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The Dark Mirror

Play trailer Poster for The Dark Mirror Released Oct 18, 1946 1h 25m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
78% Tomatometer 9 Reviews 59% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
After a doctor is murdered, Lt. Stevenson (Thomas Mitchell) questions the man's girlfriend, Terry Collins (Olivia de Havilland). Sensing that she's keeping a secret, Stevenson confronts Terry in her home, where he meets her identical twin sister, Ruth (also de Havilland). Both women appear exactly alike, sometimes even posing as each other. However, when twin expert Dr. Elliott (Lew Ayres) analyzes the sisters, he finds that one twin is normal, while the other is psychotic -- but which one?

Critics Reviews

View All (9) Critics Reviews
Richard Brody New Yorker Its evocation of biological destiny wrenches the modernistic romance into tragedy. Nov 26, 2012 Full Review Yasser Medina Cinefilia A gripping and finely tuned psychological thriller of film noir, which never loses its sense of intrigue as it narrates its plot of murder, jealousy and psychoanalysis with the formidable performance of Olivia de Havilland. [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 7/10 Mar 8, 2024 Full Review Justine Smith Vague Visages It complicates our perception of good and evil by suggesting that within us — existing simultaneously — is the choice between good and evil. Nov 21, 2023 Full Review Josh Larsen LarsenOnFilm ...a fiendishly fun double role for Olivia de Havilland. Rated: 3/4 Jul 27, 2020 Full Review Josephine O'Neill Daily Telegraph (Australia) This engrossing psychological drama frames a remarkable performance by Olivia de Havilland. Apr 2, 2019 Full Review Geoffrey O'Brien The New York Review of Books The texture triumphs, partly because Robert Siodmak's direction imparts an appropriately somnambulistic tone to the proceedings. Aug 13, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (29) audience reviews
Steve D The acting is great but nothing else is even good. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/18/24 Full Review Georgan G Even by today's standards, this 1946 psychological thriller was terrific. The acting & camera work are well done. This is one film I could see many times in the future. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 06/10/23 Full Review Audience Member Acting at its best. Very enjoyable. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review paul d Robert Siodmak's The Dark Mirror is a psychological thriller and police whodunit that starts with a jolt in its first frames. Then it cleverly resets to a slow and steady tension that builds through its plot twists to a satisfying climax. Olivia de Havilland plays twin sisters and is on screen for most of the film, doing a great job showing the subtle differences of identical twins that is at the heart of the story. Thomas Mitchell and Lew Ayres hit just the right tone as the police lieutenant and psychology professor, respectively, with a special mention to Ayres for a particularly genuine and convincing performance. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Tom M DeHavilland is great as suspicious identical twins. Ayres and Mitchell are good in support. Although the viewer should figure out what's happening there is still plenty of suspense in the end. DeHavilland won the Oscar that year for 'To Each His Own' otherwise she may have been nominated for this film. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/01/21 Full Review Audience Member Hokey melodrama about twin sisters, one of whom is an evil murderess. Boringly acted by a miscast Olivia de Havilland and glib Lew Ayres, this doesn't begin to mine the premise for all the psychological possibilities on offer. And its tone is strangely comic, not helped by an overwrought Dimitri Tiomkin score. Not one of Robert Siodmak's finest hours. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Dark Mirror

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Movie Info

Synopsis After a doctor is murdered, Lt. Stevenson (Thomas Mitchell) questions the man's girlfriend, Terry Collins (Olivia de Havilland). Sensing that she's keeping a secret, Stevenson confronts Terry in her home, where he meets her identical twin sister, Ruth (also de Havilland). Both women appear exactly alike, sometimes even posing as each other. However, when twin expert Dr. Elliott (Lew Ayres) analyzes the sisters, he finds that one twin is normal, while the other is psychotic -- but which one?
Director
Robert Siodmak
Producer
Nunnally Johnson
Screenwriter
Nunnally Johnson
Distributor
Universal Pictures
Production Co
International Pictures, Nunnally Johnson Productions
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 18, 1946, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 10, 2017
Runtime
1h 25m