Please don't spend money on this.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

A DOUBLE LIFE tells the simple story of a theatre actor who's losing his mind, which means the lines between reality and fantasy are becoming blurred. Things reach a head with his latest performance in the title role of Othello, as he can no longer distinguish between real life and the events of the play, thus putting the lives of his nearest and dearest in danger.This is a film with a straightforward plot and straightforward characters, which nevertheless works thanks to some great direction from George Cukor. The look here is very much rooted in film noir, all atmospheric shadows and angles, and the suspense follows on naturally from the visuals. The Shakespeare side of the narrative gives this a timeless, undated feel and Ronald Colman's excellent performance is more than enough to keep viewers watching.

A Double Life is directed by George Cukor and written by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin. It stars Ronald Colman, Signe Hasso, Edmond O'Brien, Shelley Winters, Ray Collins, Philip Loeb and Millard Mitchell. Music is by Miklos Rózsa and cinematography by Milton Krasner.Renowned actor Anthony John (Colman) becomes unable to differentiate between real life and his stage role of Othello.Colman would win the Academy Award for best actor for his riveting performance here, and it was justifiable reward. Truth is is that as a technical production it's pretty stunning all round. Krasner's chiaroscuro photography provides a cloak of psychological disharmony, Rózsa score (also Academy Award winning) pumps the blood through the story, the screenplay is skillfully literate and Cukor, in his only foray into film noir, has wonderful theatrical experience to draw on to really infuse the picture with meticulous realism.Dualities and the blurring of what's real and what's illusion are the prominent features here, while Colman's transformations between persona's are in turn heartfelt and terrifying. It looks and sounds immense, in fact the opposing contrasts between the stage scenes and the murky discord of the streets are to die for for the film noir visualist. However, there's still a whiff of pretentiousness about the picture that stops it being the whole package, while the play within a play idea certainly makes for an interesting backdrop, yet it renders the pace of the piece as being laborious at times.Are the flaws enough to stop it being a must see film? No, not at all, there's just too much great on both sides of the camera to be ignored. 7/10

The successful middle-aged Broadway actor Anthony "Tony" John (Ronald Colman) is a dedicated lonely professional that still loves his former wife Brita (Signe Hasso). They are playing Othello for almost two years and Tony has a breakdown, beginning to lose his mind and sense of reality, confusing his identity with his characters. One night, he meets the waitress Pat Kroll (Shelley Winters) in a distant bar and he spends the night with the easy woman. Then he proposes Brita, who is his best friend, but she refuses to marry him again triggering a jealousy process against their friend Bill (Edmond O'Brien). Tony decides to visit Pat late night and in an insanity process, he lives the situation of Othello killing Desdemona. The police arrest a suspect but Bill wants to prove that Tony is responsible for the murder. Despite the great performance of Ronald Colman, "A Double Life" is an overrated movie with a boring story. First, the situation of a successful actor that loses his identity and blends imagination with reality is hard to believe. Second, Tony's personality and character are very confused and not well-developed; last but not the least, Bill trying to prove that Tony is responsible for the murder is despicable and silly. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "Fatalidade" ("Fatality")

Ronald Colman plays a famous Broadway actor who has begun to lose his mind and sense of identity. After years of playing a wide range of parts, he can't remember who he exactly is--who are his roles and who is the self. And, much more serious, he begins to see and hear his play even in regular everyday life. So, since he's currently playing in "Othello", he begins to act jealous and suspicious--just like the title character. Ultimately, it leads him to the depths of insanity and murder.I saw this film years ago and liked it. I just saw it again and loved it. Now perhaps some of my enthusiasm is because I have always liked Ronald Colman and this is a great triumph for him--and for which he earned the Best Actor Oscar. And, looking at the competition that year (Gregory Peck for GENTLEMAN'S AGREEMENT, John Garfield for BODY AND SOUL, William Powell for LIFE WITH FATHER and Michael Redgrave for MOURNING BECOMES ELECTRA), I think Colman was a very good choice, as he stretched from his usual comfort zone and did a much more demanding role.Now I noticed that one reviewer hated this film because they hated Shakespeare--and this took up about half their review talking about their dislike for him. However, this film isn't really about Shakespeare, and it doesn't matter at all if you dislike Shakespeare. I am no huge fan of Shakespeare, but marveled at the small portions of the play that Colman re-enacted--though, as I said, this is NOT a really movie about Shakespeare. Instead, it's a wonderful portrait of an actor losing his mind and mixing his stage role with reality. It could have been ANY play, though "Othello" was an excellent choice because of the murder scene--which gets acted out for real later in the film.Overall, a very clever film due to a lovely script--with some overtones of Film Noir. Fortunately, the acting was terrific also, as Colman had excellent support from Signe Hasso, Shelly Winters and Edmond O'Brien (who was particularly good--he played his part just right). And, considering the great George Cukor was directing, it's no wonder it's a wonderful film from start to finish.