The Dark Mirror

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The Dark Mirror

Released Oct 18, 1946

1h 25m

Crime

Drama

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Popcornmeter

78%

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9 Reviews

60%

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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?

Richard Brody

The New Yorker

Its evocation of biological destiny wrenches the modernistic romance into tragedy.

Nov 26, 2012

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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

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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

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Josh Larsen

LarsenOnFilm

...a fiendishly fun double role for Olivia de Havilland.

Rated: 3/4

Jul 27, 2020

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Josephine O'Neill

Daily Telegraph (Australia)

This engrossing psychological drama frames a remarkable performance by Olivia de Havilland.

Apr 2, 2019

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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

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Steve D

The acting is great but nothing else is even good.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/18/24

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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

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Audience Member

Acting at its best. Very enjoyable.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

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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

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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

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Audience Member

Engrossing psychological thriller, although there's plenty of plot holes as far as the police investigation is concerned, however the sum of its parts pleases.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

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Robert Siodmak

Director

Olivia de Havilland

Terry

Lew Ayres

Dr. Scott Elliott

Thomas Mitchell

Lt. Stevenson

Richard Long

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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