CRACK IN THE MIRROR

US, 1960, 97 minutes, Black and white.
Juliette Greco, Bradford Dillman, Orson Welles, Alexander Knox, Catherine Lacey.
Directed by Richard Fleischer.

Crack in the Mirror has the form of a murder story and courtroom drama, but it has more of a theme than many such films. The protagonists of the murder episode are paralleled closely by their upper-crust counterparts, the lawyer, the junior advocate and the lawyer's wife. This paralleling is further enhanced by the gimmick of the three main stars playing two roles each so that the point of the similarity of theme in the two situations is made quite clear. The two persons Juliette Greco plays are the central roles and, by the end of the film, are almost interchangeable. Many critics saw the film as both unpleasant and contrived. However, it holds the interest well. Screenplay was written by Darryl Zanuck himself under the name of Mark Canfield. Music is by Maurice Jarre. Direction is by the versatile Richard Fleischer. It is interesting to note similar films he has made - Compulsion, The Boston Strangler, The Strangler of Rillington Place, Blind Terror.

1. Does the title indicate the type of film this is, and the technique used for the message?

2. Was this an interesting film in itself - the murder and the trial? And more because of the parallel of the story and the actors?

3. Was the film too dominated by its technique? The paralleling of the characters? The need to show the actors taking the two roles and making the parallels credible? Did the film appear to be too contrived?

4. Was there a moral point in the film? A judgment and morality for the rich and a different one for the poor - even though the persons looked the same? How was this illustrated by the film and the acting?

5. Did the actors portray both their characters with sufficient skill to differentiate them and to make them interesting? How? Which situations best illustrated this?

6. The Orson Welles characters: as dominating, brutish. vengeful, in a slum and in the Court?

7. The Bradford Dillman character: brash.. ambitious,, selfish, unable to act by himself?

8. The Juliette Greco characters: as summarising women, as fickle. selfish. romantic? The importance of the attack by the Welles lawyer on all women? Was this too pessimistic a view of women? or was it a just attack on some aspects of women?

9. Were the parallels well drawn out in the plot?

10. Did the film offer real insight into these characters? or did it tend just to present them and gloss over character? Did the courtroom sequences illustrate all the characters and penetrate something of their character?

11. The justice of the final judgment? The punishment of the murderers? The punishment of the arrogant lawyer and his death? The punishment of the ambitious young lawyer and his being left alone in his success?

12. Was the resolution of the film successful? or melodramatic?

13. The film received poor reviews. Why? Were they deserved?