“DOUBLE
TROUBLEâ€
By
Raymond Benson
Crime
stories about twins are usually compelling, despite the sameness (no pun
intended) about them. Among the Living, a 1941 potboiler from Paramount, is a short (only 69 minutes!) thriller that, with a few cuts, might
have been an episode of an Alfred Hitchcock Presents or similar
anthology television program. It moves quickly, holds interest, and contains a
reasonably dynamic performance from Albert Dekker as twins—one of them
“normal,†and the other insane.
Dekker
had an admirable career in Hollywood for three decades, usually working in
supporting roles. He is perhaps best known as the titular character in Dr.
Cyclops (1940). Landing a dual starring part in Among the Living was
likely a result of his appearance in Cyclops.
The
old Raden home is supposedly haunted, barely looked after by the elderly Black
caretaker, Pompey (Ernest Whitman). Old man Raden, who owned the town textile
factory, a hotel, and other businesses, has died. He was not a popular man. His
son, John (Dekker), arrives for the funeral with his wife Elaine (Frances
Farmer). Family friend Dr. Saunders (Harry Carey) delivers a bombshell to John.
John’s twin brother, Paul, who allegedly died and was buried at the age of ten,
is still alive. Paul (also Dekker), has been kept a prisoner in a room in the
old house, looked after by Saunders and Pompey. Paul is stark, raving mad—but
he is also naïve about the world outside. Paul murders Pompey, escapes, and
runs loose in town, where he rents a room at a boarding house. There, he meets
Millie (Susan Hayward). At first there might be the beginning of a romance, but
Paul’s ignorance about the ways of society are eventual red flags to Millie.
When Paul murders a bar girl because she screamed “like his mother did,†the
manhunt is on. And since innocent John looks exactly like Paul, you know
who gets accused of being the murderer…
Among
the Living isn’t
going to win any awards, but it’s a quick and entertaining flick with some
twists, albeit predictable ones. Dekker is fine in both roles, and his Paul is
effectively played as a child inside a killer’s mind. Hayward, still in her
early rise to stardom in those days, is gorgeous and bubbly as the daughter of
the boarding house landlady. The movie sparkles when she’s on the screen.
It’s
not quite a film noir, but the photography by Theodor Sparkuhl, and the
look of the picture, infuses enough German Expressionism in it to hint toward
what was to come in Hollywood crime pictures. In a way, it owes much more to
its studio’s horror series.
Kino
Lorber’s new Blu-ray release looks remarkably good, given the picture’s age and
obscurity. It comes with an audio commentary by professor and film historian
Jason A. Ney. The only supplements are the theatrical trailer and others from
Kino releases.
Among
the Living is
for fans of early Hollywood crime flicks… and Susan Hayward.
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