- Hollow Triumph
Infobox Film
name = Hollow Triumph
image_size = 225px
caption = poster
director = Steve Sekely
producer = Paul Henreid
writer = Murray Forbes "(novel)"Daniel Fuchs
starring =Paul Henreid Joan Bennett
music =Sol Kaplan
cinematography =John Alton
editing = Fred Allen
distributor = Eagle-Lion Films Inc.
released = August 10, fy|1948 "(US)"
runtime = 83 minutes
country = FilmUS
language = English
budget =
gross =
imdb_id = 0040444"Hollow Triumph", also known as "The Scar" in the
United Kingdom , is a black-and-whitefilm noir released in fy|1948. It was directed by Steve Sekely and starsPaul Henreid andJoan Bennett .Plot
John Muller (
Paul Henreid ), medical school dropout and brilliant crook, plans a holdup at a night spot. The robbery goes bad and themobster s running the place know exactly who tried to rob them. Muller decides to leave town and lie low. While hiding out from the mob, he takes an office job recommended by his straight-as-an-arrow brother but he quickly decides that working for a living is nor for him. An opportunity for a big score comes to mind when he finds out that he's the exact look-a-like of a local psychiatrist - the only difference is the doctor has a large scar on the side of his face. He plans to kill the man and take over his life.He takes a photo of the doctor and uses it as a guide when he cuts a large scar onto the side of his face. Unfortunately, the developers of the photo reversed the negative and now Muller has the scar on the wrong side. He decides to go through with the plan anyway and no one notices the difference. The only one who knows his secret is the doctor's secretary {
Joan Bennett ), whom he starts an affair. After seeing patients for a few days and going through the doctors personal papers, Muller finds out that the doctor had no money. In fact he has a huge gambling debt with the mob. Muller tries to take off but he's mistaken for the doctor and killed - all the while pleading to his killers he was not the man they thought he was.Cast
Cast note:
*Jack Webb has an uncredited role as a gangster, "Bullseye", only his second film credit. [imdb name|0916131|Jack Webb]Critical reaction
"Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style" notes "As in many of these B thrillers, the plot is contrived although the film's conclusion is as downbeat as any noir film since "
Scarlet Street ". [*cite book | author= Alain Silver and Elizabeth Ward| title=Film Noir An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style | publisher =The Overlook Press | year=1992 | id=ISBN 0-87951-479-5]Notes
External links
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* [http://www.noiroftheweek.com/2008/09/scar-aka-hollow-triumph-1948.html Film Noir of the Week review]
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