{{Short description|1933 film}} {{For|films titled A Double Life|Double Life (disambiguation){{!}}Double Life}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2021}} {{Infobox film | name = His Double Life | image = His Double Life FilmPoster.jpeg | caption = Movie poster | director = [[Arthur Hopkins]]<br>[[William C. deMille]] (associate director) | producer = [[Eddie Dowling]]<br>[[Arthur Hopkins]] | based_on = {{based on|the novel ''[[Buried Alive (novel)|Buried Alive]]'' and the play ''[[The Great Adventure (play)|The Great Adventure]]''|[[Arnold Bennett]]<ref name=NYT>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1933/12/16/archives/roland-young-and-lillian-gish-in-a-picturization-of-arnold-bennetts.html |title=Roland Young and Lillian Gish in a Picturization of Arnold Bennett's Novel 'Buried Alive.' |author=[[Mordaunt Hall]] |date=December 16, 1933 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>}} | writer = [[Clara Beranger]]<br>[[Arthur Hopkins]] | narrator = | starring = [[Roland Young]]<br>[[Lillian Gish]] <br> [[Montagu Love]] | music = [[James F. Hanley]]<br>Karl Stark<br>John Rochetti | cinematography = [[Arthur Edeson]] | editing = Arthur Ellis<br>A. Pam Blumenthal | studio = Eddie Dowling Pictures | distributor = [[Paramount Pictures]] | released = {{Film date|1933|12|15}} | runtime = 68 minutes | country = United States | language = English}}
'''''His Double Life''''' is a 1933 American [[Pre-Code Hollywood|pre-Code]] [[comedy drama film]] directed by Broadway theatrical impresario and first time film director [[Arthur Hopkins]] with directorial input from the experienced [[William C. deMille]], [[Cecil B. DeMille|Cecil]]'s older brother. It stars [[Roland Young]] and [[Lillian Gish]].
It had been filmed before in 1921 in the silent era as ''[[The Great Adventure (1921 film)|The Great Adventure]]'' with [[Lionel Barrymore]], and was remade again in 1943 as ''[[Holy Matrimony (1943 film)|Holy Matrimony]]'' with [[Monty Woolley]]. The story had also been adapted previously in Britain in 1915 by [[Laurence Trimble]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/7744-HIS-DOUBLELIFE |title=His Double Life |work=afi.com |access-date=March 21, 2024}}</ref>
It is preserved at the [[Library of Congress]], Washington, D.C., and is available on DVD. This film is now in [[List of films in the public domain in the United States|public domain (in the USA)]].
==Plot== Priam Farrel is England's most renowned painter. A [[recluse]] who hates fame, he has been away from England; his longtime agent has never even met him. When Lady Helen mistakenly believes he has proposed to her, he hastily returns to London with his valet Henry Leek. After Leek dies soon after of pneumonia, the attending doctor mistakes him for Priam and informs the press of the renowned painter's demise. The real Priam is glad to be mistaken for his valet by everyone, even his cousin Duncan (who has not seen him since he was 12). After several attempts to clear up the misidentification, he gives up.
He goes to a hotel, where he meets Alice Chalice, who was put in touch with Leek through ''The Matrimonial Times'' and, by chance, was to meet Leek for the first time there. Leek had sent her a photograph of him and Priam together, so she makes the same mistake. Priam finds her very pleasant to be with. He has qualms when he learns that "he" is to be accorded the great honor of being interred in [[Westminster Abbey]], but once again he is unable to convince anyone, including Alice, that he is the painter.
He is happy to marry Alice and live a quiet country life. Then Alice's income from brewery shares disappears, along with the brewery, but Priam assures her that he can provide for her by selling some of his paintings. She is skeptical, however. Nonetheless, she sells some of his paintings, mainly for the frames. One painting passes through several hands and ends up with Oxford, Priam's old agent, who recognizes the artist's style. Oxford buys all of Priam's new paintings and resells them, guaranteeing that they are genuine Farrels.
Oxford tracks Priam down and asks him to reveal he is still alive. It turns out that one of the paintings Oxford sold had a date on the back, 1932, two years after Priam's "death", and the buyer has taken Oxford to court. Priam strenuously refuses, so Oxford takes another approach, placing an advertisement asking for information about Henry Leek.
Leek's widow shows up, accompanied by her clergymen sons John and Henry. Her husband deserted her about 25 years before after the birth of their twin sons. She identifies Priam as him. Priam bolts at the first opportunity, but Alice is more than up to the challenge. She portrays her "Henry" as violent and not entirely sane and points out that there would be a scandal. The Leeks hastily depart.
Even so, Priam is brought into court. In the course of testimony, his cousin Duncan recalls that he has two moles on his neck. Priam stubbornly refuses to show them, but Alice convinces him to do so. Afterward, Priam and Alice sail away to recover their privacy.
==Cast== * [[Roland Young]] as Priam Farrel * [[Lillian Gish]] as Alice Hunter * [[Montagu Love]] as Duncan Farrel * [[Lumsden Hare]] as Oxford * [[Lucy Beaumont (actress)|Lucy Beaumont]] as Mrs. Leek * [[Charles Richman (actor)|Charles Richman]] as Witt * Oliver Smith as Leek Twin – John * [[Philip Tonge]] as Leek Twin – Henry * Audrey Ridgewell as Lady Helen * Regina DeValet as Mary * [[Charles Halton]] as Newsman on Phone (uncredited) * Roland Hogue as Henry Leek (uncredited)
==Reception== [[Mordaunt Hall]], critic for ''[[The New York Times]]'', described the film as "a highly intelligent type of comedy, one that arouses amusement rather than loud laughter."<ref name=NYT/>
==Soundtrack== "Someday, Sometime, Somewhere" and "Springtime in Old Granada", written by [[James F. Hanley]] and Karl Stark
==See also== * [[Lillian Gish filmography]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb title|id=0024122}} *{{Internet Archive film|id=his_double_life}}
{{William C. deMille}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:His Double Life}} [[Category:1933 films]] [[Category:1933 comedy-drama films]] [[Category:American black-and-white films]] [[Category:American comedy-drama films]] [[Category:Films about fictional painters]] [[Category:Films based on British novels]] [[Category:American films based on plays]] [[Category:Films based on works by Arnold Bennett]] [[Category:Films directed by William C. deMille]] [[Category:Films set in London]] [[Category:Paramount Pictures films]] [[Category:1933 English-language films]] [[Category:1933 American films]] [[Category:English-language comedy-drama films]]