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British thespian and sophomore director Kenneth Branagh follows up his adaptation of Shakespeare's Henry V with this abrupt change of pace, a slick, stylish thriller evocative of Hitchcock, classic film noir, and gothic shockers. Sporting an exaggerated American accent, Branagh stars as L.A. private eye Mike Church, a hard-boiled but softhearted detective who takes on the case of a mysterious amnesiac (Branagh's then-real-life wife, Emma Thompson). With the help of an offbeat furniture dealer and part-time hypnotist (Derek Jacobi), Grace (as Mike has named her) dredges up her hidden memories. Little do they realize that her recollections are of a past life in L.A.'s recent history, and as she recounts the details of a famous marriage that ended with a notorious murder (played out as black-and-white flashbacks starring Branagh and Thompson), events of the present begin to mirror the past, as if fate were pulling the two into fatal replay of history. Branagh's flashy, flourished direction echoes with an array of '40s and '50s classics and near classics (most notably Hitchcock's Rebecca and Spellbound) and drives the story with an edgy urgency, all the better to distract from some of the sillier elements of the plot. But while this film may not make literal sense in the harsh light of day, in the twilit, shadowy world of classic Hollywood this slyly inventive thriller is a bravura bit of old-fashioned entertainment, done up with modern flair. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (58)

A trio of fine actors....
I'm an Emma Thompson fan and have seen all her films including those she made with her now ex-husband Kenneth Branagh (their recent breakup occurred over "another woman" reputed to be Helena Bonham Carter). My all time favorite by this pair of actors is "Much Ado About Nothing." "Dead Again" is probably my least favorite film, however, Miss Thompson is a fabulous actress, so a bad day for her is good day for most other actresses.

The storyline of this film is interesting, particularly for those who think past lives are possible. According to one of the main characters, we not only have past lives, but everyone with whom you shared a past life shows up again in some form in the next life. It's as if human existence consists of a repertory company playing endless roles through eternity. Well, why not. I have a lot of unfinished business with various people I've lost in this life and there is some comfort in thinking I might get closure in the next life, or the one after that...or the one after that.

Branagh must have been attracted to this script because of it's Shakespearen elements...dreams, ghosts, unfinished business, a jealous husband killing an innocent wife (or being framed for the deed), and downright wickedness (out damn spot, out).

Derek Jacobi (Cadfael and Claudius) plays an eccentric antique dealer who tries to help the haunted Miss Thompson (nameless at first) through regressive hypnosis. Regressive hypnosis is used by psychiatrists to help trauma victims remember events they have subconsciously blocked that cause conscious distress.

Miss Thompson has been exhibiting some very distressed behaviour. Mike Church (Branagh) was raised at the Catholic convent school where Miss Thompson was found one dark and stormy night. The senior clergy have asked Mike to help Miss Thompson.

But, what if the patient remembers events from a previous life, and what if that person was not the victim at all but rather a witness...or worse yet, the perpetrator of the crime?

This film must be what is considered "high camp" as it is obvious to me a great deal of tongue in cheek stuff is going on. Picture a disturbed artist with a loft full of paintings, sculptures, etc. all depicting one or more pairs of sharp scissors. Jacobi's antiques dealer isn't the only eccentric in LA.

The actors had a great deal of fun making this film and while I was scared the first time I watched it, the next time it struck me as really funny. Too bad Kenneth and Emma aren't "Together Again."

Open Your Eyes, er...Grace?
DEAD AGAIN is a highly underrated suspense/thriller from 1991 that was also the inspiration for Dream Theater's 1999 masterpiece SCENES FROM A MEMORY. After watching the movie and listening to the album afterwards, there are a lot of similarities in the plot. I'm not accusing DT of ripping off the story, since they put their own spin on it and the characters in SFAM have different motives than the ones in DEAD AGAIN. Personally, I perfer SFAM because it's like a movie written in music which is more original, but this movie is still worth checking out.

Kenneth Branagh (who also directed the film) stars as Mike Church, a smooth L.A. investigator who knows how to talk to people and get secrets out of them. His next case, however, is much more difficult. He's assigned by a Catholic rehab center to take away one of their guests, an amnesiac woman (Emma Thompson) who doesn't talk much and keeps screaming in the middle of the night. The reason she screams is because she has nightmares of a man named Roman Strauss killing her with a pair of scissors. Mike decides to let her stay at his house, but even he doesn't know why he's suddenly drawn to her.

Out of nowhere comes a man named Franklin (Derek Jacobi) who turns out to be a hypnotherapist and is drawn to the woman's story. Franklin practices in hypnotic regression, meaning that he hypnotizes people that act like somebody else from a past life during the session. As it turns out, the woman (now called Grace by Mike) was actually Margaret Strauss, Roman's wife, in the 1940's. And in another strange twist, Mike turns out to be Roman reincarnated. Mike starts to fall hard for Grace, but when she starts to think that he might actually be Roman, that's where the tension begins to unravel.

The story is very interesting for the most part and the twists are pretty nifty, if not predictable. I like the fact that the scenes in the '40s were filmed in black and white and the scenes in 1991 were filmed in color. A perfect balance between past and present. Also, the acting is very good. There's even a hilarious supporting performance by Robin Williams as a former psychiatrist who now works at a supermarket ever since he was caught having an affair with a patient.

My only problem is that the ending is kind of disappointing. After the finale, you want more explanations. They gave enough throughout the movie, but at least one more to bring a forthright conclusion. Oh, well. That's more of a wish than a plot point. DEAD AGAIN is a solid, well-made mystery and makes for good viewing on a Friday night. Recommended.

not at Hitchcock's level.
This movie has a good cast but it is not up to the level like the Hitchcock's movies.I like Emma Thompson and the cast in other movies that were good,but I had a hard time getting into the story.If Alfred Hitchcock was to had seen this movie he may be very angry at the writers and director.

Film Noir as only Branagh can do it
This movie captures the world of Hitchcock and Bogart, in dramatic black and white (with color episodes) in a truly great presentation. Yes, the plot is threadbare, but no more so that those of Hitchcock's best, and irrelevant in any case, as the tension winds tighter and tighter, seeking a violent conclusion. Branagh is his usual self, so completely disappearing into his two roles, both with American accents, that he does not seem the same man who thrilled us in Henry V, delighted us in Much Ado, and took our breath away with Hamlet.

See it on a dark, winter night, with the lights low, and your arms around someone you adore. You will NOT be disappointed!

Mary F. Byrkit
20 January 2004

mfbyrkit@comcast.net

Hypnotic Thriller
The casting for this movie is great. Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson are wonderful as the detective and woman who has no memory. Derek Jacobi is excellent as the hypnotist/antique dealer. Even Robin Williams small part of the Grocer/Ex-Analyst is good. I don't want to give to much away. In a nutshell a lovely lady is being lodged at a church until they can determine her identity. Better that than sending her to a mental institution for her screams of panic and fright that has her propping a chair against her door each night.

When they can no longer take her disruptiveness, the church calls on a detective that will work for gratis. The detective puts out an article in the paper and a two mysterious strangers appear. One to help her recall her identity with hypnosis and another to take advantage of her. When her hypnosis reveals a previous life and a murder, things get very interesting and suspenseful. I have seen this twice on TV and am now planning to buy it. The love story that evolves along with the mystery is very romantic. I think this must be underrated as I am surprised it didn't get more exposure. ... Read more

Reviews (58)

A trio of fine actors....
I'm an Emma Thompson fan and have seen all her films including those she made with her now ex-husband Kenneth Branagh (their recent breakup occurred over "another woman" reputed to be Helena Bonham Carter). My all time favorite by this pair of actors is "Much Ado About Nothing." "Dead Again" is probably my least favorite film, however, Miss Thompson is a fabulous actress, so a bad day for her is good day for most other actresses.

The storyline of this film is interesting, particularly for those who think past lives are possible. According to one of the main characters, we not only have past lives, but everyone with whom you shared a past life shows up again in some form in the next life. It's as if human existence consists of a repertory company playing endless roles through eternity. Well, why not. I have a lot of unfinished business with various people I've lost in this life and there is some comfort in thinking I might get closure in the next life, or the one after that...or the one after that.

Branagh must have been attracted to this script because of it's Shakespearen elements...dreams, ghosts, unfinished business, a jealous husband killing an innocent wife (or being framed for the deed), and downright wickedness (out damn spot, out).

Derek Jacobi (Cadfael and Claudius) plays an eccentric antique dealer who tries to help the haunted Miss Thompson (nameless at first) through regressive hypnosis. Regressive hypnosis is used by psychiatrists to help trauma victims remember events they have subconsciously blocked that cause conscious distress.

Miss Thompson has been exhibiting some very distressed behaviour. Mike Church (Branagh) was raised at the Catholic convent school where Miss Thompson was found one dark and stormy night. The senior clergy have asked Mike to help Miss Thompson.

But, what if the patient remembers events from a previous life, and what if that person was not the victim at all but rather a witness...or worse yet, the perpetrator of the crime?

This film must be what is considered "high camp" as it is obvious to me a great deal of tongue in cheek stuff is going on. Picture a disturbed artist with a loft full of paintings, sculptures, etc. all depicting one or more pairs of sharp scissors. Jacobi's antiques dealer isn't the only eccentric in LA.

The actors had a great deal of fun making this film and while I was scared the first time I watched it, the next time it struck me as really funny. Too bad Kenneth and Emma aren't "Together Again."

Open Your Eyes, er...Grace?
DEAD AGAIN is a highly underrated suspense/thriller from 1991 that was also the inspiration for Dream Theater's 1999 masterpiece SCENES FROM A MEMORY. After watching the movie and listening to the album afterwards, there are a lot of similarities in the plot. I'm not accusing DT of ripping off the story, since they put their own spin on it and the characters in SFAM have different motives than the ones in DEAD AGAIN. Personally, I perfer SFAM because it's like a movie written in music which is more original, but this movie is still worth checking out.

Kenneth Branagh (who also directed the film) stars as Mike Church, a smooth L.A. investigator who knows how to talk to people and get secrets out of them. His next case, however, is much more difficult. He's assigned by a Catholic rehab center to take away one of their guests, an amnesiac woman (Emma Thompson) who doesn't talk much and keeps screaming in the middle of the night. The reason she screams is because she has nightmares of a man named Roman Strauss killing her with a pair of scissors. Mike decides to let her stay at his house, but even he doesn't know why he's suddenly drawn to her.

Out of nowhere comes a man named Franklin (Derek Jacobi) who turns out to be a hypnotherapist and is drawn to the woman's story. Franklin practices in hypnotic regression, meaning that he hypnotizes people that act like somebody else from a past life during the session. As it turns out, the woman (now called Grace by Mike) was actually Margaret Strauss, Roman's wife, in the 1940's. And in another strange twist, Mike turns out to be Roman reincarnated. Mike starts to fall hard for Grace, but when she starts to think that he might actually be Roman, that's where the tension begins to unravel.

The story is very interesting for the most part and the twists are pretty nifty, if not predictable. I like the fact that the scenes in the '40s were filmed in black and white and the scenes in 1991 were filmed in color. A perfect balance between past and present. Also, the acting is very good. There's even a hilarious supporting performance by Robin Williams as a former psychiatrist who now works at a supermarket ever since he was caught having an affair with a patient.

My only problem is that the ending is kind of disappointing. After the finale, you want more explanations. They gave enough throughout the movie, but at least one more to bring a forthright conclusion. Oh, well. That's more of a wish than a plot point. DEAD AGAIN is a solid, well-made mystery and makes for good viewing on a Friday night. Recommended.

not at Hitchcock's level.
This movie has a good cast but it is not up to the level like the Hitchcock's movies.I like Emma Thompson and the cast in other movies that were good,but I had a hard time getting into the story.If Alfred Hitchcock was to had seen this movie he may be very angry at the writers and director.

Film Noir as only Branagh can do it
This movie captures the world of Hitchcock and Bogart, in dramatic black and white (with color episodes) in a truly great presentation. Yes, the plot is threadbare, but no more so that those of Hitchcock's best, and irrelevant in any case, as the tension winds tighter and tighter, seeking a violent conclusion. Branagh is his usual self, so completely disappearing into his two roles, both with American accents, that he does not seem the same man who thrilled us in Henry V, delighted us in Much Ado, and took our breath away with Hamlet.

See it on a dark, winter night, with the lights low, and your arms around someone you adore. You will NOT be disappointed!

Mary F. Byrkit
20 January 2004

mfbyrkit@comcast.net

Hypnotic Thriller
The casting for this movie is great. Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson are wonderful as the detective and woman who has no memory. Derek Jacobi is excellent as the hypnotist/antique dealer. Even Robin Williams small part of the Grocer/Ex-Analyst is good. I don't want to give to much away. In a nutshell a lovely lady is being lodged at a church until they can determine her identity. Better that than sending her to a mental institution for her screams of panic and fright that has her propping a chair against her door each night.

When they can no longer take her disruptiveness, the church calls on a detective that will work for gratis. The detective puts out an article in the paper and a two mysterious strangers appear. One to help her recall her identity with hypnosis and another to take advantage of her. When her hypnosis reveals a previous life and a murder, things get very interesting and suspenseful. I have seen this twice on TV and am now planning to buy it. The love story that evolves along with the mystery is very romantic. I think this must be underrated as I am surprised it didn't get more exposure. ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Their "last but not least" film
...The Marx Brothers left us one more amusement in the form of movie for the final time. For the first time, on the other hand, Harpo Marx headed the characters' and story credit. In this respect, many fans and critics see "Love Happy" as a Harpo's solo vehicle. Still, I believe that there are quite a few great moments for the other Brothers, Chico and Groucho (*saluting Chico, the eldest sibling!).

Chico first appears with his usual warm smile attempting to get a job from Mike Johnson (Paul Valentine) at a financially struggling theater company. He makes it, after all, after showing a trace of his frindly and mild stupidity. Grouncho, on the other hand, opens the door of the film appearing as a private eye agent named Sam Grunion. In his all-time rapid-fire talks, we find many clever and funny wisecracks every time he opened the mouth to talk.

In addition to its unique "sentimental" atomosphere, the greatest and most brilliant moments of the entire film should be definitely when the Brothers present musical numbers respectively (*the exception is Groucho, who unfortunately did NOT sing any songs this time!). In the chronological order, Chico performed "Gypsy Love Song" on the piano and "shot" the keys as usual. In this number, Chico features Mr. Lyons (Leon Belasco) on violin, or more correctly, trying to stop him to take away every stage property belonging to him as a result of the company's bankrupcy.

Now hearing Harpo play the solo harp is the biggest excitement on this fim, I believe. We may realize it has been many years since "Horse Feathers" or "Duck Soup" when we see him in a close-up shot, but his performing "Swanee River" proves that Harpo is timelessly great!

Along with a rare brief appearance of young Marilyn Monroe, I think that "Love Happy" should be recognized the "last but not least" film of the Marx Brothers.

Marx Brothers...the conclusion.
This was the final act of the Marx Brothers and yes, it was their weakest film. I wouldn't even technically call this a Marx Brothers movie considering Chico & Groucho have no scenes together and Groucho & Harpo only have 1 scene together. Groucho also gets the lone scene with miss Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn Monroe appears on the screen for maybe 30 seconds and although I was never a fan of hers you could kind of sense a strong presence about her for that brief time she was in the movie. I couldn't enjoy this movie thoroughly with Groucho narrating and Harpo as the star. The plot was ok but it was an extremly bad ending and just not what you would expect from the Marx Brothers...their true last performance was in "A Night In Casablanca" which was actually a pretty good movie. This movie is just out of sheer curiousity for Marx Brothers and Marilyn Monroe fans.

MARILYN MONROE in a bit role that helped launch her career!
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If Marilyn Monroe weren't in this movie, I would only give it 2 stars. However, because of the fact that she made a memorable cameo appearance in the film rates it a full 5 stars.

Marilyn Monroe made a very small cameo appearance in this film which helped to launch her career. Her one brief scene (she appears in the film for less than one minute!) shines with the spark of excitement that Marilyn always brought to the screen.

It's hard to believe that an actress with less than a minute of screen-time in a movie created a sensation everywhere she appeared during a cross-country press junket to promote the film. Marilyn was a huge draw wherever she appeared on this promotional tour, proving that her mere presence in the film was noteworthy enough to attract crowds wherever she appeared.

For any Monroe completist, this is of course a must-have to add to your collection. It's a historical early on-screen apearance of a woman who lives on in the hearts and minds of people more than 40 years after her death.

This is classic Marilyn, at her young and glamorous best, just at the brink of stardom.

Mmmmmm-marvelous Marilyn!

Not at all bad for a final film
In the first place: God never meant for 60 year old Marx Brothers to make movies. That being said, the story goes that Harpo wanted to do a film by himself. But he couldn't get the up front financing unless he included Chico and Groucho. And, as such, Chico and Groucho make mainly "cameo" appearances. The plot is as flimsy as a "survivor" episode: Harpo protrays a kind of loving angel for a group of struggling artists. And, in one case, while stealing some food for his friends, he unknowingly swipes some diamonds. And the rest of the "plot" involves the disposition of the diamonds. Some plot, huh? But there ARE some real gems in "Love Happy," though: just Marilyn Monroe's mere presence, her all-too-brief cameo with Groucho justifies the film. And Chico delivers one of his funniest lines in all thirteen of the Marx Brothers films: while trying to divert a creditor from repossessing >something, I don't know, does it matter?< Seems the creditor likes to "noodle" around with the violin - and Chico, trying to buy time, replies, "Well, you noodle on that and I'll macaroni on this." That one line evoked as genuine a laugh as anything Groucho said in all the movies. Long Live The Marx Brothers!

Gorgeous transfer &.NEVER BEFORE SEEN FOOTAGE!!!!
That is correct fellow Marx Fans. I have always had a fond place in my Marxian Heart for Love Happy. Now there is MORE happy to love! In fact, over 6 minutes of footage I have never seen. Not on previous release versions on VHS, Laserdisc, at the LaPaloma Theatre when I projected it in 35mm or in my own 16mm print! The footage adds a LOT to the movie. In one scene Groucho describes how he has tracked the sexy Madame Egelich (Illona Massey) all over the world. He whips out a series of Photos showing them to us the audience with him holding Illona in various sexy poses. Concluding with one photo of her in a 1950's style batheing suit. Another restored scene has Chico, who assigns himself the task of stopping the owner of the theatre from kicking the troupe out for lack of rent payment. Before the drooling owner is paraded a bevy of beauties. Groucho says in the voiceover, "He wisely chose the Blonde on the end". Pretty racy by 50's standards. We even get a new scene where Raymond Burr tortures Harpo by placing him in a giant washing machine! There are additional small scenes sprinkled thruout, but those are the best. WOW! It is so great to see new footage of Groucho, Harpo and Chico. BUY this disc! You will be Happy you did. Johno ... Read more