In an attempt to have more artistic control over her projects, Bette Davis formed her own independent production company, B.D. Films, Inc. in conjunction with contract negotiations with Warner Brothers in 1943. She chose A Stolen Life to be the first, and only, film she ever produced. She plays twins, Kate (the good one) and Pat (the bad one) Bosworth. Kate is a sweet, shy artist, and Pat the evil, socialite twin sister.
Kate and Pat are wealthy orphans whose guardian is Cousin Freddie (Charles Ruggles). Kate arrives at Martha's Vineyard to spend the summer at her cousin's home. She soon meets Bill Emerson, a lighthouse inspector, who is played by Glenn Ford. They find each other when she misses the ferry to the island and Ford offers her a lift. On the two-hour ride, she sketches his face and it isn't long before the two start seeing each other. Emerson is actually an engineer who is summering on Martha's Vineyard to escape the hustle of the city.
Kate gets closer to Bill by arranging to do the portrait of Eben Folger (Walter Brennan), the head lighthouse keeper. Everything goes fine untill Pat arrives. She is, of course, her sister's opposite. Noisy, flamboyant, and man hungry. Pat promptly puts the moves on Bill, and it isn't long before he has fallen for her. Kate is hurt, but she moves aside and lets the two get married, thus making her a sister-in-law, not the wife she yearns to be.
Kate diverts her attention by studying art with a passion, and takes lessons from Karnock (Dane Clark), a good artist with a bad attitude. Kate sees Bill one day and he tells her that he and Pat are going to South America, where he's just gotten a job as an engineer. Bill is very pleasant to Bette, and seems despondent when the conversation turns to Pat, and she wonders if that's not an indication of his desire for her. Kate tells Karnock that she is giving up her painting studies because she is not very good and will never be. Kate goes back to the Vineyard and is surprised to see Pat, who will be joining Bill later in South America.
The two sisters go out sailing and Pat is washed overboard when a freakish squall hits the small boat. Kate tries to save Pat, but the boat turns upside down. In attempting to save Pat, Kate winds up with the wedding ring from her doomed sister, and when she is found by Eben Folger, he just assumes that she is Pat. She realizes that this may be her opportunity to get the man she wants, especially after Folger informs her that Bill is coming home from South America and is due to arrive at any moment. When he gets back, Kate successfully fools him into thinking that she is Pat, and she is shocked to learn that their marriage was on the rocks.
It seems Pat had been cavorting with other men, and Bill was about to ask for a divorce. She pleads with Bill for another opportunity to make the marriage work, and Bill agrees to give her another chance. Then more evidence of her sister's escapades are uncovered and down falls the house of cards. Kate has no choice but to leave. Bill follows her and admits that he suspected she was really Kate the moment he came home. He comes to terms with his infatuation with Pat, and the fact that it was Kate who he truly loved.
Banking on the audiences thinking two Davis' would be better than one, A Stolen Life was a popular movie and one of the early examples of the "twin technique." Again Davis' proves her range as an actress with a distinct division in personality between the two characters. Glenn Ford is fine hear, and was very hot at the time, after a sensational performance opposite Rita Hayworth in Gilda. Producing and starring in her own picture proved to be more than Bette Davis bargained for. Her production company was quietly dissolved, with Davis vowing never to repeat that unhappy experience again.
- Bette Davis - Kate Bosworth / Pat Bosworth
- Glenn Ford - Bill Emerson
- Dane Clark - Karnock
- Walter Brennan - Eben Folger
- Charlie Ruggles - Freddie Lindley
- Curtis Bernhardt - Director
- Bette Davis - Producer
- Catherine Turney - Screenwriter
- Margaret Buell Wilder - Screenwriter
- Ernest Haller - Cinematographer
- Sol Polito - Cinematographer
- Max Steiner - Composer (Music Score)
- Rudi Fehr - Editor
- Robert M. Haas - Art Director
- Leo F. Forbstein - Musical Direction/Supervision
- Fred MacLean - Set Decoration/Design
- Orry-Kelly - Costumes/Costume Designer
- Russell Collings - Special Effects
- Roy Davidson - Special Effects
- William McGann - Special Effects
- Richard Van Enger- Special Effects
- Best Visual Effects (nom) - William McGann - Academy
- Best Audio Effects (nom) - Nathan Levinson - Academy
