Nonureva Really Surprised!

Stellead Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

p-eisley I've just seen this on TCM and the informative intro by Bob revealed that Henreid not only produced and acted in this film, but also directed it without credit when the assigned director was fired earlier in the picture because of the bad rushes. This was Henreid's first directing attempt and would become the first of many. The direction is fine. He attempts some interesting angles and sharp cuts. I didn't have as much a problem as some here with his casting. This wasn't a thug he was supposed to be portraying, but somebody with a brilliant, though warped brain. His accent (and he does have one) is the problem due to the contrivances of the plot. Somehow, he not only meets his exact double, but that double also has his accent. I know there is a scene were he tries to emulate the doctor's supposedly different voice, but in later scenes, he just speaks the same as always. Since this is the major conceit of the movie, it weakens the already iffy logic considerably. Later, when we're introduced to his brother, they do not share a similar accent. Although I'd usually chalk it up to one being raised somewhere else, this is never explained. And, the fact that it does crop up, just shows that his accent is a disadvantage instead of an asset. I enjoyed the movie, but it's not in a league with top-notch noir.

seymourblack-1 "Hollow Triumph" (aka "The Scar") is a dark thriller about a conceited criminal, a bungled heist and an incredible sequence of events that lead to an extremely ironic conclusion. The moral of the story is that no-one can deny their fate and that any attempts to do so will inevitably prove to be futile. This is a movie that's thoroughly absorbing and enjoyable to watch but one that also contains its share of bitterness and tragedy.John Muller (Paul Henreid) is a college educated con-man who, in the past, studied at a medical school and for some time after practised without a licence as a psychiatrist. When he's released from a prison sentence, the warden arranges for him to be given an office job at a medical supply company in L.A. in the hope that it will encourage him to settle down to an ordinary life and go straight. John has no such intentions and before taking up his job reconvenes his old gang and convinces them to take part in a high-value casino heist.The heist doesn't go according to plan and only John and his old friend Marcy (Herbert Rudley) escape. Marcy is terrified because casino owner Rocky Stansyck (Robert Browne Henry) is a vicious gangster with a reputation for hunting down anyone who crosses him. After the two men share their stolen money, Marcy heads off to Mexico and John leaves to take up his job in L.A.Shortly after beginning his new job, John discovers that he has a double called Dr Victor Bartok who's a successful psychologist and learns that the only obvious distinction between them is that Bartok has a prominent facial scar. John goes to Bartok's office where he meets the doctor's secretary, Evelyn Hahn (Joan Bennett). Although she's involved in a relationship with Bartok, Evelyn also strikes up a friendship with John which he uses to gain access to a number of Bartok's documents.John gets fired from his office job and then goes on to make a scar on his own face before murdering Dr Bartok and assuming his identity. Despite cutting the wrong cheek, no-one seems to notice and John seems to have made himself safe from being killed by Stansyk's men.Paul Henreid is extremely good as Muller and Bartok and convincingly conveys Muller's over-confidence and his disdain for anyone who sees any merit in being employed in a routine job. Joan Bennett is also excellent as Evelyn whose experiences with love have left her terribly disillusioned and the extinguishing of her last hope of happiness is a particularly poignant moment.Despite its lack of box office success, "Hollow Triumph" is a very well written movie with some memorable lines and also John Alton's wonderful cinematography.

writers_reign This is all about light and shade, off-the-wall angles and an improbable plot. Luckily the lighting, angles, and camera-work in general keep the interest from flagging. Paul Henreid was never much of an actor albeit he lucked in to some pretty good movies - Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Casablanca, Now, Voyager - and he was shrewd enough to realise his shortcomings as an actor and get into directing. Strangely enough he only produced two movies and this was one of them in which he top-billed himself as an amoral criminal who is also sufficiently arrogant to attempt a casino heist that none of his associates want any part of. It goes wrong, natch, and leaves him on the lam. Improbably a stranger mistakes him for an analyst and he determines to see how much truth is in this. Turns out they could be twins except for the scar on the analyst's cheek. Nothing that can't be fixed. If you can buy this it's not a bad minor noir with an uncredited Jack Webb for good measure.

mbanak This is now my 5th Noir, in a self-managed course in Film Noir. It is just dandy to understand this gig. Yet another fool on the planet weaves a web of deception so hair-raising, that he becomes at once pathetic and almost unbelievable. There comes a point when you are nearly certain what the ending will be. The actual finale was totally unexpected, and I wish I was at the theatre long ago, just to hear the audience gasp.I see Noir characters like to philosophize. I am afraid they say things that we are all thinking, but haven't the courage to say ourselves. The Dr's secretary has complicated needs. Don't we all? I just wonder if there are any Noir films where doing the right thing crosses their minds, as it would save everyone a lot of trouble. "Impact" comes to mind, but that's another story.Grab a bowl of popcorn, (popped in olive oil), a beer and enjoy this sleeper gem