It is a performances centric movie

An action-packed slog

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

A murderer is caught bang to rights as witnesses saw her leaving the scene of the crime ... except nobody can tell her apart from her twin. How will the boys down at the station get themselves out of this pickle?Enjoyable murder mystery with an impressive performance by the lead actress in both twin roles. Being naive and uninformed I did not realise it was the same actress, even when the seam showed in a scene in front of a mirror as the story geared up for the climax. I was fooled the same way by The Devil's Double.The story is probably too neat, the psychological angle too simple, but the mood is just right while the lead actress raises the tension with her sometimes manic, sometimes icy menace. Helped along by good dialogue and pace.The score sets the tone in the opening pan of the murder scene and never overwhelms.Overall, a pleasure to watch albeit lightweight.

In its depiction of a pair of twins, one of whom is a psychotic killer, THE DARK MIRROR is a film very much ahead of its time. It's an engrossing period piece that benefits greatly from a fine performance from Olivia de Havilland playing the twins, Terry and Ruth Collins. Accompanied by some excellent back projection work (you won't see the seams!), you never stop believing for a second that both twins are separate people.Elsewhere, the plotting is fairly ordinary for a film noir type thriller. There are the flat-footed policemen getting nowhere, a dedicated shrink who finds himself falling for the murder suspect(s) and some effectively grim, doom-laden atmosphere from director Robert Siodmak. It's the sort of film somebody like David Cronenberg would have been making had he been working during the 1940s. The twist ending is particularly strong.

Fans of this movie will be delighted to know that the new DVD release from Olive Films is in pristine condition and makes viewing it a double pleasure, especially for de Havilland fans.THE DARK MIRROR ('46) is a brisk, supercharged 85 minutes, a taut psychological suspense tale directed by Robert Siodmak (who directed THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE and THE KILLERS). Dimitri Tiomkin's clever background score is an added bonus.It stars Olivia de Havilland in a fascinating dual role as Ruth and Terry Collins, sisters involved in the murder of a doctor they were both dating. When good sister Ruth gives her bad twin an alibi, detective Thomas Mitchell asks psychiatrist Lew Ayres to determine which twin could be the killer, based on their differing personalities. Of course he falls in love with the good twin and solves the case in an effective ending which gives de Havilland the chance to do some real emoting. A clever scene has the bad twin pretending to be the good one in a serious talk with doctor Ayres in which he reveals what makes the psycho sister tick.It's a double-layered cat-and-mouse scene in which he is really talking about her (not her sister) and de Havilland's reactions are fascinating to watch. Thomas Mitchell is excellent as a relentless but befuddled detective unhappy with the game the sisters are playing. Richard Long has a small role as an admirer of one of the twins--or is it both of them? Bit roles are well played with occasional flashes of humor and the whole thing moves swiftly under Siodmak's tight direction.By the way, 1946 was a strong year for de Havilland. After being off the screen for more than two years due to legal action against Warner Bros., she suddenly had four films in release: DEVOTION (as Charlotte Bronte), THE WELL GROOMED BRIDE, TO EACH HIS OWN and THE DARK MIRROR, entering a four-year period climaxed at the end of the decade by THE SNAKE PIT and THE HEIRESS--and two Oscars.Summing up: two Olivia de Havilland's are better than one. Life magazine reported that she "contributes to the impression gained from TO EACH HIS OWN that she is the actress to beat for this year's Academy Award."

A blend of suspense and dark romance, The Dark Mirror is a well acted film which at most showcases the impressive acting ability of Olivia De Havilland.Starting as a darkly atmospheric piece after a murder is committed, the investigation quickly moves onto a suspect named Collins, a woman who was a known associate of the murder victim. However the apparently simple investigation goes into a tailspin when it's revealed Collins is one half of identical twins. It must have been a daunting task as a performer to take on the roles of protagonist and antagonist in the same film yet Olivia De Havilland pulls it off to great conviction. Playing the parts of Terry, a cunning and manipulative psychopath and Terry's twin Ruth, a shy and more naive woman. By changing her mannerisms, vocal tone and demeanour for both roles De Havilland showed to spectacular range of her acting ability.Although the acting on show by De Havilland and others in The Dark Mirror was top standard, the same cannot be said for the narrative. It starts off well with the dilemma of identical twins causing The Dark Mirror to become a gripping mysterious piece along with the wise cracking dialogue between Detective Stevenson and Terry adding to the film's aura. Yet when the narrative shifts from thriller to dark romance with the introduction of Doctor Elliot, a man who falls for Ruth yet bitters Terry into jealously, The Dark Mirror becomes tedious due to its predictability. Although the acting throughout the romantic portion of the narrative makes for emotional involvement it also makes the actions of Terry, Ruth and Doctor Elliot predictable resulting in being able to know the narrative's outcome before its reached.On a lighter note The Dark Mirror has a good amount of comic relief served up by Thomas Mitchell as Detective Stevenson, whose wise cracks create breathing space from the drama and earlier on has great chemistry with De Havilland as her more sinister character. Unfortunately this tense relationship is under developed due to relatively small role Mitchell plays here. The comic relief also comes in the revelation of Collins being an identical twin particularly for the witnesses who are dazed by this fact resulting in a few laughs on the audience's part.Although story wise The Dark Mirror is not the most superb of films, it does not get in the way of the fine acting on display which for a time entices us into the narrative.