His Double Life (1933) in Color — Starring Roland Young & Lillian Gish

His Double Life (1933) — Buy This Classic in Color

His Double Life (1933) is a witty comedy-drama starring Roland Young as a reclusive painter whose valet dies, only for a case of mistaken identity to give him an entirely new existence. Lillian Gish co-stars in this charming adaptation of Arnold Bennett’s celebrated novel. This professionally colorized version brings the Depression-era sets and costumes to vivid new life. Buy your colorized copy today for €15.00 and own this delightful classic movie in color.

Plot Summary

Priam Farll is a world-famous painter who despises public attention with a passion bordering on phobia and lets his devoted, long-suffering valet Henry Leek handle all social interactions, correspondence, and public appearances on his behalf, creating a situation in which virtually no one in the outside world has ever actually met the great artist face to face. When Leek suddenly dies of a heart attack in their shared lodgings, a bureaucratic mix-up leads everyone — doctors, officials, journalists, and the adoring art public — to believe it is the great artist Priam Farll who has passed away. Rather than step forward and correct the catastrophic mistake, the desperately shy Farll seizes this bizarre opportunity to shed his suffocating fame forever and live out his days as the humble, anonymous Henry Leek, free at last from the crushing weight of celebrity. The classic movie follows the increasingly absurd and endearing complications that arise when Farll — now comfortably living as a dead man — falls in love with a sensible, warm-hearted widow named Alice and attempts to build an entirely new life based on a foundation of harmless deception. But fame, it turns out, has a persistent and inconvenient way of catching up with those who flee from it. When Farll’s distinctive paintings begin appearing mysteriously on the art market, recognizable to any expert, the truth threatens to unravel his carefully constructed new identity and destroy the quiet happiness he has found with Alice. Roland Young’s masterfully understated, perfectly calibrated performance and Lillian Gish’s radiant warmth as the unsuspecting widow make this forgotten gem a thoroughly entertaining and surprisingly touching watch.

Cast & Crew

Director: Arthur Hopkins

Stars: Roland Young, Lillian Gish, Montagu Love, Lucy Beaumont, Roland Hogue

Why Buy This Classic in Color?

This colorized version of His Double Life reveals visual details invisible in the original black and white print. The professionally colorized restoration brings out the rich, warm tones of Farll’s cluttered artist’s studio with its canvases, pigments, and splattered palettes, the comfortable domestic interiors of his modest new life with Alice, the elegant period costumes that distinguish the art world from the working class world Farll has chosen, and the gentle visual humor in the contrast between the painter’s extravagant former existence and his deliberately humble new identity — all rendered with frame-by-frame precision. The paintings themselves gain new significance and beauty in color. Now also available in colour.

Buy His Double Life in color today for just €15.00. Your DRM-free MP4 download is available for instant access.

Historical Significance

His Double Life stands as a classic film that bridges the silent and sound eras with extraordinary grace, featuring Lillian Gish — arguably the greatest star of the silent era, whose work with D.W. Griffith defined cinema’s earliest dramatic language — in one of her early sound roles alongside Roland Young at the very peak of his distinctive comedic powers. Young’s unique gift for playing mild, bewildered gentlemen trapped in absurd situations found perhaps its most perfect expression in Priam Farll, a character whose extreme shyness and quiet decency make him simultaneously comic and deeply sympathetic. Based on Arnold Bennett’s beloved novel Buried Alive, the story was so enduringly popular it had already been filmed twice before and would later inspire the Broadway musical Darling of the Day. Director Arthur Hopkins, better known for his legendary stage work, brings a theatrical intimacy to the character interactions that serves the story beautifully. The restored colorized version allows modern audiences to watch this charming, overlooked gem with vibrant visual warmth, recapturing the appeal that made it a favorite of Depression-era audiences who loved its gentle fantasy of shedding one’s burdensome public identity and starting fresh.

Technical Details

• Format: MP4 digital download
• Resolution: HD restored
• Colorized: Professionally colorized from original black and white
• Audio: Original mono restored
• Runtime: Approximately 68 minutes
• DRM-free: Yes — watch on any device
• Instant download: Available immediately after purchase
• Price: €15.00

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Movie-Specific Questions

Q: Who is Lillian Gish in this film?
A: Gish plays the warm-hearted widow Alice who falls for Roland Young’s disguised painter, bringing her legendary screen presence and genuine emotional warmth to a delightful comedic role.

Q: Is this based on a book?
A: Yes, it’s adapted from Arnold Bennett’s novel Buried Alive (1908), a beloved comic tale about identity, artistic celebrity, and the appeal of anonymity that has been adapted multiple times.

Q: Is this the colorized version of the full film?
A: Yes, this is the complete 68-minute feature, professionally colorized frame-by-frame from the restored original.

Q: Why is Roland Young considered a great comic actor?
A: Young perfected a uniquely subtle style of comedy — the mild, bewildered, perfectly polite gentleman helplessly adrift in absurd situations. His Priam Farll is a masterclass in understatement that rewards repeat viewing.

Digital Download Questions

Q: What format is the download?
A: DRM-free MP4, compatible with virtually any device or media player.

Q: How much does it cost?
A: €15.00 for instant download. The colorization process ensures every scene looks stunning in color.

Q: Can I watch on multiple devices?
A: Absolutely. The file is DRM-free, so you can watch on your TV, tablet, phone, or computer.

Related Colorized Classics

• The Bride Wore Red (1937)
• The Champ (1931)
• City for Conquest (1940)
• The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
• Follow the Fleet (1936)