Man with Two Lives (1942) User Reviews

I'm Guilty. I liked this movie.

[mike1964 · 6/10 · 10 July 2001]

Every once in a while we have to make one of the guilty admissions. Here is one for me, "I like this movie." Plot concerns a nice young gentleman who is killed. A doctor has just perfected a technique that can revive him. His father nervously concedes and the doctor revives the young man. At the same time, a ruthless gangster is executed. The gangster's soul is transmitted to the young man.

Once "alive" again, the man has no recollection of his Goody-Goody old self and simply lives out his former role as a gangster, and a nasty one at that. A little similar to Black Friday except the young man never returns to his former self and once revived is 100% the mind and soul of the gangster.

For those who liked the old Monogram and PRC Horror films in the 1940's will probably enjoy this one. It lacks the star appeal, but I though Edward Norris was more than adequate in the victim/villain role.

Edward Norris Mustn't Be Squeamish

[wes-connors · 4/10 · 9 February 2009]

"A young man, recently engaged to be married, is the victim of a traffic accident and dies as a result of his injuries. His father, desperate to revive his son, agrees to let a scientist friend try his experimental soul transmigration process to save him. After the young man returns to life, the father and fiancée notice a dark and violent change in the young man's behavior, leading them to believe something went horribly wrong in the revival process," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.

At one point, Edward Norris (as Philip Bennett) is asked, "What do you think this is, Boys Town?" Mr. Norris should know, since he was in "Boys Town". "The Man with Two Lives " is more like "Black Friday" minus Karloff and Lugosi. You do the math. This film might have been a contender, with a re-worked script; it does feature an intriguing final act. After a tepid "shoot out", hang in for the drama to pick up with a well-played scene between star Norris and pursuing detective Addison Richards (as George Bradley).

**** The Man with Two Lives (1942) Phil Rosen ~ Edward Norris, Eleanor Lawson, Addison Richards

Transmigration of the Soul

[sol1218 · 5/10 · 29 December 2005]

**SPOILERS** Predictable movie, up until the final few minutes, about a major change of life, or soul, of a decent person about to be married to his childhood sweetheart. Who turns into a cold blooded serial murder due to a sudden switch in personalities.

Having studied and put into practice his theories of life after death in the laboratory, with dogs and cats, Dr. Dick Clark,Edward Keane, thinks that he can do the same thing with human beings. Fascinated with convicted serial murderer Wolf Panino who's due to be executed by the state Dr. Clark asks him if he can donate his body to him or science after he's put away for good by a 2,000 volt jolt of electricity. But the unfeeling for the future of humanity and arrogant Panino told the good doctor to take a hike and get lost.

Attending a party at the home of his good fiend Hobart Bennett, Fredrick Burton, who's son Philip, Edward Norris, is soon to marry young and pretty Louise Hammond played by a very young looking but, 67 years old if you believe she was born in 1875, grandmotherly Eleanor Lawson. Taking a ride home in his car it seems like Philip has been driving for some time as he swerves to avoid a truck and crashes right in front of his father's house with his head smashing against the car's dashboard. Not bothering to get Philip to the hospital Mr. Bennett together with Dr. Clark and Prof.Toller, Hugh Sothern, take him into the house only to find out that he died of shock.

Hobart pleading that Dr. Clark save his son's life through the use of Soul Transmigration, that he perfected in his laboratory, has the doctor do just that! But what nobody knew at the time was that the convicted killer Wolf Panino was being executed at that very moment and his soul was "transmigrated" into Philips body! This resulting in the resurrection of the dead murderer. You can easily imagine the rest of the movie with Philip, now controlled by the dead murderer Panino personality or soul, going back to his old hunting grounds in the city slums and taking control of his old gang. After offing it's new leader Mitch Larson, Jack Buckley.

Back home Philip's family and fiancée are shocked by the sudden change of his personality. It's isn't until his father and Prof. Toller follow him to his gang headquarters at the Sporadys Bar and Grill that they finally realize just who Philip really is. Philip goes back to the old ways of Wolf Panino murdering anyone who gets in, or tries to get out of, his way including his old girlfriend Helen, Marlow Dwyer. Helen finds out that the new gang leader is from the richer part of town and that his father,Mr. Hobart Bennett, is a major banker in NYC.

Continuing on his crime spree Philip is cornered in his father place, who was throwing a big birthday party for him, and is forced to reveal his "secret identity" after blasting away a cop Det. Bradley, Addison Richards, who invited himself to the party; as he was out looking for Philip after him and his gang committed a warehouse robbery in the neighborhood.

The surprise ending made the movie worth while since it help explain all the ridicules incidents that happened in it as just being a figment of one's imagination after he hit his head a bit too hard.

this plot has been done better in other films

[kidboots · 4/10 · 5 September 2008]

"Black Friday" did this plot so much better, which is why it is remembered and "The Man With Two Lives" is just a forgotten potboiler. "Shed No Tears" was it's working title and it would have been a better one as he was a thoroughly evil character for most of the film.

Philip Bennett is newly engaged when he is involved in a traffic accident. Dr. Clark (Edward Keene) has been involved in some experimental operations on animals - bringing them back from the dead. His colleagues urge him to try his operation on Phillip, who has died. As he is operating , a dangerous criminal, Wolf Panino, is going to the electric chair and trans migration of the soul occurs. When Phillip awakes from the operation, he has the soul of Panino. He is a changed person, he is rude to his family and starts to hang around Panino's old haunts. He takes over Wolf's old gang - going by the name of Philip Bennett, he also romance's Wolf's former girlfriend - who smells a rat. Bennett, as Wolf, is determined to even up scores and starts to eliminate his enemies.Bodies pile up, including the girlfriend and a policeman, then his own family begins to fall victim.

But - I HATE those "bad dream" movies - you always feel let down. This film would have been better if he had stayed in character as Panino and had a final shoot out. Eleanor, his fiancée, would have ended up sadder but wiser with his brother.

Edward Norris, the star, had a big career mostly in B movies.

Not really recommended.

You changed Phil, you changed

[Chase_Witherspoon · 7/10 · 14 June 2012]

Engaging tale of transmigration of the soul, which apparently afflicts a young man after he's revived from death following a fatal automobile accident. Just so happens he's been resurrected the same night as a notorious and unscrupulous killer is executed - his subsequent criminal behaviour concerning to not only his family, oblivious to his double life, but also his new gang, who live in fear of his ruthless streak.

Norris is pretty chilling at times as the cold-blooded killer, who nonchalantly offs just about anyone who presents a risk to his authority. Keane, Burton and Sothern play the trio of elders who presided over his ill-fated re-animation, now desperately trying to understand the reasoning for his out-of-character behaviour, and mysterious disappearances. Addison Richards has a neat little side dish of a role playing a savvy detective with whom Norris shares a scene in which the two trade feigned small talk, in a game of brinkmanship till just one is left standing.

It's a surprisingly taut, violent and compelling picture the only real issue I took was with the dual ending, the almost post-script conclusion of which, in my opinion, was unnecessary and retrograde. Listen out for some memorable dialogue too like "he lets his rod off at every opportunity and doesn't care in which direction it's pointed". We're talking about a revolver obviously, but it still cracks me up.

One of TV's first...

[petelush · 7 May 2001]

I started watching movies on TV around 1948. First one I can recall was The Ghost Goes West (1936). Another early one was The Man With Two Lives. My brother and I, around 11 and 8 years old respectively, watched it a few times because 1) there wasn't much else on that would appeal to us the way execution and "transmigration of souls" would and 2) they repeated it a few times. Even at that age we were not highly impressed, but it was better than the Small Fry Club and Howdy Doody. Another favorite (?) of ours was one in which a doctor, I believe, became afflicted with acromegaly, causing his fingers and other body parts to swell; the tip-off was when he became unable to play the piano. That one was scary enough to give me a healthy respect for dread diseases, and I was confirmed in this years later when, with a college education under my belt, I looked up "acromegaly" in the dictionary and found the film's depiction of it was truthful. Now what was the name of that film....

It Has No Soul!

[Hitchcoc · 4/10 · 5 February 2007]

As a writing teacher, there are two ending I never allow my students to use: "Then I woke up" and "Then I Got Run Over by a Truck." I am now going to add, "Then I got a bump on the head." I feel it's utterly unfair to use these tricks to cover up a lack of imagination. The whole issue of transmigration could have been handled with some intelligence and craft, yet, in this film, they either couldn't or wouldn't do that. I'm not saying it's totally worthless, but it is so predictable in its progress, except for the stupid ending. There are even gangsters who go to the police to get help from this guy. They should have done him in immediately. It's just a forgettable, borderline horror/sci fi film, with nothing new to offer.

Review for Main with Two Lives

[Reviews_of_the_Dead · 7/10 · 21 January 2023]

This is a movie that I discovered thanks to Letterboxd when looking for horror from 1942. The title gave me an idea of what this was about so I was curious as to how they would make this work. This also marks the last horror movie for me of this specific year as well. Other than that, I came into this one blind.

Synopsis: a man is brought back from death as the same time a vicious criminal dies in the electric chair. However, the man's soul is now taken over by the electrocuted gangster, who embarks on a vengeful crime wave.

Now we start this off in the laboratory of Dr. Richard Clark (Edward Keane). He's doing an experiment of reviving the hearts of animals that have stopped functioning. We see that this works on a dog. Also working there is Reginald 'Reg' Bennett (Tom Seidel). He's trying to get Dr. Clark to join him at a dinner with his family as it is Reg's brother Philip's (Edward Norris) birthday. He does agree despite not liking social functions like this.

It is at the party we get to meet Philip's fiancée of Louise Hammond (Eleanor Lawson). It is well known that Reg is in love with her. Their father of Hobart (Frederick Burton). He gets into a debate about the experiments that Dr. Clark is conducting as Hobart finds them to be unethical or something along these lines.

As this party is winding down, there is a criminal who is going to be executed. Philip goes to leave the party and gets in a car accident. Despite the things he said earlier, Hobart asks Dr. Clark to save him. He reluctantly does. When Philip comes to, he doesn't remember anything. He doesn't know who his brother or father is. He doesn't know who his fiancée is either. His personality is different as well. He is more agitated. The one thing they notice is him looking out the window. Philip leaves the house and goes to a seedy bar. His family follows him and Philip pretends not to know them.

It is at this bar that he approaches Helen Lengel (Marlo Dwyer). He seems to know her and there are things that Philip does that remind her of her boyfriend. He was the man that was just killed and was a career gangster. Philip goes into an office within the bar and takes over a gang that includes Hugo (Anthony Warde), Gimpy (Ernie Adams) and Eric (Elliott Sullivan). Philip is ruthless and reminds them of their former leader, the gangster who was executed as well.

The question then becomes is Philip still inside this body or did something supernatural happen that allowed this gangster to take over? Is there another logical explanation of the accident just changing this man's personality?

That is where I'm going to leave my recap and introduction to characters. Now I don't like to leave off with questions like that anymore for my review, but it felt necessary here as I think this movie explores interesting ideas. I would say that by the end of this, it does answer them, but I don't want to spoil this movie despite it being 80+ years old.

Where I want to start then would be the character of Philip. I love that this movie establishes his character from the opening scene and through the party for his birthday. We know that he's a good guy. He's clean cut and has his life ahead of him. This accident causes him to change. What is interesting is that through psychology class, I know that brain damage can alter someone's personality. That idea that could be an explanation. I don't believe it, but at least that is there. The example I remember from class, there was a man who worked on a railroad. He was good natured and nice. After a spike went through his brain, he became ornery.

Now what I believe this really is, Philip's body is inhabited by the soul of this gangster. This is an interesting idea. It makes me wonder if Stephen King saw this movie as we are getting a similar idea to Pet Sematary. This almost feels like a cautionary tale to not tamper with fate and allow nature to do its thing. The debate in the beginning is whether Dr. Clark should be conducting his experiment. Hobart in his grief changes his stance. We see the error of this by the end. What is interesting is that Judd's warning is 'sometimes dead is better'.

To go along with this, I want to go over to the acting. I think that Norris does a great job at establishing Philip and then taking on a completely different role as the gangster version. There are glimmers of the old him. He is the best performance here as he carries it. He is being pulled in multiple directions as well. There is Dwyer who is smitten by him as the flame of the gangster. The old crew mock him until they see how ruthless he is. Then they're worried. We also have Burton, Keane, Seidel and Lawson trying to get the old Philip back as father, friend, brother and fiancée. I'd say that the acting is quite solid here if I'm going to be honest. There isn't a bad performance. The only one might be Seidel who just goes a bit over the top. Not enough to ruin this though.

I think that the only other things to go into would be with the filmmaking. I think that the cinematography is fine. It doesn't necessarily do anything out of the ordinary. It also doesn't do anything to take me out of this either. There aren't a lot in the way of effects, but it also isn't that type of movie. What we get are fine. The only other thing would be soundtrack which didn't stand out or hurt the movie in my opinion.

In conclusion, I think that this explores interesting ideas, especially for early into cinema. We get a dilemma here of playing God vs. Allowing nature to be as it is. I think that performance of Norris is good as Philip since we see him 'normal' against his change once he is experimented on. The rest of the cast pushes him to where he needs to end up. I think that his is made well enough. There were no issues there that I had. This isn't a great movie, but this is another one that I think is a hidden gem for what they're doing.

My Rating: 7 out of 10.

Even by evil resurrection movie standards, this one is pretty bad!

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 28 June 2013]

In the 1930s and 40s, Monogram Pictures made quite a few low-budget horror films—and, amazingly, a lot of them were about resurrections of the dead that turned out very badly! Among the ones I've seen, "The Man With Two Lives" is probably the worst. Part of it is because the plot idea is silly and part of it is because the ending is just awful.

Edward Norris stars as Philip Bennett—a nice young man from a rich family. However, just before his marriage, he has a bad car accident and is killed. HOWEVER, being a resurrection of the dead film, it just so happens that his father has been working on a process to revive the dead! He's done it on animals, so why not try it out on his son? After all, the guy's body is in one piece—he just died from shock.

One Philip is revived, the film gets really, really odd (even by the standards of the genre). It seems obvious to everyone but the characters in the film that after Philip died, he somehow switched souls with a serial killer who was just executed. However, there really is no explanation for any of this! I must admit, seeing Norris running amok killing folks with little provocation was pretty funny---but the WHY never was explained. This is a big problem with the film—but the ending, yecch! It turns out in the end that it is all a dream!!! Philip was in a coma from the accident and dreamed everything!!! Now, he's awake and just swell!!!! It's like the Patrick Duffy death on "Dallas"—it was all just a bad dream!! Talk about wimping out and leaving the audience hanging! Overall, an entertaining film that ends so badly I really wish I'd seen something else! Shame on you, Monogram!

"I tell ya, that guy gives me the creeps!"

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 28 April 2008]

With the opening scene, you had to believe this was going to me a moody and atmospheric sci-fi/horror thriller. I was really impressed with all the lab equipment and scientific looking gizmos, probably the best I've seen besides the original "Frankenstein" movie. Dr. Richard Clark (Edward Keane) has been experimenting in the revival of life after death, and it really looked like it was going to be his story. Instead, we have a quick introduction into the theory of the 'transmigration of the soul', and the picture takes a sharp one hundred eighty degree turn and winds up being a gangster flick. Not all that bad mind you, but you have to get beyond a lot of the credibility defying gaps that keep the picture moving forward. Like the way Philip Bennett (Edward Norris) moves in on the Panino gang, shoots Mitch Larsen (Jack Buckley), and just takes over without any of the other gang members batting an eye. Or when mobster Eric (Elliot Sullivan) seeks out Chief of Detectives George Bradley (Addison Richards) to rat out Bennett. It's made all the more plausible by the way the whole thing ends, which I must admit I usually find to be very frustrating. But this time I was willing to cut it some slack because that's the only way the story wound up making any sense to me. Catch this one as an entry in the twenty movie/five DVD package from Mill Creek Entertainment as part of their 'Beyond The Grave' collection. It's an entertaining story that keeps you interested in what will happen next, even when you figure out it can't be happening.

Not as bad as I expected...

[lprescue · 3/10 · 5 April 2007]

Well, it is a Monogram quickie from the dreaded period of the '40s when poverty row studios put out a good many "horror" films that are almost unimaginably dull... So I was expecting the worst.

The story concerns a doctor who has been working on a way to restore life to the dead through the use of a room full of non-utilitarian electrical devices which spark nicely. There is a dog's heart hanging under a bell jar and twitching fitfully, which we are informed is proof that his method is perfected.

A brief discussion of the metaphysical implications and mention of an important plot point precede the inevitable death of a young man who is revived in a rather undramatic sequence - undramatic even with the sparks. The important plot point is that a convicted murderer is being executed just at midnight, which turns out to be exactly when the young man is revived. It is no surprise that the young man is very different after his experience; apparently amnesiac and with a strange desire to visit the haunts of the underworld and become acquainted with certain gangsters...

It's hard to explain why this all is not completely unwatchable, but perhaps it suffices to say that it's mildly interesting and contains several murders and a couple of interesting characters. Towards the end it even begins to move along with a bit of real tension and a confrontation that is downright Hitchcockian. SPOILER

I have to warn of a very, very bad ending. A tagged on unnecessary, pain in the ass sorta ending. After the plot resolves rather effectively...

You know the sort of thing... It's all a dream. Never happened.

Worth watching.

[pauldeadman · 7/10 · 3 June 2020]

A well directed gripping film with good performances. Moves at a good pace.

Misunderstood Ending

[blarjotunn · 6/10 · 19 June 2008]

This movie deals with a complex concept, the transmigration of souls. It is presented in a way, however, that seems to leave most reviewers puzzled. Many say that the movie ends with Philip Bennett (Edward Norris) awakening from a coma, implying that the whole of the movie since Bennett's accident was merely a dream. It is understandable that some would perceive it that way, but the real story is far less simplistic. Philip Bennett DID die in the car accident. We saw this for ourselves, and it could not have been a dream. When Dr. Clark (Edward Keane) revived him, he would have been able to return to his body, but because the revival occurred at the exact moment of Wolf Panino's death, Panino's soul was interposed between his own and his body, causing Panino's soul to possess Philip Bennett's body. Philip was left bodiless, outside of time in a sort of limbo. When Panino (in Philip's body) was shot, Bennett simply re-entered his body as he originally intended. Because he was outside of our timeline, he was able to enter at the moment of his original revival. Panino's soul at this point was in hell. It is a difficult concept to understand, but it is logically sound, using the following assumptions: Only one soul can occupy a body at any given moment. A soul can only enter a body at the moment it is resurrected (by the means Dr. Clark used). A soul can only exist in one place at one moment. When a soul is bodiless, it exists outside of our time. Philip was unable to enter into his body while Panino was possessing it, yet once Panino, who was tied to our time in Philip's body, died and went to hell, Philip's body was again unoccupied, and he was able to reenter. It did not matter that Panino possessed his body for months of our time, because he was not tied to our timeline. Time from this point on was overwritten by Philip in his correct body.

Should Have Been A Classic...

[azathothpwiggins · 26 May 2022]

Philip Bennett (Edward Norris) is a well-to-do banker's son who is killed in an auto accident. Simultaneously, a notorious killer is put to death in the electric chair. By some supernatural happenstance, the two bodies switch souls.

Soon enough, Philip is the leader of a ruthless criminal enterprise. He starts a crime wave resulting in mass murder and mayhem.

MAN WITH TWO LIVES is a fantastic paranormal thriller, full of violence and suspense. It builds well, taking us down into the abyss with Philip.

And then...

Unfortunately, what could / should have been a classic of bleak drama is utterly ruined by a cop-out finale that negates the entire movie! This sort of bungling is usually due to some studio meddlers who insist on having happy endings at all costs. This derails the intensity of the rest of the film!

Not all movies need to end with daisies and lemonade...

Poor

[Michael_Elliott · 13 October 2008]

Man with Two Lives (1942)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

A man (Edward Norris) is killed in a car wreck but his father asks a scientist to try and bring him back. The scientist is able to bring the man back but it doesn't take too long to notice that the once sweet kid isn't acting hisself. Director Rosen was a specialist at these poverty row films and this one here is pretty much a retelling of the Karloff/Lugosi film Black Friday. There are a couple nice ideas thrown around here about the wrong soul entering a body and how a father would react to the body of his son but with the soul of someone else. These moments are too few and for the most part we're left with a stale attempt at horror and drama. The biggest problem is certainly the screenplay, which tries to rush everything into a 61-minute movie. None of the performances are very good either but I guess that's to be expected. Another problem is that the movie ends only to have another ending pop up out of no where and this one is extremely stupid to the point where I might call it one of the worst I've seen.