The Man Who Lost Himself (1941)

The beginning of The Man Who Lost Himself is hilarious: Brian Aherne meets his lookalike in a bar and the two Brians share a drink. One of the Brians has just been double-crossed by his work partner, and the other has just escaped from a mental asylum. The next morning, one of the Brians wakes up in a mansion, waited on hand and foot by a valet, S.Z. Sakall, being called the other Brian's name. The morning papers reveal the other Brian (the millionaire) was killed the night before, jumping in front of a subway train, pretending to the pauper. If the real pauper (the one who woke up in the mansion) reveals the mix-up, he'll be accused of murder. But if he stays put, he'll have to impersonate the other Brian with his wife, Kay Francis, his girlfriend, Dorothy Tree, and his friends.

Are you confused yet? Good, because I was enormously confused. The opening scene with Brian playing a drinking game with himself is very funny, but as soon as they swapped, I remained confused until the end. I never did figure out all the twists and turns, but since this is a silly comedy, I suppose it doesn't really matter. I loved Cuddles Sakall, who provided adorable quips every time he opened his mouth. If you liked the madcap Merrily We Live, you'll probably like to see Brian using his comic talents again in this one. And who wouldn't want two Brian Ahernes to look at?