''The Second Face'' is a 1950 romantic drama film directed by

Jack Bernhard Jack Bernhard (November 28, 1914 – March 30, 1997) was an American film and television director. His films include ''Decoy (1946 film), Decoy'' (1946), ''Blonde Ice'' (1948), ''Unknown Island'' (1948) and ''The Second Face'' (1950). Personal l ...

and starring

Ella Raines Ella Wallace Raines (August 6, 1920 – May 30, 1988) was an American film and television actress. Early life Raines was born Ella Wallace Raines on August 6, 1920, in Fall City, Washington. She studied drama at the University of Washingto ...

as a plain woman whose life is drastically changed by

plastic surgery Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty involving the restoration, reconstruction or alteration of the human body. It can be divided into two main categories: reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery. Reconstructive surgery includes cranio ...

Plot

Claire Elwood runs to her car and speeds away. Phyllis Holmes chases after her in her own car, but crashes into a truck. She is taken to the hospital, where her head is heavily bandaged. Insurance claims adjustor Mr. West visits her to find out what happened, but she refuses to talk to him. A flashback ensues. Phyllis works as a secretary to Paul Curtis in

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

. Paul is attracted to her, despite her plainness, but is afraid to risk another potentially disastrous marriage (he is divorced). Mrs. Lockridge, his longtime housekeeper, is unable to get him to change his mind. As Phyllis has just graduated from design school, Paul puts her in touch with Claire Elwood, who works in a fashionable

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

dress shop; Claire's boss, Floyd Moran, is impressed by Phyllis's dress designs, and offers her a job as a salesperson, with a promotion to designer if she works out. Claire arranges a double date for Phyllis before she arrives, but Jerry Allison, Phyllis's

blind date A blind date is a social engagement between two people who have not met, usually arranged by a mutual acquaintance. Structure A blind date is arranged for by a mutual acquaintance of both participants. The two people who take part in the blind ...

, makes an excuse when he sees what she looks like. Moran, also put off by her looks, does not give her the promised job. When Phyllis is unable to find work, Claire has her fiancé, advertising man Allan Wesson, take her on as a secretary. Jerry uses his contacts to get Phyllis's dresses manufactured, but under his name as the designer. A philanderer, he keeps her at a distance. Meanwhile, Allan desperately needs to land the account of Mr. Hamilton. Jerry suggests he get to Hamilton through his attractive blonde daughter Lynn. Soon, Allan is seeing Lynn secretly, and he gets Hamilton as a client. Paul has to stay in Los Angeles for several months for his work. He is soon a frequent visitor to the apartment Phyllis shares with Claire. She pretends she has been going out every night on dates, but he is not fooled. Jerry finally agrees to a date, but she accidentally overhears him telling Allan he intends to take her to a

drive-in A drive-in is a facility (such as a restaurant or movie theater) where one can drive in with an automobile for service. At a drive-in restaurant, for example, customers park their vehicles and are usually served by staff who walk or rollerskat ...

movie, where no one can see them together. She confronts him, then storms out. He goes to her apartment to make sure she is safe; suspecting that Jerry has done something to upset Phyllis, Paul punches him. When Phyllis returns, Paul asks her to return with him to Fresno, but she tells him he is the last person she could ever love. After he leaves, when questioned by Claire, she explains that she believes he does not love her, but is only interested in her because he believes her unattractiveness will ensure that she will not leave him, as his wife had done. Allan arranges to fly to Honolulu with Lynn to get married. He sends Phyllis a

telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

to ask her to break the news to Claire. Claire reads the telegram, grabs a pistol and drives away, pursued by Phyllis. After the crash, plastic surgeon Dr. Vaughn is called in to repair Phyllis's face. He does a wonderful job, making her beautiful. Soon she is seeing wealthy men like Todd Williams. She also visits Moran, demands ten times the salary she was to receive when she was plain, and gets it. She discovers that her hospital bills have been paid by an anonymous benefactor. Through Mr. West, she is surprised to learn that the last check was signed by Jerry. They become engaged, but Claire knows Jerry too well. She gets Mrs. Lockridge to admit that it was actually Paul who paid. Phyllis rushes back to Fresno, but he says that he believes she is coming to him only out of gratitude for his financial assistance. He also admits that he fears that now that she is attractive, she might some day leave him. As she prepares to leave, he relents and they embrace.

Cast

as Phyllis Holmes *

Bruce Bennett Bruce Bennett (born Harold Herman Brix, also credited Herman Brix; May 19, 1906February 24, 2007) was an American film and television actor who prior to his screen career was a highly successful college athlete in football and in both intercol ...

as Paul Curtis *

Rita Johnson Rita may refer to: People * Rita (given name) * Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984) * Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962) * Rita (Japanese singer) * Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita Places * Djarrit, also known as Rita, ...

as Claire Elwood * John Sutton as Jerry Allison * Patricia Knight as Lynn Hamilton * Roy Roberts as Allan Wesson *

Jane Darwell Jane Darwell (born Patti Woodard; October 15, 1879 – August 13, 1967) was an American actress of stage, film, and television. With appearances in more than 100 major movies spanning half a century, Darwell is perhaps best remembered for her p ...

as Mrs. Lockridge *

Paul Cavanagh William Grigs Atkinson (8 December 1888 – 15 March 1964), known professionally as Paul Cavanagh, was an English film and stage actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1928 and 1959. Life and career Cavanagh was born in Felling, ...

as Todd Williams * Frances Karath as Annie Curtis, Paul's young daughter * Mauritz Hugo as Dr. Vaughn * Pierre Watkin as Mr. Hamilton (as Pierre Watkins) * Charles Lane as Mr. West *

Grandon Rhodes Grandon Rhodes (born Grandon Neviers Augustine Rolker; August 7, 1904 – June 9, 1987) was an American actor. Early years Rhodes was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. Career Early in his career, Rhodes acted in repertory theatre with troupe ...

as Floyd Moran

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Second Face, The American romantic drama films American black-and-white films Films directed by Jack Bernhard Films set in Los Angeles 1950 romantic drama films 1950 films Eagle-Lion Films films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films