A Double Life

1947 1h 44m EN

😐

6.3

MID

🍅

88%

FRESH

⭐

6.9

IMDB

★6.3TMDB · 84🍅88%Rotten Tomatoes★6.9IMDB · 4,404

DramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A Shakespearian actor starring as Othello opposite his wife finds the character's jealous rage taking over his mind off-stage.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Ronald Colman
Anthony John
Signe Hasso
Brita
Edmond O'Brien
Bill Friend
Shelley Winters
Pat Kroll
Ray Collins
Victor Donlan
Philip Loeb
Max Lasker
Millard Mitchell
Al Cooley
Joe Sawyer
Pete Bonner

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: George Cukor
Writers: Ruth Gordon, Garson Kanin
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

79 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by George Cukor, shot by Milton Krasner. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Miklós Rózsa. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Robert Parrish shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Ronald Colman and Signe Hasso and Edmond O'Brien carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0039335 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 84 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

George Cukor directs. Milton Krasner behind the camera. Miklós Rózsa scores. Robert Parrish cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

179 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Directed by George Cukor, shot by Milton Krasner. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Miklós Rózsa. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Robert Parrish shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Ronald Colman and Signe Hasso and Edmond O'Brien carry the top of the cast.
6IMDB entry: tt0039335 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 84 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Milton Krasner
Original score: Miklós Rózsa
Editing: Robert Parrish
Production design: Harry Horner
Makeup / hair: Carmen Dirigo
Runtime: 104 min · 1h 44m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: A Double Life (1947)
Rotten Tomatoes: 88% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 6.9/10 · 4,404 votes
MPAA: Approved

Awards

Won 2 Oscars. 5 wins & 3 nominations total

Academy Award for Best Original Dramatic or Comedy Score
Academy Award for Best Actor

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

George Cukor

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-07-07
★ 7/10
Ronald Coleman always did like playing either two parts, or one with a dual-personality - and he does the latter very well indeed here. If you've a basic knowledge of Shakespeare's "Othello" the that helps a bit as he portrays an actor "Tony" who, after many year playing the title role with ex-wife "Brita" (Signe Hasso) - who is also his wife "Desdemona" in the play - is really beginning to become delusional about which existence is real... His distress isn't helped by meeting Shelley Winters "Pat" in a bar, they hook up but it isn't what he really wants. That is happiness with "Trina". When he asks her to re-marry him, she declines sending him into spiral of depression that has tragic consequences as he again descends in to his character - only it is "Pat" who suffers. There is an intensity about Colman here - his eyes, menacing; his almost schizophrenic character genuinely quite scary at times, and his Shakespearian on-stage effort decent - if not exactly Olivier - when required. All of this, coupled with strong contributions from Hasso and his friend "Bill" (Edmond O'Brien), who ends up perilously close to getting of the blame for the worst of his Colman's excesses, make for a compelling, expertly shot, story of split-personality gone, quite literally, mad! George Cukor keeps this tense and focussed, and Miklós Ròsza again provides a score that aides wonderfully with the atmosphere of the piece.

Production companies