Walter Hampden, famous in his day for his Broadway performances as Hamlet and Cyrano, coached Ronald Coleman for the part of Othello, and Colman does the role in a stagey manner that was already out-of-fashion in the theater by the time this film was made. His elocutionary performance as the Moor, however, works perfectly for the story, as it gives the on-stage scenes distance from the more realistic ones. For this one must give credit to director George Cukor who does his usual job of getting the best from all his cast; the smaller parts here are often better acted than the leads. The overall mood of the film is helped enormously by the magnificent lighting of Milton Krasner, particularly as Krasner depicts Colman's transition from the real world into hallucination. As duly noted by everyone, Shelley Winters, who had made any number of films before this, was perfectly cast as the New York City waitress, and proved in this film that she more than another sexy contract actress. Her career took off because of her performance here, and the film is worth watching for her alone.
Review of A Double Life
