The Man Who Lived Twice
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Harry Lachman
Ralph Bellamy
Marian Marsh
Thurston Hall
Isabel Jewell
Nana Bryant
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Johnny "Slick" Rawley flees the police and, after lying low with his partners John "Gloves" Baker and his moll Peggy Russell, goes into hiding at the Baldwin Medical College. There he hears Dr. Clifford L. Schuyler give a lecture. Schuyler has successfully performed brain surgery on violent animals, changing them into docile creatures, and wants to try the operation on a human. Slick volunteers, stipulating that his ghastly facial scars be corrected at the same time. Slick loses his memory as a result of the operation and Schuyler tells him that his name is James Blake and that he is the victim of an automobile accident. While Schuyler keeps Jim under observation, Jim's admiration for the doctor grows. When Jim decides to follow in Dr. Schuyler's footsteps and become a doctor, Schuyler arranges for him to attend college. Ten years later, Jim has become a famous doctor and he receives an appointment to Belmore Island Prison, where he will continue Schuyler's study of criminals. Janet Haydon, an unemployed woman who intentionally got caught stealing in order to receive food and shelter in prison, becomes Jim's secretary. After she receives a vaccination from Jim, Peggy begins to suspect that he is Slick. Then Peggy tells Gloves about Jim and even though Gloves initially tries to rob him, Jim hires him as a chauffeur. Schuyler shares Jim's secret with Gloves, who agrees to keep it quiet, but Peggy tells Inspector Logan, who has pursued Slick for over a decade for the murder of his police partner. Logan identifies Jim as Slick by his fingerprints, and Schuyler finally tells Jim the truth. Gloves receives a telegram that his beloved mother has died and to prevent Peggy from testifying against Jim, the only other person he truly cares for, he kills them both in an automobile accident. Judge Treacher, who appointed Jim to study criminals, resigns from the bench to defend him. During the trial, Judge Treacher acknowledges that Jim was Slick but adds that Slick died on Schuyler's operating table. The jury finds Jim guilty, but the medical association wins him a pardon, and he and Janet decide to be married.
Director
Harry Lachman
Cast
Ralph Bellamy
Marian Marsh
Thurston Hall
Isabel Jewell
Nana Bryant
Ward Bond
Henry Kolker
Willard Robertson
Ann Doran
Katherine Clare Ward
Mary Lou Dix
Beatrice Curtis
Nell Roy
Edward Keane
Edward Le Saint
Betty Farrington
G. Raymond "bill" Nye
Bruce Mitchell
Bert Morehouse
Crew
Henry Altimus
Irving Briskin
Harry Cohn
George Cooper
Fred Niblo Jr.
Ben Pivar
George Rhein
Byron Robinson
Arthur Strawn
Tom Van Dycke
Tom Van Dycke
James Van Trees
Kenneth Wheeler
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
According to Motion Picture Herald, The Man Who Lived Twice resembled the actual case of a man who escaped the law and many years later was found to be living as a leading citizen. Columbia was sued for $1,000,000 by Frederick Voteur, who claimed that they plagiarized his play Resurrection Morning. No information about the outcome of this lawsuit has been found. "Judge Treacher's" summation to the jury ends with a direct address to the camera, asking the audience to decide for themselves. Tom Van Dycke and Henry Altimus' story was filmed in 3-D by Columbia in 1953 as The Man in the Dark, directed by Lew Landers, and starring Edmond O'Brien.
