AllMovie

Although it would be wrong to call Dead Ringer a great film, it's undeniably great fun -- and actually a better film than its reputation would lead one to believe. Coming after Bette Davis's spectacularly over-the-top performance in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, Ringer is generally considered part of the star's "Grand Guignol" cycle of films, but in fact it's less campy than others in this series and is a bit closer to some of her earlier "bad girl" pictures. That's not to say that the star doesn't have a grand old time chewing a bit of scenery here; Ringer presents her with plenty of opportunities to show how far she could go, and she takes delicious advantage of these moments. But it also allows here some very nice quieter moments, some opportunities for subtlety and nuance which she also clearly relishes. And this is where Ringer's screenplay scores some points, for while it's far from a great drama, it does provide some ambiguities in both the characters Davis plays which add for more depth than one would expect. The supporting cast is quite good, with even Peter Lawford turning in a more-than-decent performance and Karl Malden and Jen Hagen especially deserving of mention. Paul Henreid's direction is pretty standard, but he knows enough to keep David front and center. More importantly, he knows how to let ace cinematographer Ernest Haller photograph her and how to let Haller and editor Folmar Blangsted make the "twins" segments work. And there's also Davis' unforgettable and unbelievable rendition of "Shuffle Off to Buffalo," which must be experienced to be believed.