Zeus

Man With Two Lives (1942)

• Director
  • Phil Rosen
• Writer
  • Joseph Hoffman
• Stars
  • Edward Norris
  • Marlo Dwyer
  • Eleanor Lawson

  Long forgotten, Monogram's Man With Two Lives proves itself a most intriguing second-echelon "mad doctor" melodrama. Nearly killed in a car accident, Edward Norris is given a new lease on life when a dedicated (but slightly addled) scientist artificially injects a new soul into Norris' body. Alas, Norris' new soul is that of a recently executed murderer. Before the words "Frankenstein" or "Donovan's Brain" can form in our collective subconscious, Norris finds himself inexorably drawn to a life of crime. While the ending is a letdown, Man With Two Lives manages to keep the viewers on pins and needles for 66 of its 67 minutes.