The Kiss Before the Mirror

From James Whale, the legendary director of Frankenstein, The Old Dark House, The Invisible Man, The Bride of Frankenstein, Show Boat and The Man in the Iron Mask, comes this daring drama with a touch of the macabre starring Nancy Carroll (Broken Lullaby), Frank Morgan (Fast and Loose), Paul Lukas (The Lady Vanishes) and Gloria Stuart (Titanic). When Walter Bernsdorf (Lukas) kills his wife for having an affair, lawyer Paul Held (Morgan) takes on the case. Suggesting that Walter could be acquitted by means of temporary insanity, Paul not only realizes that this defense may work but that also some of the behavioral patterns Walter’s wife showed in regard to her infidelity are appearing in his own wife, Maria (Carroll). Paul realizes that if this defense could work once, it might work a second time. The Kiss Before the Mirror is a riveting pre-Code thriller beautifully shot in glorious black-and-white by the great Karl Freund (The Last Laugh, Metropolis, Key Largo).