The Second Face (1950) User Reviews

Thoughtless cruelty and the damage it can do

[jjnxn-1 · 7/10 · 28 June 2014]

Well made little B picture with excellent work by the under appreciated Ella Raines. She's so good in fact it is a pity that one casting error really drags the film down. That would be Bruce Bennett who could not be more wooden if he were a tree and while his part isn't that large it is key so his dull blankness creates somewhat of a void in the story where there should be tension. John Sutton is also no great shakes as a user and heel but Rita Johnson, another undervalued actress, is very good as the lead character's caring friend. This was Rita's first attempt at a return to work after a disastrous accident that had required brain surgery and from which she never fully recovered.

The film has many similarities to the Joan Rivers directed/Stockard Channing starring 70's film The Girl Most Likely to...only without quite as dark a twist. However it still has a dark under layer especially in the attitudes towards plain women at mid century and the thoughtless cruelty of some people who mistake insensitivity with honesty.

The makeup job on Ella Raines is excellent in its simplicity. She's never made to look disfigured or ugly just plain, done with a minimum of change to her actual appearance save a prosthetic nose and lack of cosmetics. One misstep when she is transformed and quite lovely is an unbecoming hairdo which works against the whole idea that she is now ravishing, it makes her look dowdy at times. Other than that one small misjudgment director Jack Bernhard steers the film well over its brief running time. Worth catching

"An ounce of flesh and skin on your arm, it means nothing. That same ounce on your face, it's suddenly so important."

[utgard14 · 5/10 · 27 June 2014]

Static drama about a plain woman (Ella Raines) who is disfigured in a car crash. Plastic surgery not only repairs her face but improves it! Suddenly, she's a great beauty. But she doesn't know that the man who paid for her surgery is the guy who has loved her a long time. She thinks it's this other douchebag so she becomes engaged to him.

I always liked Ella Raines, which is the primary reason I bothered to check this one out. She does an admirable job and the premise has potential but unfortunately it's wasted on a rather dull and claustrophobic soaper. The makeup they use on Raines to make her look ugly was actually pretty convincing. She looks kind of like a homelier Dorothy McGuire. They didn't go overboard and I could believe plastic surgery would actually bring about the changes to her face that it did. Oh, and giving the homely girl the last name of Holmes -- come on, now.

had potential, but one-note, heavy-handed

[chipe · 6/10 · 27 June 2014]

I watched this because I am an Ella Raines fan. This movie was made near the end of her career. I was very hopeful, but it turned out to be a disappointment, waste of time. It's a relatively low budget (I guess a B picture) film with a decent cast. The main problem with the movie is that it was one-note. Every scene honed in on the basic situation with no deviation: that the pre-plastic surgery Raines (about 85% of the movie) was rejected because of her plain looks, that she was depressed over her plain looks, and all the characters never stopped talking/philosophizing about her situation. And then there was a little bit about her first employer, who had been divorced, afraid of being dumped again. A very old-fashioned movie, offering nothing special. In the end all the loose ends are tied up and all the shallow characters get their just desserts. I don't mind a "woman's picture;" it's just that this was a mediocre one.

Important Topic-- Awkward Treatment

[dougdoepke · 16 July 2014]

The plight of plain women in a beauty-centered culture has powerful potential— for example, The Enchanted Cottage (1945), The Heiress (1949). I just wish the screenplay here were a stronger one. As another reviewer points out, the script is basically a one-note narrative. On the downswing, it's just one rejection after another for the plain Phyllis (Raines), while on the upswing, with a new face, it's just the opposite. Too bad the point is belabored without much subtlety, as though otherwise the audience won't get the point. Speaking of subtlety, the first 10-minutes does manage a nice bit of subtlety as Paul (Bennett) eases Phyllis out of his employ so that her romantic hopes won't be dashed. Too bad the remainder becomes so tediously obvious. (One wise script point—putting poor Phyllis in the fashion industry where beauty is a commodity and the main topic. That way it's not average folks rejecting her.)

Now I like Ella Raines as well as the next fan. However, the role calls for a performer who specializes in soul (e.g. Ida Lupino, Olivia deHaviland, Sylvia Sydney). Raines does a good job of smiling through adversity, but projects little beyond what's in the script. Inner depth would have added a lot. Clearly, the casting calls for a beautiful woman, which Raines is, so that the transformation can be convincing. But, all in all, the actress is more persuasive as a vamp than a rejected plain-Jane. Then too, Bennett appears miscast. He's just too hunky for a recessive role. Maybe the producers figured the ending could only be justified by using a hunky guy to balance out the re-born Phyllis.

Anyway, the sensitive topic is an important one, and one that old Hollywood usually shied away from. I'm just sorry it didn't get more memorable treatment here, with a bigger budget, a better script, and more astute casting.

unimpressive

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 27 June 2014]

I love Ella Raines, and what I love especially are makeover movies - the ugly duckling turned into a swan, or even something like "Dark Passage" where a criminal has plastic surgery and turns into Humphrey Bogart.

"The Second Face," however, was a big disappointment. It's told in flashback - Phyllis Holmes (Raines) is in a car accident and hospitalized, her face covered in bandages -- apparently her face hit the windshield. We then learn what led to the accident.

Phyllis is a talented designer and a homely one. Ella's looks consisted of nose putty, hair pulled back tightly off her face, no makeup, and plain clothes. She works as an assistant to Paul Curtis (Bruce Bennett) who is in love with her, but after being hurt in a divorce, he won't admit it. He gets her a job elsewhere; ultimately she becomes design partners with a playboy (John Sutton). His rejection is painful for her. Things change after the accident and Phyllis undergoes plastic surgery, paid for by a mysterious benefactor.

Raines was a likable actress and in her younger days she resembled Gene Tierney; here, after her makeover, she does as well. For some reason she was usually relegated to B films, though several were very good noirs. She retired in 1956. AS an actress, she was a little limited -- scenes in this film where the character was overwrought weren't particularly well acted.

The cast is good, but the script is heavy-handed.

A neat idea but the story is a bit too obvious at times...fortunately, it does end very well.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 13 April 2016]

When the film begins, a young woman (Ella Raines) is upset...so upset she's driving like a maniac and ends up nearly getting killed in a traffic accident. She awakens in the hospital and she's a mess...and her face heavily bandaged. As she is lying there in bed, she thinks back to her recent life.

Phyllis (Raines) was working for a really nice boss but he was very afraid of getting closer to her because he'd already been badly hurt by his ex-wife. In fact, he's so afraid that he arranges for her to have a job far away. It seems she's gone to school for fashion design and her designs are terrific. But when she arrives at the new job, they dump her because she's very plain. So she then gets a job as a secretary to a real scum-bag and he uses her designs to make a name for herself and makes her feel LUCKY that he uses her work and pawns it off as his own. He manages to string her along for a while...but when she learns about what a nasty guy and other guys in her life are, she runs away and has the accident.

When she is ready to leave the hospital, Phyllis looks nothing like her old self thanks to plastic surgery. Now she finds it's easy to get work and men adore her...but she isn't happy. What's next? See the film.

The film has a nice idea and I appreciate it. However, the impact of the film is severely lessened for two big reasons. First, while they did have Raines made up to be quite plain, the change was NOT that significant. It was also funny that when they took the bandages off, she was well coiffed, had perfect eyebrows and lovely make-up!! Second, too often the characters in the film are too obvious...too obviously evil and one-dimensional. Jerry, in particular, was almost like Snidely Whiplash he was so transparent! Fortunately, while certainly schmaltzy, the film ended very well and I wish the entire film had been as well-crafted as the finale. Overall, an interesting film which should have been a lot better but is still well worth seeing.

Ludicrous. Even for 1950

[mls4182 · 5/10 · 13 September 2021]

A young woman who refuses to wear make up is treated like a Cyclops and denied employment and is insulted at every turn.

I realize the film is trying to make a point but it beats you over the head trying to make it.

It is kind of an unfunny version of The Girl Most Likely To written by Joan Rivers and made 23 years later.

If you watch this, watch for its camp value.

"I can't expect a man to fall in love with me at first sight"

[hwg1957-102-265704 · 6/10 · 10 April 2022]

A bit of a soap opera kind of movie but I quite liked it, mainly for the playing of Ella Raines as Phyllis Holmes who starts out as a homely woman who after an accident has plastic surgery and becomes a beautiful one. Complications ensue. Ms. Raines was an undeservedly underrated actress and always gave a good performance. The only snag in the film is that even though Phyllis starts out supposedly plain (mainly conveyed by the wearing of a false nose) Ms. Raines' natural attractiveness shines through anyway so her agonies about being plain aren't that convincing. On the whole the cast was fine and the dialogue listenable. It's a pleasant 77 minutes.

Painful Dialogue Derails This Film

[atlasmb · 4/10 · 8 April 2016]

The central problem with "The Second Face"--from which all other problems stem--is the script. I really can't see how any actor could speak the lines in this film and provide a subtle portrayal. The best scripts show the audience what is happening and reveal what the characters are thinking through action, as much as possible. "The Second Face", on the other hand, has the actors spelling out everything through dialogue.

The theme of the film is supposed to be about the transformation--from plain Jane to looker--of a young woman, via plastic surgery. This is a topic that was probably very interesting to the public but not well understood. The film was released in 1950 during a time that was seminal in the development of plastic surgery, partly due to WWII injuries. The Plastic Surgery Foundation had just been created and there were important advances in cleft lip and rhinoplasty techniques. Board certification integrated plastic surgery into the medical establishment. The Flammable Fabrics Act had been introduced at the urging of plastic surgeons. And breakthrough training in microvascular techniques was starting. No doubt the topic was in the news frequently.

But the film is ambushed by scene after scene that hit the viewer over the head with dialogue about how a homely woman can expect nothing out of life that she desires, certainly not romance. It dwells on people, especially men, being cruel to the main character, Phyllis (Ella Raines), tormenting her by spelling out how dismal her prospects are.

The print I watched (on TCM) also had a muddy soundtrack that was distracting.

The post-surgery transformation of Phyllis was interesting, using makeup and styling. But it is not enough to recommend this film.

Poverty Row Picture Heavy-Handed but with Noble Intent

[LeonLouisRicci · 6/10 · 15 April 2016]

Extremely Low Budget Movie that is somewhat Off-Beat as it Tries to paint a Picture of a Flaw in the Human Condition. The Unhealthy and Harmful Emphasis on"Surface Beauty" with a lack of Regard for "Inner Beauty". A Heavy load to take on in a Poverty Row Picture.

Heavy Handed to be sure, on the Surface its most Glaring Ineptitude is the Script that Sledgehammers Home the most Obvious Conceits again and again. Ella Raines does Her Best with what amounts to a Dual Role.

Plain and a bit Homely, Her Talented Fashion Designer is Denied Access to the Male Dominated Business World because She is Not a "Looker".

The Final Act is Rushed, even more Heavy Handed, and it Drags to a Hollywood Conclusion of Optimism that was the Beginning of the Death March for Film-Noir. Overall, Not Bad for a Cheaply made "Quickie". Bruce Bennett is Miscast as a sort of Background White Knight.

Worth a Watch but Overwritten and Overwrought so much that the Message becomes Laborious and the Short Movie seems a Lot Longer than it is.

I learned the truth (at seventeen?) that love was made for beauty queens

[ulicknormanowen · 5/10 · 18 December 2021]

Ladies, if you do not want to be an ugly duckling anymore , take their advice:have a car crash ,and provided you have a skillful plastic surgeon and a good friend to pay the bill,lo and behold , you become a beauty queen.

This implausible melodrama (but aren't melodramas implausible by definition) is edifying :"essential is invisible to the eye ",as Saint -Exupery wrote in "le petit prince" ,and why do you search for happiness far away when you are already in the right place to find it?; the movie is half flashback half return to the present .

Best scene : Ellen Raines learns she is fired as a glamour blonde is watching her , getting much fun from watching her plain rival be put down .

No humiliation was spared to poor Phyllis ,but every dog has his day,they say.....

good film tackles ugly truths

[jeff-1571 · 8/10 · 10 April 2016]

i've seen quite a few negative reviews of this film, but i thought it was refreshingly direct and honest, and very well-acted. Ella raines is truly terrific in it. Each character has multi-layered motivations in their actions, and the progress of the story in engaging throughout. it does have a Douglas sirk feel to it, so perhaps you should judge whether you see that as a good thing or a bad thing. but i also think the film has a bit of a sam fuller feel to it. a film that it thoughtful and very direct in what its about. The main characters are well-developed and intelligent. I don't know why these reviews need to be ten lines, but i'll go along. i've written what I wanted to and wanted to promote this film, as it would be interesting to anyone who finds the theme of reacting to female facial attractiveness intriguing. to me, most contemporary films and TV shows act like this factor matters a lot less than it does (.e.g, girls).

"Trite" is the word for Second Face!

[JohnHowardReid · 3/10 · 21 September 2017]

Director: JACK BERNHARD. Screenwriter: Eugene Vale. Film editor: Christian Nyby. Cinematographer: Paul Ivano. Music: Raoul Kraushaar. Art director: Martin Obzina. Set decorator: Robert Priestley. Make- up: Al Haberman. Hair styles: Lillian Shore. Production supervisor: Clarence Eurist. Producer: Edward J. Leven.

Copyright 15 October 1950 by EJL Productions, Inc. Presented by Eagle Lion Classics. New York opening at the Palace: 1 March 1951. U.S. release through United Artists Pictures: 1 December 1950. U.K. release through International on the lower half of a double bill: floating from June 1951. Australian release through British Empire Films: 14 November 1952. 77 minutes. Cut to 72 minutes in the U.K.

COMMENT: The problems facing a plain girl in a world primarily concerned with surface beauty, are here reduced to impossible soap opera clichés. I say impossible, because everything about the film is wrong. The plot comes over as unconvincing melodrama and the casting rates as ridiculous. How can anyone believe that Ella Raines — even with a slight kink in her nose and a severe hair style — in the least resembles a plain girl? Or that Rita Johnson — an old battle-ax if ever there was one — could pass herself off as glamorous?

Heavy-handed direction — close-ups seem to be the only set-ups that uninventive Jack Bernhard has ever heard of — does nothing to alleviate the pain inflicted by clichéd characters and dialogue that contrives to be both trite and wearisomely verbose. Poor Bruce Bennett has been handed a particularly fatuous role. Even his wardrobe is ridiculous.

Cult figure Christian Nyby's film editing can only be described as inept. And as for Production Values, we might well ask, "Where are they?"

OTHER VIEWS: A trite and far-fetched story. — Monthly Film Bulletin.

Working Women and Selfish Men

[marysz · 8/10 · 8 April 2016]

The Second Face presents the female predicament of postwar America; working women, especially "plain" women who are discarded by men. The setting is the garment business in 1950s Los Angeles, an appropriate venue to contrast plain. hard-working secretary and aspiring designer Phyllis with beautiful, empty-headed fashion models. The men are sleazy and unfaithful except for Phyllis' love interest Paul, who loves her from afar. In classic B movie style, Phyllis has a tragic accident when she rushes to prevent her friend Claire from shooting her unfaithful boyfriend (the women in this film aren't as helpless as they first seem; that's the film's strength). She is transformed by plastic surgery into a beautiful woman (in fact, she simply wears makeup, and a weirdly unflattering haircut). Now the lascivious men who rejected her before are interested. But what about Paul?

This slow-moving film has a Douglas Sirk-ian feel to it. The poster for the film with its dramatic mask and the words "No Man Wants Me!" promises a highly emotional drama. This film in fact, is about women, both married and single, coldly evaluating their chances in life and sizing up the men around them. This is a more interesting film than its given credit for.

great performance from Ella Raines

[jimakros · 9/10 · 6 March 2021]

Ella was one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood,but in most of this movie she wears "ugly duckling" makeup.It doesnt matter her inner winning personality shines through,and one even wonders why male characters in the movie are so mean to her,she is still so charismatic with fake face and all.Ella does a great job portraying what some women have to go through life when they are called "ugly".She is really heartbreaking because she plays a character who is an intelligent and beautiful person judged only on looks.I loved the movie and Ella is so great in anything she was in.

Ella Raines was the most beautiful woman in movies, but...

[antiquebookcentral · 9/10 · 2 February 2022]

I agree with at least one reviewer here, Ella Raines was the most beautiful and talented actress of the 40s and 50s. It seems criminal that by the early 50s she was appearing in Poverty Row films like The Second Face. The question is probably not what did she do that was wrong, but probably what did she not do that was wrong. In other words, given studio sexual harassment and whatnot in this period, she probably didn't go along. Which might explain why after such a luminous performance in films like Phantom Lady and Impact, her career took a nosedive and she turned to television. What a waste. Other actresses of this era, like Nancy Guild from Somewhere in the Night, had even shorter careers, perhaps for the same reasons.