The Scar (1948) [Film Noir] [Drama]

Just released from prison, John Muller (Paul Henreid) organizes a hold-up in an illegal casino run by Rocky Stansyck. The robbery goes wrong and the thugs capture some of Muller's men and force them to identify the others before killing them. Stansyck has a reputation for hunting down and killing his enemies no matter how long it takes, so Muller decides to leave town and go into hiding. He accepts an office job recommended by his law-abiding brother, Frederick (Eduard Franz), but quickly decides that working for a living is not for him. A chance encounter with dentist Dr. Swangron (John Qualen) reveals that Muller looks exactly like a psychoanalyst who works in the same building, Dr. Bartok, the only difference being a large scar on the left side of the doctor's face. Seizing the opportunity, he begins researching Bartok, even sneaking into his office to examine his files. He is discovered by the doctor's secretary, Evelyn Hahn (Joan Bennett). She mistakes him for her employer and kisses him, but quickly realizes that he is someone else. He persuades her to go out with him, even though she has become embittered and claims to have given up on any dreams of finding love.

Muller sets out to impersonate Bartok, aided by the fact that he studied psychoanalysis in medical school before dropping out. He takes a photo of the doctor and uses it as a guide to cut out an identical scar on his own face. Unfortunately, the developers of the photograph reversed the negative, so Muller now has the scar on the wrong side. He discovers the mistake only after he has already murdered Bartok and prepares to throw the body into the river. In any case, he has no choice but to carry out his plan. Fortunately, no one (except the office cleaning lady, whose suspicions he manages to allay) notices the difference, not even Evelyn's or Bartok's patients. Muller discovers that he has a girlfriend, Virginia Taylor (Leslie Brooks), and that they frequent Maxwell's, an upscale casino. It also turns out that Bartok lost a lot. When a worried Frederick Muller tries to contact his brother, the trail leads to Bartok. The scar convinces Frederick that the man he sees is only a double. Evelyn, previously unaware of the change (but now very suspicious), reveals that John Muller said he was going to Paris. Frederick Muller tells /"Bartok/" that his brother no longer needs to hide; Stansyck was found guilty of "income tax issues/" and is expected to be deported.

Subsequently, Evelyn realizes that Muller is an imposter and that he must have killed the psychoanalyst. Although he admits to having done it, she does not report him to the police; instead, she buys a ticket to sail to Honolulu. Muller finds out and promises that he will accompany her, but she does not believe that he would pass up such an opportunity to enrich himself. Muller arranges for other doctors to take over his patients and heads to the dock. There, however, he is intercepted by two men who want to discuss Bartok's 90,000 gambling debts. When Muller tries to escape, they shoot him. Evelyn walks away, unaware that Muller is dying on the dock.

This film is also known as "Hollow Triumph/".

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Directed by Steve Sekely, produced by Paul Henreid, written by Murray Forbes (novel) and Daniel Fuchs, starring Paul Henreid as John Muller and Dr. Victor Emil Bartok, Joan Bennett as Evelyn Hahn, Eduard Franz as as Frederick Muller, Leslie Brooks as Virginia Taylor, John Qualen as Swangron, Mabel Paige as Charwoman, the only person to notice the scar on the wrong side, Herbert Rudley as Marcy , Charles Arnt as Coblenz, George Chandler as Artell, assistant, Sid Tomack as Aubrey, manager, Alvin Hammer as Jerry, Ann Staunton as Blonde, Paul E. Burns as Harold, Charles Trowbridge as deputy, Morgan Farley as Howard Anderson.

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Source: /"Hollow Triumph/" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. February 26, 2012. Web. September 2, 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollow_Triumph.

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