L'usurpatore

This is one crazy film! You don't expect a film from 1932 to make you laugh but surprisingly this did. Although it's unbelievably daft, I think I'd go as far as describing it as a cleverly written, superbly directed sophisticated comedy.

Fredric March pretends to be his dead, rich nasty brother without knowing anything about him. Yes it's that silly but being acted like a straight drama makes this properly funny. OK, it's not quite acted like a straight drama, Fredric March enjoys himself really hamming this up but it works well here. As March hopelessly tries and inevitably fails to fit into that other life our bemused hero draws you into the whirlpool of his confusion. Corny, cliched, predictable yes but also just brilliant!

Maybe only fans of Kay Francis' unique style of over-acting could appreciate her contribution to this. She was definitely a personality, a scandalous 'it girl' rather than an actress, possibly the best worst actress in Hollywood and that made her perfect in a subtle comedy like this. This was her last picture for Paramount and she couldn't have wished for a better swan song. Comedy was clearly her forte, Miss Francis is so much better in this than in those dire 'women's pictures' she became associated with.

The plot to "Strangers in Love" is clearly the sort of Hollywood plot that would never happen in real life. My advice is to watch the film...and try to look past the implausibility of the story.

When the film begins, you see that there are identical twin brothers (both played by Frederic March) who are nothing like each other in personalities or their lifestyles. Arthur is a bitter and unlikable Egyptologist who doesn't seem to care about others. Buddy is a poor guy who is more a 'normal Joe'. And, it seems that when their rich father died, he inexplicably gave his entire fortune to the bitter Egyptologist.

One day the poor brother goes to see his brother. The Egyptologist is cold and nasty and tells his poor brother that when he dies, he's leaving his money for Egyptological research and giving him nothing! But, after telling him this, the nasty brother suffers a fatal heart attack. So, the nice brother, Buddy, pretends to be his brother and tells authorities that Buddy had died...and he assumes the nasty brother's life. Can he maintain this ruse? After all, the nasty brother's friends, research, associates and girlfriend are all unknown to Buddy. And, will there be any complications? And, could the brother's life actually be worse than poor Buddy's?

If this plot seems familiar, well...it is. Later Bette Davis films like "A Stolen Life" and "Dead Ringer" cover the same sort of material. However, unlike the Davis films, "Strangers in Love" has a more comedic bent.

Overall, I think I prefer this movie to the Davis films. I think the main reason is the writing, as "Strangers in Love" is more lighthearted and doesn't take itself so seriously. Plus, while Davis is a fantastic actress, Frederic March wasn't exactly a slouch when it came to acting!

By the way, don't let your head explode when Buddy calls his maid 'Snowball'. Yes, it is VERY demeaning and wrong, but was a sign of the times in which the movie was made.

Soldier of fortune Fredric March returns to the home he grew up in. His father is long dead, and his identical twin brother -- also played by March -- tells him he was a lifelong disappointment to the old man, and he hated him too, blessed with good health, while he, cursed with a weak heart, had to become an expert on Linear A and inherit the kit and kaboodle. His weak heart gives out, whereupon the healthy brother decides to say that the wanderer kicked off, and he is the one who inherited everything. However, as pal Stu Erwin points out, it's more than looking alike. He can't even sign a check that will pass, not to mention some shady dealings with mistress Juliette Compton, and his secretary, Kay Francis, searching for proof that he swindled her father, George Barbier, out of a fortune.

It's a rather far-fetched story from a novel, that screenwriters Grover Jones and George Slavens McNutt -- gotta love that name -- deal with by acknowledging the absurdities. Director Lothar Mendes seems to have given March his head, who responds by acting in three different personas. With Earl Foxe, Lucien Littleifeld, and Sidney Toler, who performs without an noticeable accent.

Fredric March plays a dual role here again, though much more subtle than in "Dr Jekyl and Mr. Hyde" from the previous year. In the beginning you don't even know that Arthur Drake has an identical twin. All you can see is that he is wealthy, self-absorbed, and utterly consumed with Egyptology. Kay Francis is his assistant and holds him in obvious contempt - obvious to everyone but Arthur, who doesn't pay that much attention to her anyways.

The scene switches and at first I was confused. Here again is March, but this time he is shabbily dressed and looking in at the window of a bakery talking to fellow down-and-out friend Stan (Stuart Erwin) about what butter and bread are and what you do with it if you get some. The insinuation being that they are poor and hungry. Then you find out he is Buddy Drake, Arthur's twin, prodigal son of the Drake family. He decides right there to get his fair share of the inheritance and goes off alone to confront Arthur that very night.

Arthur seems anxious to get rid of Buddy, claiming that their father disinherited Buddy and writing him a check and making him promise to never come back. Buddy smells a rat and says he thinks he will stick around because something does not seem right to him - he knows his brother is selfish and would never pay him off if he didn't feel he had to do so. At this point Arthur erupts into a vicious rant - he has always hated Buddy because of his athletic body and his own heart condition which kept him indoors and away from the adoration and fun his brother had - at this point Arthur clutches his heart and drops dead. Now nobody has seen any of this, so Buddy swaps clothes with Arthur and decides to take his place. He calls for the servants and says that Buddy has dropped by and dropped dead. Everyone seems to swallow this given Buddy's life on the streets these past years, and now Buddy steals Arthur's identity along with all of the money he figures he had coming to him. If anyone knows Arthur is the one who died, an Egyptology society gets the entire estate, and Buddy figures half the estate was his to begin with.

Soon Buddy lets Stan in on the ruse, with Stan pointing out the obvious holes in this plan - Buddy doesn't even know how to sign Arthur's signature so he can't even sign checks and get his hands on the money, knows nothing about Egyptology so he can't fool his associates, and knows nothing of Arthur's friends and routine. Stan suggests they grab valuables and cash laying around the house and leave town. Plus, Arthur's life was not as boring as Buddy might have thought. He is getting threatening phone calls from someone named Clark demanding money, and he is subject to the unwanted attention of a blonde who demands he reciprocate that attention or else she will "rat him out to the cops". The question Buddy has is - rat him out about WHAT? Well this is all Buddy would need to leave town if it wasn't for the beauty of assistant Diana (Kay Francis), to whom he is instantly attracted. And if Buddy didn't need more trouble, Diana believes Arthur stole all of her father's money and is working there just to get the goods on him. When Arthur(Buddy) suddenly starts behaving like a human being, Diana begins to have feelings for him.

So how will all of this work out? Watch and find out.

This is not a straight drama, as so many of Kay Francis' and Fredric March's vehicles at Paramount were. There is quite a bit of comedy in this to lighten the mood and it does keep you guessing right up to its ironic end. Highly recommended

Through the awkward pacing of an early talkie, you'll find entertainment in Strangers in Love, a comedy-drama starring Fredric March, Fredric March, and Kay Francis. Why do I list Freddie twice? Because he plays identical twins, and I always think actors who play two parts should get listed twice in the credits.

One brother is rich and rude, the object of blackmail from thugs after he swindled his secretary's (Kay) father out of his life savings. The other brother is so poor, he can't even afford to eat. He has a good heart, and his faithful pal Stuart Erwin convinces him to ask his brother for a loan. In the scene of the two brothers' reunion, director Lothar Mendes clearly uses a background screen; but in 1932 it was probably great special effects to see Fredric March talking to himself.

Of course there's bound to be one brother impersonating the other brother, and all the complications and hilarity ensue. Not knowing anything about his brother's life, Freddie stumbles around getting by on hesitations and questions that reveal nothing. "I saw Charlie the other day," Freddie's girlfriend says. Freddie hems and haws, then settles on, "Good old Charlie," before slugging back a drink for courage. Yes, the movie was clearly an early talkie, but it's still fun because Fredric March is so young and has that twinkle in his eye. Kay Francis doesn't do much, but she gets to wear some pretty outfits.