AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

ShangLuda Admirable film.

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

vincentlynch-moonoi As I first began watching this film it was a little slow, but it picked up momentum and got fairly interesting. The plot involves a fine stage actress (Mary Astor) who is resuming her career after a 3 year hiatus. Her missing husband (Louis Calhern in a truly unsavory role) returns, and he seems to have an hypnotic affect on her (literally) and she loses all desire to act. Meanwhile, her brother (Edward G. Robinson) decides not to let Calhern ruin his sister's life once again, so he disguises himself and murders the fiend. Will he get away with it? Edward G. Robinson does nicely here, and a refreshing change from all his gangster roles of the era. He is particularly entertaining in his semi-dual role. Mary Astor may just overdo it slightly in her role when she is in a daze as a result of her husband's return; I generally liked her as an actress, but not so much here; that may be the director's fault. Ricardo Cortez is attractive, but not particularly good as a producer. Louis Calhern is simply sleazy as the villain here. Arthur Byron is pleasant as a doctor. David Landau has a very nice turn as a police sergeant. Emily Fitzroy is entertaining as the housekeeper. Henry O'Neill is present as a police inspector.I wouldn't rate this as high as the television service did, but it's pretty good, and a good chance to see Robinson in his prime...but not as a gangster.

bkoganbing Edward G. Robinson turns in a pair of great performances as both an actor theatrical impresario and as a character he plays out in real life as a possible investor in his new show which stars his sister Mary Astor. Thus Robinson becomes The Man With Two Faces.Things seem to be going well when Louis Calhern shows up. He was actually thought dead and had very few who mourned him. Calhern is a thorough going cad, in a few years his would have been a part that George Sanders would have relished. But he has a strange Svengali like influence over Astor and for her sake he's barely tolerated.Robinson has had a scheme long in the making about Calhern. The problem is that Calhern is in need of money. That's where Robinson as the investor comes in.Don't want to give too much away. The film is based on a George S. Kaufman-Alexander Woollcott play The Dark Tower. I thought it a strange product for Kaufman. None of the satirical wit is present or at least in this film version, it might have been drained antiseptic by the newly placed Code.However Robinson is outstanding and his fans should The Man With Two Faces.

samhill5215 If this film has a weak spot it's the story's details. Without giving anything away the whole idea of Vance's (Calhern) Svengali-like hypnotic effect on his wife (Astor) is a bit far-fetched, even for 1934. And quite frankly Robinson's disguise left a lot to be desired. And let's not forget the clue that clinched the policeman's case. I can't imagine building a case of such flimsy evidence. There's other areas of concern but I digress. Now for the good part: where the film shines is in the performances. This bevy of fine actors does a most excellent job at presenting complex characters driven by events not of their own choosing. It's a pretty talky film but I didn't mind in the least. The dialog is spirited, lively, expressive. And the performers tended to make me forget the plot's weak points. They were captivating, all of them, Robinson, Astor, Calhern, Cortez (in a rare good guy part), and last but not least, Mae Clarke, in my opinion a most underrated actor.

howdymax Interesting and unusual movie. It seemed to start out as a routine backstage mystery, but as time went by, it got more and more convoluted. Edward G Robinson plays an actor about to star in a promising new play. Mary Astor is his actress sister about to make a comeback. It seems she was married to a Svengali named Stanley Vance, played by Louis Calhern. Mary was under his spell when he disappeared, until she hears that he died. She then goes to pieces. That sets the stage for the plot. It takes three years for her to recover, she falls in love with Ricardo Cortez, and when she is just about to make her breakthrough, he's back.Now it gets bizarre. She immediately falls back under his spell - and I'm not kidding. She doesn't respond to anyone but him. Her eyes glaze over. She walks around in a trance. In fact, she acts a lot like the current crop of actors we have coming out of Hollywood today. Anyway, Vance doesn't really care about her, he just wants to cash in on her share of the profits from the play. The problem for Eddie is what to do about it. Well, I won't tell you, except to say it involves a complicated, and totally implausible plan. It really doesn't matter though. If you wouldn't watch this movie for any other reason, watch it for the unbelievable, robotic performance of Mary Astor. It was mesmerizing in it's own right, but it unintentionally bordered on laugh out loud funny. If I have a complaint, it would be that the Code was in full force in 1934. You or I could have come up with a better finale.