I've got to admit it - despite not having seen all that many of them, I have a bit of a soft spot in my heart for old, black-and-white melodramatic thrillers. All of their baroque elements, from gleefully overplayed scenes of drama or terror to prototypically gothic suspense sequences, always seem to gel into something that one just doesn't find in the movies these days. For this reason, whenever I find myself in contact with one of these moody old thrillers, I'm always rather pleased to give it a shot. Such was the case with Dead Ringer, a 1964 production with Bette Davis that was my latest assignment from the fine man behind Monsters at Play. Quite expectant, I popped the film in and found that, in grand gothic thriller tradition, it did not disappoint.

Ringer stars a post Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? Bette Davis in an amazing dual role as twin sisters Edith and Margaret. After having been separated for almost twenty years, the two meet again at the funeral of Margaret's rich husband, after which Edith comes back to Margaret's mansion with her.

As the two slyly snipe at each other in Margaret's bedroom, we learn some important details, namely that Margaret's deceased husband was actually Edith's beau before Margaret stole him from her and that Edith is having financial trouble and runs a failing bar in a trashy area of town. Enraged by Margaret's snobbishness and indifference toward her husband's death, Edith storms out of the house and returns to her home in a loft above her bar, where her cop boyfriend (Karl Malden) is waiting to give her a birthday present. After he's gone, Edith calls Margaret and tells her to come over to her place. Apparently she knows of some intimate details about Margaret's situation that could prove embarrassing (or worse) if they got out, and she says that if Margaret will come to her apartment, she'll be able to buy Edith's silence.

Before Margaret arrives, however, it becomes quite apparent that Edith has plans bigger than simple blackmail, as she, while waiting, hides a gun in a dresser drawer and then cuts her hair and styles it so that it looks like Margaret's. When Margaret finally arrives (still dressed in her mourning veil) she takes no notice of her sister's sudden tendency toward doppelganger-ism and instead quickly offers Edith money. Of course, we know of Edith's other plans, so it's no surprise when she pulls out her gun and shoots her poor, bitchy sister right in the temple.

Switching clothes with her sister, Edith assumes her life and takes up residence in her mansion, though she finds things a little more difficult than she expected. Her habit of smoking, for one thing, is quite conspicuous seeing as her sister had given it up years before. She also faces obstacles like: not knowing the combination to the house safe; having handwriting that doesn't match her sister's; and her sister's dog, which hated Margaret, now suddenly liking this Margaret. In the end, the question becomes not only whether Edith will manage to adjust to her sister's life, but more importantly if she will be able to do so without being turned into someone as uncaring and elitist as her sister.

It's this unexpected social commentary that helps to make Dead Ringer a surprisingly engaging film, for this examination of class serves to add something extra and more substantial to the simple fun of the melodrama and gothic set pieces. There are scenes of surprising poignancy mixed in with some of the more standard elements, all of which help to make the film more engaging than it probably should be. Making the twins belong to different social classes was certainly a good idea, as it adds a level of social satire to the proceedings, allowing us to compare and contrast between the two sisters and showing us that neither is all good or all bad. Then, Edith's switch between classes, in addition to satirizing their differences, also serves to create some interesting scenes of emotional poignancy that play out when she is forced to encounter old acquaintances from her new position, particularly her boyfriend the cop who was so tender to her before and now is cold to her when she is playing the icy Margaret. The scene in which Edith, having just killed her sister, is forced to resign herself to giving up the beautiful bracelet she just received from her boyfriend not moments before is one of the film's best moments, and serves to almost perfectly summarize all the inner-workings of the story: the pain of leaving a life behind, the differences between class (Margaret's bracelet is surely more expensive, though of course Edith values her present much more), etc. Of course, all of this is not to say that Dead Ringer is a blistering critique of American class structure or a spectacularly affecting film: it's just to point out that, while this is still a thriller / melodrama through-and-through, there's a little more going on than there had to be, which makes the proceedings all the more fun to watch.

Of course, Warner Brothersâ crisp, clean transfer certainly helps matters, too. Having never seen Dead Ringer before, I can't be sure if this is an improvement, but I'd be willing to wager that this presentation looks better than most other previous incarnations. The transfer showcases the film's stylish composition well, with the blacks looking bold and the images looking crisp. There's little grain to speak of and few scratches, and the audio is, while understated, similarly well-done. For a 40-year-old movie, I thought things looked pretty nice.

As for extras, Warner has put together a respectable package. The requisite theatrical trailer is here, of course, along with a couple of other featurettes, one an interview with Boze Hadleigh (which, sadly, is a little repetitive if you've listened to the commentary before watching it) and the second a promotional piece from 1964 that deals with the film's production, which, like the movie itself, was in surprisingly good shape for being 40 years old (I'd say it looks almost as good as the feature).

Finally, things wrap up with an audio commentary featuring Boze Hadleigh (from the previous featurette) and Charles Busch (of Die Mommy Die! and Psycho Beach Party fame), both of whom possess a great deal of knowledge about the film itself and an almost frightening amount of knowledge about Ms. Davis. I can't say it's one of the most interesting commentaries I've ever listened too, as it proceeds a little sluggishly. Still, if you're a Bette Davis fan, I'm sure you'll find it worth a listen for all the detail the participants get into on her.

Still, whether a Davis-nut or no, Dead Ringer is nevertheless a good deal of fun. It's a neat old gothic psychological-thriller with added social commentary that serves to make it even more entertaining. While the extras will probably be of real interest only to Davis aficionados, the film itself is still a good time, and it's definitely worth a watch if you're amused by these moody old melodramas.