Charming and brutal

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

" . . . as though we never left the island." No, this is NOT a quote from the final episode of the TV series LOST, but rather the last line of an eerily prophetic 1946 Warner Bros. feature, A STOLEN LIFE. Why would Warner demean its contemporary audiences for STOLEN LIFE by telling them to disregard everything that they'd just paid to see? Because whether they were churning out a Looney Tune or CASABLANCA, Warner's always clairvoyant prognosticators were ever keen to keep their focus upon Job #1: to warn Americans of their Upcoming Calamities, Catastrophes, Cataclysms, and Apocalypti. Warner uses A STOLEN LIFE to show U.S. Citizens that the Deplorable Fat Cat One Per Center Job-Killing Capitalist Class, as embodied by Kate and Pat Bosworth here, are NOT Real People but actually interchangeable plastic clones (like Kate and Pat), all created in Satan's Spitting Image. When a Loyal Patriotic True Blue Normal Average Progressive Union Label American such as STOLEN's Bill Emerson gets tangled up with such Oligarchical Demonesses, it makes no difference whether they're "Matey Katies" or "Hellcat Pats": any superficial differences are merely the frosting on a Devil's Food Cake!

For painter Bette Davis, loving the brooding seaman Glenn Ford is worth the price of a ship in a bottle, as well as agreeing to sketch his grizzled pal Walter Brennan. But to him, she is like a cake without frosting-sweet but dry. He prefers cake with frosting, and that turns out to be her own twin sister. Yes, this means a dual role for Ms. Davis, and one that, seen in a double bill along with Dead Ringers, shows the difference between less and more. Here, more quality and less camp, the 1964 film doing the reverse. An old movie tag-line claimed Nobody's better than Bette when she's bad, but the truth is that you really shouldn't know she's bad until it is too late.The bad Bette is the supporting twin who lands Ford, her selfishness so subtle that it takes her own death for it to be revealed. She is a softly glamorous femme fatal, using her eyes rather than words to explain what she's thinking. The lead Bette wears less frilly clothing and speaks softly to explain her feelings. When her twin searches for her to toss the bouquet, she simply steps aside to purposely miss catching it. This is the art of Davis's genius. She always dares her audience to take their eyes off of her, and they never do. In the same year that he was seduced by Rita Hayworth's Gilda, Ford had an equally interesting character to play, and even though he has a double dose of Bette to react of, he does it convincingly.Rising film noir anti-hero Dane Clark has a John Garfield "Humoresque" like supporting role as a temperamental starving painter whom Davis's cousin Charlie Ruggles refers to as the Rasputin of the paint pots. He influences Davis to come out of her shell, basically telling her to put frosting on her cake. Davis gets that opportunity when fate steps in, resulting in the truth coming about both sisters. The Atlantic Coast scenery of New England adds moody atmosphere to the melodramatic situations which never become overwrought. The gripping sail boat scene during a sudden storm is extremely realistic. In fact, the whole movie is practically perfect and structurally sound. Iw doesn't fall into the category of a masterpiece, but it is a definite crowd pleaser.

"A Stolen Life", based on an obscure novel by Karel J. Benes (previously filmed in 1939 starring Elisabeth Bergner), has a whole lot going for it, but comes up short on dramatic fire. Pleasantly set on the East Coast around a seaside village and lighthouse, Bette Davis stars as a sort of spinsterish good girl, a Yankee "third-rate artist" who develops a big crush on lighthouse worker Glenn Ford. Unfortunately for her (and Ford!), the artist's identical twin comes into the picture, politely scheming away, and naturally the hunky dolt falls for the bad sister and marries her instead. The split-screen effect is very polished here, as are the performances, though this script is on the thin side. Davis and Ford make a somewhat odd romantic pairing (she seems a bit mature for him), and the final scene is unbelievably florid and fluttery-eyed. It doesn't convince for a minute, but the milieu and atmosphere are enjoyable regardless. **1/2 from ****

**** Spoilers!!! Don't read if you'd rather just watch the movie!**** This movie is about twins played by Bette Davis, who was wonderful in this duel role. Katie is the nice twin and Pat was the evil twin. Pat was very underhanded and stole Glenn Ford's character Bill away from Katie pretty much for the fun of it and married him. Years later Katie and Pat were out sailing when the accident occurred. They stayed out too long in bad weather and the boat hit a reef when they tried to get to a lighthouse. Pat drowned after being thrown from the boat. Katie tried to save her but couldn't hold her. Pat's wedding ring slipped off her finger into Katie's hand as she was pulled away by the undertow and Katie was knocked out. So, everyone just assumed Katie was Pat. It wasn't a planned thing by Katie.I like the movie very much. I saw it for the first time earlier this year during Oscar month on TCM. I just watched it on TCM again today during the Glenn Ford tribute. He was fantastic in his role as well! I think the performances were great all around. Extra kudos to the performances by Dane Clark as a starving artist & Charles Ruggles as the twins cousin and guardian. They were smaller parts, but very crucial to the storyline. You'll have to watch the movie to see what happens. Sorry, I never give out endings.