"Stolen Face" was produced by Hammer Studios the year before "Four Sided Triangle," a movie with a similar motive! In "Four Sided Triangle" a scientist duplicates his best friend's girl who he also loves, in "Stolen Face" a Doctor duplicates just the face of the woman he has been denied! Ironically, Sir Malcolm Arnold composed the music for both films!
Here's the Doctor driven mad with love, Paul Henreid as plastic surgeon Dr. Philip Ritter. Of course Paul will always be remembered for his role as Victor Laszlo in "Casablanca!" Paul also directed a lot of TV westerns in the 60's, and sometimes looks a lot like Richard Crenna!
This would be Mary Mackenzie as petty thief Lily Conover, a self-pitying convict in need of a boost of self-confidence only a plastic surgeon could bring her! Mary's career was cut short by a car accident at the age of 44!
Speakin' of freakin' car accidents, the Doc falls asleep at the wheel on the way back from the prison, and it's determined he needs a break!
So he heads off to the country for a few nights stay at the world famous "Dog And Duck!"
So's how's a Doctor supposed to relax in 1952? Well, with a cigarette and a bottle of Johnny Walker Red, what else? Smoking was so common back in the day, people would even be smoking at breakfast!
When the Doctor hears the person in the next room coughing, he decides he had better go check it out. Too bad, he doesn't have his stethoscope handy, he'll just have to listen to her chest the good olde-fashioned way!! Her name is Alice Brent, and she's played by Lizabeth Scott!
The British Doctor and the American concert pianist hit it off pretty good, both stay a couple of extra days, and since it's 1952, you can only assume they would, as T-Rex would sing years later, "go all the way!" They even go to a local pub, where she gets to show off her vast array of
"musical skills", but then suddenly she leaves his life just as fast as she entered it, because it seems she's already engaged to be married! Okay, so it's not really that exciting yet, but...
Lost and alone again, the Doctor decides he can kill two birds with one stone, when he makes the decision to give Lily Conover the face of Alice Brent!
To make things right Dr. Ritter marries Lily after all the surgeries are completed, and he is one happy camper, except at this point, a minion of olde adages apply, like beauty is only skin deep, or you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink, or as Bo Diddley would so succinctly announce, you can't judge a book by lookin' at the cover!!!
Lizabeth Scott does a fantastic job in both roles, taking on two personalities with ease! There were no real monsters in Lizzie's career, but she was in "Scared Stiff" with Martin and Lewis, and co-starred with Elvis in the 1957 feature "Loving You!" Also before Hollywood she toured with the "Hellzapoppin'" road show! Born Emma Matso, Lizabeth will turn 90 this year!
Lily talks the Doc out of watching the boring opera, and they head on over to one of her old hangouts, and the joint is jumpin'! Two thirds of his time on screen, the Doctor is smoking!
The one downturn in the whole film is that this is the worst shot I've ever seen of any band ever, but the good thing is, Sir Malcolm's music is swinging! It's funny to me that when Hammer went from film noir to horror, the music went from swingin' to very serious and orchestrated. It's hard to imagine what the soundtrack from "Horror Of Dracula" or "Curse Of Frankenstein" would have sounded like if the music had been created by somebody like Peter Thomas!
Lily has no wants, but she has needs! The Doctor would buy her anything she wants, but just like any addict, she can't stop stealing! She didn't exactly buy that broach on her throat, and she's proud of it!
Alice, in the meantime, has been on the road, wowing the public, and coming to the conclusion that she doesn't love her devoted traveling partner, and fiancee any longer, and seeks out Dr. Ritter. When she sees the picture of who looks like her on his desk, he spills the beans on the whole lowdown of what he's done, and what a loser he is, and what a loser his wife is too!
Doing his best impersonation of Godzilla, the good Doctor takes crap from Lily one last time!
Let's just say the two women finally meet face to face on a train, there's a catfight, and in film noir terms, there is a happy ending for some of the characters, almost, kind of, depending on how you look at it!
Tonight's feature is more than special, it's Phreakin' "PHENOMENAL"!!!!! If you think there's any way possible we could have got our grubby mitts on so many neat flicks without the help of some cool cats like Professor Grewbeard, Joe, and Brian Horrorwitz, then you're out of yer phreakin' mind!
That being said, Brian and The Trash Palace are the folks to thank, or blame for this action packed and truly phenomenal phlick! The man in black is not Johnny Cash, it's Fenomenal, or in English, Phenomenal, and even though in Europe he's considered a super-hero, his only real special power is that just like Lucky the Inscutable, or Batman, Fenomenal is real damn good at kickin' ass!!
So this mug is what all the commotion is about, The Treasure of Tutankamen, or Toot Uncommon, you know, something difficult to get your hands on!
The 6 foot 3 body builder and happy Gordon (Stranger That Kneels Beside the Shadow of a Corpse) Mitchell, has the role of bad guy Gregory "Go" Falk off! Gordon was born in Denver, Colorado, but appeared in scores of Italian Sword and Sandal, and Spaghetti Western movies!!
Lucretia (Go With God, Gringo) Love has the role of Mike Shevlove! No options for argument, you gotta love any woman named Bob or Mike, and there's no way possible that a toast from Falkoff is going to be headed in the right direction!
Treacherous eyes and a cigarette lighter camera add up to no good, but mucho bueno payoff for Falkoff! Carla (Le Inibizioni Del Dottor Gaudenzi, Vedovo Col Complesso Della Buonanima) Romanelli is Anna Giomet!
At first, it's difficult to get used to this hero that looks like he has his shirt pulled up over his head, but after he slinks and sleazes around for awhile, you get very comfortable with his character!!
It's pretty hard to go wrong when you have things like the Eiffel Tower to use as far as shoots are concerned, not much different from us having Oildale at our disposal in the making of "The Creep!"
Honestly, I forget where Mike was going with this outfit on, it didn't really seem to matter!
Next stop, Woo Woo, the sultry steam baths!!
Director Ruggero Deodato would get his ass in real hot water for his use of animals in "Cannibal Holocaust" in 1980!
This is an awesome shot, super simple, but very effective!!
When you find yourself in a situation where you've just pulled off the biggest heist in the whole world, and suddenly your two-timing girlfriend has a headache, and wants to go home with somebody else, you can pretty well expect that your ass is toast!!
Finally, evil goes over the edge....
.....Only to come back and take matters into it's own hands again! Bad good guys don't finish last, they don't finish at all!
Mike has to jump out of the helicopter into the ocean to save the day....
Personally, I would think it would be very uncomfortable to be underwater with a sweater up over your face and head, but Fenomenal doesn't seem to be bothered at all, but the guy on the wrong side of the law seems to have a real problem with it!
Oh, it's you!!!
