’t know anyone who didn’t want to live in the Cape Cottage on A Stolen Life.

Dane Clark AKA Bernhardt Zanvilevitz was a hot Brooklyn born Jew who graduated from Cornell and St. Johns law, and passed the bar! Yet he worked all kinds of manly-man jobs and is sexy as fuck in this movie.

Henreid's daughter played the maid in DR. She's not very good.

Although Bette praised Walter Brennan in ASL, he was a John Bircher. Can't stand to watch him anymore. Also her previous costar from In This Our Life, Charles Coburn was a racist.

Originally, around 1947 Bette was supposed to be in The African Queen opposite James Mason. She worked briefly with John Huston in ITOL before he was called off to war. She hated location work, and that would have done it for her.

Studios often had actors who somewhat resembled their stars that they could use as "threats", i.e. if you don't do this picture, we'll give to so-and-so". Was Dane Clark a threat to John Garfield?

Dane Clark was the type of male Warners liked who I find obnoxious. The same as John Garfield and James Cagney.

R28, he was a friend of Garfield, and was that from-the-streets-of-New-York type that was very Warners.

[quote]Henreid's daughter played the maid in DR. She's not very good.

I agree 100%. Every scene she was in, she became a distraction. She didn't really act, she stood (usually holding something in her hands) and read off the cue cards (or so it seems). No emotion, no interaction with Davis' character. Rather dull performance.

At least Bette's daughter BD wasn't cast in anymore of Davis' films!

There's a DVD edition of "Dead Ringers" with hilarious commentary from Charles Busch, but unfortunately he's constantly interrupted by the pedantic and dreary Boze Hadleigh.

R2 - Charles told me they were not recorded together. I said he should have shot Boze in the head the way Bette did her sister.

How true about Boze! While Charles Busch is indeed a delight!

I'll tell you who I can't stand talking about classic movies and stars... that shrieking Mario Cantone when he guests on TCM. The worst.

His commentary on The Bad Seed is quite funny too. He does it with Patty McCormack.

I love A Stolen Life. Dane Clarke appears as a sort of poor man’s John Garfield as an artist.

Hey Rick - Have you seen Stolen Face with Lizabeth Scott and Paul Henreid? It is not in your Lizabeth titles and is a dual character role for her. Paul is a plastic surgeon who copies the face of his lost love Lizabeth onto a career criminal lady.

R35 That’s true about Cantone on TCM. And it’s too bad because he’s pretty knowledgeable about the films he programs, but too performative in his commentary. At times, you feel a little sorry for Ben Mankiewicz, who looks like he enjoys Cantone but winces when the conversation turns into longer passages of schtick.

Reply 38, I have not seen "A Stolen Face," but I see it's on Tubi. Will check it out.