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The Man with My Face (film)
Encyclopedia
The Man with My Face is a 1951 American United Artists
film noir
crime
/thriller motion picture
starring Barry Nelson
, Carole Mathews, Lynn Ainley, John Harvey
, Jim Boles, and Jack Warden
. The film marks Jack Warden's movie debut.
Directed
by Edward Montagne, and produced
by Ed Gardner
for his company, Edward F. Gardner Productions, the script
was by Vin Bogert, Tom McGowan
, Edward Montagne and Samuel W. Taylor
, based on Taylor's 1948
novel
The Man with My Face
. Original music was by Robert McBride
. Cinematography was by Fred Jackman, Jr.
Though the movie takes place in Puerto Rico
, the original novel is set in California
. However, The Man with My Face holds the distinction of being the only film noir shot on location in that country.
He finds that a double has taken his place. There is a man who looks exactly like him, Albert "Bert" Rand (also played by Nelson), playing cards and drinking in his living room. Cora and Buster, and even Graham's dog, do not recognize him and think the double is him.
Meanwhile, Graham's face has shown up on the front page of newspapers as a bank robber in Miami
who made away with half a million dollars. As he runs from the police, he attempts to solve the mystery with the help of an old girlfriend, Mary Davis (played by Mathews), whom he jilted to marry Cora. Mary's protective brother, Walt Davis (played by Warden), is wary, but soon joins in trying to figure out the puzzle.
Graham's criminal double attempts to have him killed by hiring an attack dog specialist to have a Doberman
go after him. The evil double has been in on this sinister plan with Cora and her brother, Buster, since before Graham married her. Intriguingly, Barry Nelson was the first actor to portray James Bond
, starring in a 1954 television version of Casino Royale
opposite Peter Lorre
.
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
crime
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
/thriller motion picture
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
starring Barry Nelson
Barry Nelson
Barry Nelson was an American actor, noted as the first actor to portray Ian Fleming's secret agent James Bond.-Early life:...
, Carole Mathews, Lynn Ainley, John Harvey
John Harvey (actor)
John Harvey was an English actor. He appeared in 52 films, two television films and made 70 television guest appearances between 1948 and 1979....
, Jim Boles, and Jack Warden
Jack Warden
Jack Warden was an American character actor.-Early life:Warden was born John Warden Lebzelter in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Laura M. and John Warden Lebzelter, who was an engineer and technician. He was of Irish and Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry...
. The film marks Jack Warden's movie debut.
Directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Edward Montagne, and produced
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
by Ed Gardner
Ed Gardner
Edward Francis 'Ed' Gardner was an American comic actor, writer and director, best remembered as the creator and star of the radio's popular Duffy's Tavern comedy series....
for his company, Edward F. Gardner Productions, the script
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
was by Vin Bogert, Tom McGowan
Tom McGowan
Thomas "Tom" McGowan is an American actor, known for his recurring roles on Frasier, as KACL station manager Kenny Daly; Everybody Loves Raymond, as Ray's friend Bernie; and on The War at Home, as Dave Gold's friend Joe. McGowan also appeared on Curb Your Enthusiasm as a disgruntled fan of Larry's...
, Edward Montagne and Samuel W. Taylor
Samuel W. Taylor
Samuel Woolley Taylor was an American novelist, scriptwriter and historian.- Biography :Taylor was born in Provo, Utah to Janet "Nettie" Maria Woolley and John W. Taylor, the son of John Taylor, the late president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
, based on Taylor's 1948
1948 in literature
The year 1948 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* The Pulitzer Prize for the Novel is renamed the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction....
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
The Man with My Face
The Man with My Face
The Man with My Face is a 1948 mystery novel by Samuel W. Taylor, which was the basis for the 1951 film of the same title. Taylor wrote the screenplay for the film as well....
. Original music was by Robert McBride
Robert McBride (composer)
Robert McBride was an American composer and instrumentalist.-Biography:McBride was born in Tucson, Arizona, and learned from an early age to play clarinet, oboe, saxophone and the piano. He studied composition with Otto Luening at the University of Arizona, receiving a Bachelor of Music degree in...
. Cinematography was by Fred Jackman, Jr.
Though the movie takes place in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, the original novel is set in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. However, The Man with My Face holds the distinction of being the only film noir shot on location in that country.
Plot
Set in Puerto Rico, where Charles "Chick" Graham (played by Nelson) settled down after the war to run a small business with his old Army buddy, now his brother-in-law, Buster Cox (played by Harvey), Graham comes home one evening to find his wife, Cora (played by Ainley), acting as if he is an insane stranger.He finds that a double has taken his place. There is a man who looks exactly like him, Albert "Bert" Rand (also played by Nelson), playing cards and drinking in his living room. Cora and Buster, and even Graham's dog, do not recognize him and think the double is him.
Meanwhile, Graham's face has shown up on the front page of newspapers as a bank robber in Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
who made away with half a million dollars. As he runs from the police, he attempts to solve the mystery with the help of an old girlfriend, Mary Davis (played by Mathews), whom he jilted to marry Cora. Mary's protective brother, Walt Davis (played by Warden), is wary, but soon joins in trying to figure out the puzzle.
Graham's criminal double attempts to have him killed by hiring an attack dog specialist to have a Doberman
Doberman
Doberman or Dobermann most commonly refers to Doberman Pinscher, a breed of dog, or to its creator, Karl Friedrich Louis Dobermann.It may also refer to:*Doberman , a 2003 album by Tomoyasu Hotei*Doberman , a Japanese ska/punk band...
go after him. The evil double has been in on this sinister plan with Cora and her brother, Buster, since before Graham married her. Intriguingly, Barry Nelson was the first actor to portray James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
, starring in a 1954 television version of Casino Royale
Casino Royale (Climax!)
Casino Royale is a 1954 television adaptation of the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The show is the first screen adaptation of a James Bond novel and stars Barry Nelson and Peter Lorre...
opposite Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...
.