What makes it different from others?

Very Cool!!!

Fantastic!

an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

Barry Nelson finds out that two faces are not better than one in this film noir set in Puerto Rico and featuring a chilling climax in the famed Fort El Morro. It's unfortunate, however, that the plot that surrounds the intriguing beginning and riveting conclusion is as iffy as Caribbean weather. Nelson narrates a brief history of the island (including Columbus's landing in 1493, it was already discovered) and his arrival there in 1942. He's married to the pretty Lynn Ainley, but when he returns home one day, he finds his brother-in-law there as well as a look-alike who insists that he is Chick Graham, not an impostor, and the framed Nelson must find his way out of police custody to prove who he really is. He visits an old flame (the sweet Carole Mathews) who agrees to help him, and in the process, finds more intrigue than he ever intended to find in this American territory.While the premise is intriguing, the execution of the plot is another matter, and what goes on for the next hour can at times be downright confusing and more often than not frustrating. Chinita Marin has an excellent small role as the former girlfriend of the impostor who is as confused by the look-alike's presence as the audience is with the plot, and the presence of a nasty doberman doesn't make the love of this sometimes vicious dog any easier. The dog is trained to kill at the will of the impostor, and when the film finally does become interesting, it involves the famous mission where Nelson is being chased in the seemingly never-ending source of tunnels. But there's a twist of course at the end, unfortunately not giving me a real conclusion as to why everything was going on the way it did. Still, it makes good use of the Puerto Rican location shots. Jack Warden and Henry Lascoe have memorable supporting roles. It's just too bad I can't say that about the script.

****SPOILERS****This film noir really pushes the envelope to the limit here in wanting us to believe that a plot was hatched back during WWII by the then Cora Cox,Lynn Ainley, and her brother Buster, John Harvey, to get the clueless in what is planned for him Chick Graham, Barry Nelson, involved in a $1,000,000.00 bond robbery and end up taking the rap for it! What's even more ridicules is that the two conspirators in this bazaar scheme just happen to have someone, without the help of plastic surgery, Chick's exalt look-alike the on the lamb bank robber Albert Rand, not surprisingly also played by Barry Nelson, step into Graham's shoes and take over his identity to pull, in having Graham take the blame for it, this whole crazy scheme off!The victim in all this Chick Graham finds out that something is wrong when coming home after a hard days work at the office at his and Buster's accounting firm and finds his double the on the run bank robber Burt Rand replacing him as Cora's husband! And even worse his cute and lovable pet dog Jiggs ends up attacking him as if he's an intruder! Kicked out of his own home and now, in thinking that he's bank robber Burt Rand, wanted by the police all Chick can do is get his head together and track down the clues to prove that he's really Chick Graham not Burt Rand! Meanwhile electronic salesman Al Grant, John Kane, who found out what Rand, the real one, and Buater were all about ends up, in trying to blackmail them, mauled to death by dog trainer and also a member of the Rand/Buster/Cora conspiracy Meadows,Jim Boles, trained vicious attack dog King.****SPOILERS**** Everything finally works out for Chick in the end with him reunited with his former flame Mary Davies, Carole Mathews, who could positively identify him as Chick Graham not Burt Rand. And as for Burt Rand he in the end is mistaken by Meadows in, by discarding his business suite and mussing up his hair, trying to make himself look like Chick to fool the police that he sets attack dog King on him! Where the two, in a life and death struggle, end up falling to their death off a 150 foot cliff into the Caribbean Sea! Really hard to take in just how unbelievable, even for a Hollywood movie, it is but still entertaining if you throw logic and common sense straight out of the window and just sit back enjoy the show.

The Man with My Face (1951)Wow, this is built on such a fun and totally ridiculous premise it might be hard to see that really well done aspects to the film. Here it is: a man and wife are bickering a bit. She's a bombshell, he's a nice regular guy. What gives? Well, the man comes home one day to find an exact duplicate has taken his place (played by the same actor, sometimes with split screen done quite well).So, is he crazy? Is this the twilight zone? Who is the double? Oh, and his wife and dog both don't recognize him. I mean, the wife we get, wives in movies are made out to be as unpredictable as husbands. But the dog, now that's huge clue. And the brother-in-law doesn't know him other--or worse, believe the impostor is the real guy.So our hero is in a quite a pickle. Not only is he homeless and disparaged, and eventually even hunted by the law, he doubts his sanity. It seems impossible.The problem is that it is, truly, impossible, and yet the movie plays it all as if it were quite reasonable, if at least daring. And we aren't talking plastic surgery or alien forces here, just go old greed and extraordinary luck. So, swallow it in a gulp and enjoy the dual role played, really well (in a B-movie way) by Barry Nelson. Who's he? Yeah, exactly--he did mostly 1950s television, and some war flicks before that. So here's the one film he snuck in his t.v. career. Some of the rest of the cast is fun in the same B-movie way, though the femme fatale (if the word isn't an exaggeration here) is unconvincing. A quirky fun film. It's not underrated, but it's better than a lot of other overrated genre movies. Once you swallow that pill, that is.

THE MAN WITH MY FACE is a better-than-average B movie with some of the attending convenient plot devices, but enough twists and turns to satisfy most Noir fans. Visually, it has enough Noir style to appear connected to the main Noir cycle. The film's plot fits Noir expectations neatly, and it's only limited by a few B movie contrivances. With its unusual setting and well-played lead performance, this is a movie deserving a look by all Noir enthusiasts.Only two well-known names appear in the cast: lead Barry Nelson and Jack Warden (in a very small role). Nelson shows himself to be more than capable in a dual role. He doesn't differentiate the characters terribly much, but plays them both with conviction. There is a timely reference for Barry Nelson too: he was the first James Bond seen on screen by US audiences, in the 1954 TV version of CASINO ROYALE. As Cora, Lynn Ainley is very hard-edged and unsympathetic. Even her final act speech of regret won't soften most viewers toward her. She's a greedy harpy who deserves her fate. Everyone else is just fine in the film, with an interesting appearance by Jack Elam-look alike Jim Boles, as Meadows the Doberman trainer. Director Edward Montagne (THE TATTOOED STRANGER) made a mark later in TV sitcoms (especially MCHALE'S NAVY). Author Samuel W. Taylor should not be confused with the Samuel A. Taylor credited with the screenplay for VERTIGO, despite some slight connections between the stories.Right from the opening credits, it's clear that THE MAN WITH MY FACE will not take place in typical Noir territory. And like many other superior B movies, the locations are used to advantage. The city of San Juan, beaches, hotels and shops contribute a unique look and atmosphere. Several local amateur residents are given small acting roles as well. The final chase sequence appears to have been shot at the decayed Fort San Cristobal. It provides plenty of dark passageways and vertiginous precipices to keep things interesting.Synopsis **SPOILERS AHEAD**The plot is pure Noir, with a fairly original twist. "Chick" Graham (Barry Nelson) works for a small insurance company in San Juan, partnered with his brother-in-law Buster Cox (John Harvey). One day, Chick leaves the office and heads home. When he arrives there, his wife Cora (Lynn Ainley) and her brother claim not to know who he is. The two are very insistent, and even Chick's beloved dog doesn't seem to recognize him. What's going on? A very confused Chick is then stupefied when a man identical to himself (also played by Nelson) walks in and claims to be Chick Graham. Cora threatens to call the police, and in fact does so when the real Chick becomes insistent that the whole thing must be a gag. Poor confused Chick is carted off by San Juan policeman. But he manages to escape when a vicious Doberman meant to attack him instead knocks over the policeman.Now a familiar Noir narrative begins, as Chick sets out to determine just what has been happening, and who this mysterious Chick #2 can be. Sitting in a hotel bar, Chick (#1) is greeted by a salesman who recognizes him and Chick tells the man to meet him at the office later to help with his investigation. But greed gets the best of the salesman and he cooks up a scheme to blackmail Graham. Unfortunately for him, the salesman proposes his scheme to Chick #2 (now revealed to be a man named Al Grant), who with his henchman makes quick work of the salesman by way of the vicious Doberman. So Chick is back to square one. He contacts a former girlfriend he jilted before marrying Cora. The girlfriend, Mary Davis (Carole Mathews) obviously still loves Chick and despite the insistence of her cynical brother (Jack Warden), she agrees to help him solve the mystery. At this point, another woman, Juanita, enters the film, a former romantic associate of Al Grant. Juanita, accosts Chick on the street and angrily insists he come to her apartment. Thinking he will gather more information for his quest, Chick goes along. After convincing Juanita that he is not the man she thinks he is, Chick leaves. Later, poor Juanita is found dead and Chick Graham is the prime suspect for her murder. With his handsome visage on the front page of every San Juan newspaper, Chick really needs to work fast to clear his name. Eventually, Chick and Al meet again, and Al plans to kill Chick so that Al and Cora can flee on the next plane, along with several hundred thousand dollars in embezzled funds. Fortunately, Chick outsmarts even the tenacious Doberman left to guard him. He escapes and, after a very effective chase sequence, manages to expose the criminals for what they are.THE MAN WITH MY FACE has a combination of the "wrong man" theme (best seen in Hitchcock's THE WRONG MAN) and the doppelganger idea (exemplified in THE SCAR). The film has a strongly Noir sense of oppression, felt mainly in the narrative and not supported very much by the visual style. It's a well-done B movie with a unique location, some exciting episodes and a fine performance by Barry Nelson. A worthy submission to any B-Noir catalog.