''Chained for Life'' is a 1952

exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that seeks commercial success by capitalizing on current trends, niche genres, or sensational content. Exploitation films often feature themes such as suggestive or explicit sex, sensational violence, drug use, nudi ...

featuring the famous conjoined ("Siamese") Hilton Twins, Daisy and Violet.

Production

It features several

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

acts, including

juggler Juggling is a physical skill, performed by a juggler, involving the manipulation of objects for recreation, entertainment, art or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling. Juggling can be the manipulation of one object o ...

Whitey Roberts, a man doing bicycle stunts, and Tony Lovello, who plays the ''

William Tell Overture The ''William Tell'' Overture is the overture to the opera '' William Tell'' (original French title ''Guillaume Tell''), composed by Gioachino Rossini. ''William Tell'' premiered in 1829 and was the last of Rossini's 39 operas, after which he w ...

'' and "Hungarian Dance No. 5" at breakneck speed on an

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

. The movie incorporates aspects of the twins' real life, including their singing act, a futile attempt by one sister to obtain a marriage license, and a publicity-stunt marriage.Return to Me: Fantasy and Docudrama in Chained for Life - Art & Trash on Vimeo
/ref> The twins' voices are featured in three duets, including "Every Hour of Every Day" and "Love Thief". The movie was directed by

Harry L. Fraser Harry L. Fraser (31 March 1889 – 8 April 1974) was an American film director and screenplay writer. Biography Born in 1889 in San Francisco, Fraser directed over 80 films between 1925 and 1951, including the 1934 John Wayne film '' Randy Rides ...

.From Freaks to Fassbinder: 6 films that shaped my feature Chained for Life, BFI
/ref>

Plot

The movie opens with a

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

( Norval Mitchell) begging the audience for help in resolving a terrible

dilemma A dilemma () is a problem offering two possibilities, neither of which is unambiguously acceptable or preferable. The possibilities are termed the ''horns'' of the dilemma, a clichéd usage, but distinguishing the dilemma from other kinds of p ...

. The action moves to a

courtroom A courtroom is the enclosed space in which courts of law are held in front of a judge. A number of courtrooms, which may also be known as "courts", may be housed in a courthouse. In recent years, courtrooms have been equipped with audiovisual ...

, where Vivian Hamilton is on trial for the shooting death of her sister's lover. The story unfolds in flashback as various characters are called to testify.

Conjoined twins Conjoined twins, popularly referred to as Siamese twins, are twins joined '' in utero''. It is a very rare phenomenon, estimated to occur in anywhere between one in 50,000 births to one in 200,000 births, with a somewhat higher incidence in south ...

Dorothy and Vivian Hamilton (

Daisy and Violet Hilton Daisy and Violet Hilton were English-born entertainers who were conjoined twins. They were exhibited in Europe as children, and toured the United States sideshow, vaudeville and American burlesque circuits in the 1920s and 1930s. They were best ...

) have a successful

singing act, but their

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Hinkley (

Allen Jenkins Allen Curtis Jenkins (born Alfred McGonegal; April 9, 1900 – July 20, 1974) was an American character actor, voice actor and singer who worked on stage, film, and television. He may be best known to some audiences as the voice of Officer Charl ...

) thinks a publicity stunt will reinvigorate their career. He pays stunt shooter Andre Pariseau ( Mario Laval) to fake a romance with one of the twins. Vivian, the

brunette Brown hair, also referred to as brunette (when female), is the second-most common human hair color, after black hair. It varies from light brown to dark hair. It is characterized by higher levels of the dark pigment eumelanin and lower level ...

, dislikes Andre and wants nothing to do with the scheme, but Dorothy, the

blonde Blond () or blonde (), also referred to as fair hair, is a human hair color characterized by low levels of eumelanin, the dark pigment. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some yellowish color. The color can be ...

, quips that she is too old to turn down a chance at love, and agrees to serve as Andre's love interest. The ploy works, with "the girls" singing for

standing room only An event is described as standing-room only when it is so well-attended that all of the chairs in the venue are occupied, leaving only flat spaces of pavement or flooring for other attendees to stand, at least those spaces not restricted by occup ...

crowds. But Dorothy actually falls in love with the scheming Andre, though he is secretly involved with his shooting-act partner, Renee (Patricia Wright). Andre proposes marriage, but the couple is unable to obtain a

marriage license A marriage license (or marriage licence in Commonwealth spelling) is a document issued, either by a religious organization or state authority, authorizing a couple to marry. The procedure for obtaining a license varies between jurisdictions ...

due to allegations that the marriage would constitute

bigamy In a culture where only monogamous relationships are legally recognized, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their mar ...

. A desperate Dorothy convinces Vivian to seek separation surgery, even at the risk of their lives, so that she can pursue her dreams of love. Doctors, however, inform the women that such surgery is impossible. But, the doctors stress, there is no physical reason that Dorothy can not marry. By consulting with a blind minister, Dorothy and Andre are able to obtain their marriage license. The wedding ceremony is performed on-stage before an audience of dignitaries including the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

. But the next day, Andre leaves Dorothy, claiming that he could not adjust to life as the husband of a conjoined twin. Vivian knows differently, because she has seen Andre and Renee kissing passionately and her suspicions of Andre are confirmed. Vivian is outraged that her sister was mistreated. During Andre's shooting performance, Vivian seizes one of Andre's guns and shoots him dead before a horrified audience. The film returns to the judge, who cannot decide how to dispose of the case. Justice for Andre requires that his murderer, Vivian, be executed. But this would cost the life of the innocent Dorothy. The film ends with a plea for the viewer to resolve the dilemma.

Notes

External links

* * {{Harry L. Fraser 1952 films 1950s exploitation films Films directed by Harry L. Fraser 1950s English-language films Fiction about twins American exploitation films American black-and-white films 1950s American films

Production

Plot

See also

Notes

External links