Freaktana A Major Disappointment

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Raymond Sierra The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

dougdoepke The premise, as others point out, is wildly improbable, yet the visuals, direction, and acting prove enough to compensate. Poor Chick Graham (Nelson, in a dual role). On an utterly routine work day he returns home, only to find an exact double has taken his place in the household. Even his wife (Ainley) says the real Chick is an impostor, and the officials believe her, not Chick. In fact everything he does to verify his identity backfires, including fingerprints. So what's going on since Chick's just an ordinary working stiff.Frankly, I wish the screenplay hadn't tipped its hand so soon by explaining the reason behind the impersonation. Withholding the key would have set up a good mystery. Nonetheless, Nelson's dual role is well handled. Catch the vertical line created by door-frames that indicates where the split screen divides when the two Nelsons appear in the same shot. The split screens are well done without being obtrusive. Also, the climactic chase through the old Spanish coastal fort is excitingly picturesque. In fact, the movie makes good use of the Puerto Rico locations, even if in b&w. These lend an exotic flavor to an exotic story.All in all, the movie certainly doesn't lack for imagination, including the assassin canine and its scary handler (Jim Boles). Speaking of the Doberman, I'm glad the besieged Chick finally figures out the tactical use of a door. Anyway, with some basic work on the screenplay, this could have been a B-film that's more than novel entertainment, which it is.

mark.waltz Barry Nelson finds out that two faces are not better than one in this film noir set in Puerto Rico and featuring a chilling climax in the famed Fort El Morro. It's unfortunate, however, that the plot that surrounds the intriguing beginning and riveting conclusion is as iffy as Caribbean weather. Nelson narrates a brief history of the island (including Columbus's landing in 1493, it was already discovered) and his arrival there in 1942. He's married to the pretty Lynn Ainley, but when he returns home one day, he finds his brother-in-law there as well as a look-alike who insists that he is Chick Graham, not an impostor, and the framed Nelson must find his way out of police custody to prove who he really is. He visits an old flame (the sweet Carole Mathews) who agrees to help him, and in the process, finds more intrigue than he ever intended to find in this American territory.While the premise is intriguing, the execution of the plot is another matter, and what goes on for the next hour can at times be downright confusing and more often than not frustrating. Chinita Marin has an excellent small role as the former girlfriend of the impostor who is as confused by the look-alike's presence as the audience is with the plot, and the presence of a nasty doberman doesn't make the love of this sometimes vicious dog any easier. The dog is trained to kill at the will of the impostor, and when the film finally does become interesting, it involves the famous mission where Nelson is being chased in the seemingly never-ending source of tunnels. But there's a twist of course at the end, unfortunately not giving me a real conclusion as to why everything was going on the way it did. Still, it makes good use of the Puerto Rican location shots. Jack Warden and Henry Lascoe have memorable supporting roles. It's just too bad I can't say that about the script.

kapelusznik18 ****SPOILERS****This film noir really pushes the envelope to the limit here in wanting us to believe that a plot was hatched back during WWII by the then Cora Cox,Lynn Ainley, and her brother Buster, John Harvey, to get the clueless in what is planned for him Chick Graham, Barry Nelson, involved in a $1,000,000.00 bond robbery and end up taking the rap for it! What's even more ridicules is that the two conspirators in this bazaar scheme just happen to have someone, without the help of plastic surgery, Chick's exalt look-alike the on the lamb bank robber Albert Rand, not surprisingly also played by Barry Nelson, step into Graham's shoes and take over his identity to pull, in having Graham take the blame for it, this whole crazy scheme off!The victim in all this Chick Graham finds out that something is wrong when coming home after a hard days work at the office at his and Buster's accounting firm and finds his double the on the run bank robber Burt Rand replacing him as Cora's husband! And even worse his cute and lovable pet dog Jiggs ends up attacking him as if he's an intruder! Kicked out of his own home and now, in thinking that he's bank robber Burt Rand, wanted by the police all Chick can do is get his head together and track down the clues to prove that he's really Chick Graham not Burt Rand! Meanwhile electronic salesman Al Grant, John Kane, who found out what Rand, the real one, and Buater were all about ends up, in trying to blackmail them, mauled to death by dog trainer and also a member of the Rand/Buster/Cora conspiracy Meadows,Jim Boles, trained vicious attack dog King.****SPOILERS**** Everything finally works out for Chick in the end with him reunited with his former flame Mary Davies, Carole Mathews, who could positively identify him as Chick Graham not Burt Rand. And as for Burt Rand he in the end is mistaken by Meadows in, by discarding his business suite and mussing up his hair, trying to make himself look like Chick to fool the police that he sets attack dog King on him! Where the two, in a life and death struggle, end up falling to their death off a 150 foot cliff into the Caribbean Sea! Really hard to take in just how unbelievable, even for a Hollywood movie, it is but still entertaining if you throw logic and common sense straight out of the window and just sit back enjoy the show.

MartinHafer The plot for "The Man With My Face" is 100% ridiculous--there's no better way to describe it. It's so ridiculous, you'll probably have a hard time suspending disbelief in order to enjoy the film. It's mildly enjoyable...but stupid.The setting for the film is very unusual--Puerto Rico. I can't recall another film set there other than "Mr. Moto in Danger Island" and for some odd reason the island hasn't been used as a setting very often. Barry Nelson plays two roles. One is a cold-blooded crook who has stolen a HUGE amount of money in a robbery in Miami. The other is married and has a business partner. Unfortunately, this nice Barry Nelson doesn't realize that the wife and 'friend' are working with the crook--and are more than happy to let the evil Barry assume the nice Barry's life. And so, when nice Barry returns home, the wife throws him out and calls the police--saying evil Barry is her husband. The setup is pretty complete and they are able to convince everyone amazingly quickly that the phony Barry is the real McCoy. This doesn't make sense for two reasons. First, you do NOT have 100% exact duplicates out there--not completely like you in every freaking way. Second, you'd think the police would take BOTH men in to headquarters and take better efforts to ascertain the truth. It just doesn't make any sense. For the rest of the film, nice Barry runs about trying to get help from friends and family as well as tracking down people who know the evil Barry. The film does have some snappy dialog--as well as a ridiculous doggy that seems A LOT smarter than nice Barry! Is the film worth seeing? Well, if you are crazy like me and watch a bazillion films a year, sure....you could do a lot worse. It is oddly watchable despite the silly plot and flat acting. But for the average person, this is an imminently forgettable and VERY flawed film--one that just isn't worth your time unless you are a family member of Barry Nelson or if you are a Puerto Rican living in the continental US and want to see a glimpse of home.By the way, although the film was made in Puerto Rico, it was VERY odd--as NO ONE seemed to speak Spanish and the accents were minimal. I've spent time in Puerto Rico and I sure would have loved it if everyone spoke English and had very slight accents--but instead, I mostly had to speak Spanish (very poorly) because fluency in English is not all that common in this part of the United States.