Wonderful character development!

What makes it different from others?

Very well executed

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

"A young man, recently engaged to be married, is the victim of a traffic accident and dies as a result of his injuries. His father, desperate to revive his son, agrees to let a scientist friend try his experimental soul transmigration process to save him. After the young man returns to life, the father and fiancée notice a dark and violent change in the young man's behavior, leading them to believe something went horribly wrong in the revival process," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.At one point, Edward Norris (as Philip Bennett) is asked, "What do you think this is, Boys Town?" Mr. Norris should know, since he was in "Boys Town". "The Man with Two Lives " is more like "Black Friday" minus Karloff and Lugosi. You do the math. This film might have been a contender, with a re-worked script; it does feature an intriguing final act. After a tepid "shoot out", hang in for the drama to pick up with a well-played scene between star Norris and pursuing detective Addison Richards (as George Bradley).**** The Man with Two Lives (1942) Phil Rosen ~ Edward Norris, Eleanor Lawson, Addison Richards

This movie deals with a complex concept, the transmigration of souls. It is presented in a way, however, that seems to leave most reviewers puzzled. Many say that the movie ends with Philip Bennett (Edward Norris) awakening from a coma, implying that the whole of the movie since Bennett's accident was merely a dream. It is understandable that some would perceive it that way, but the real story is far less simplistic. Philip Bennett DID die in the car accident. We saw this for ourselves, and it could not have been a dream. When Dr. Clark (Edward Keane) revived him, he would have been able to return to his body, but because the revival occurred at the exact moment of Wolf Panino's death, Panino's soul was interposed between his own and his body, causing Panino's soul to possess Philip Bennett's body. Philip was left bodiless, outside of time in a sort of limbo. When Panino (in Philip's body) was shot, Bennett simply re-entered his body as he originally intended. Because he was outside of our timeline, he was able to enter at the moment of his original revival. Panino's soul at this point was in hell. It is a difficult concept to understand, but it is logically sound, using the following assumptions: Only one soul can occupy a body at any given moment. A soul can only enter a body at the moment it is resurrected (by the means Dr. Clark used). A soul can only exist in one place at one moment. When a soul is bodiless, it exists outside of our time. Philip was unable to enter into his body while Panino was possessing it, yet once Panino, who was tied to our time in Philip's body, died and went to hell, Philip's body was again unoccupied, and he was able to reenter. It did not matter that Panino possessed his body for months of our time, because he was not tied to our timeline. Time from this point on was overwritten by Philip in his correct body.

Every once in a while we have to make one of the guilty admissions. Here is one for me, "I like this movie." Plot concerns a nice young gentleman who is killed. A doctor has just perfected a technique that can revive him. His father nervously concedes and the doctor revives the young man. At the same time, a ruthless gangster is executed. The gangster's soul is transmitted to the young man.Once "alive" again, the man has no recollection of his Goody-Goody old self and simply lives out his former role as a gangster, and a nasty one at that. A little similar to Black Friday except the young man never returns to his former self and once revived is 100% the mind and soul of the gangster.For those who liked the old Monogram and PRC Horror films in the 1940's will probably enjoy this one. It lacks the star appeal, but I though Edward Norris was more than adequate in the victim/villain role.

I started watching movies on TV around 1948. First one I can recall was The Ghost Goes West (1936). Another early one was The Man With Two Lives. My brother and I, around 11 and 8 years old respectively, watched it a few times because 1) there wasn't much else on that would appeal to us the way execution and "transmigration of souls" would and 2) they repeated it a few times. Even at that age we were not highly impressed, but it was better than the Small Fry Club and Howdy Doody. Another favorite (?) of ours was one in which a doctor, I believe, became afflicted with acromegaly, causing his fingers and other body parts to swell; the tip-off was when he became unable to play the piano. That one was scary enough to give me a healthy respect for dread diseases, and I was confirmed in this years later when, with a college education under my belt, I looked up "acromegaly" in the dictionary and found the film's depiction of it was truthful. Now what was the name of that film....