Hollow Triumph

Steve Sekely's 1948 film is a noir built on the idea of taking another man's identity. Fleeing the men pursuing him after a casino robbery, John Muller finds a psychoanalyst who looks exactly like him, the only difference being the scar on the man's face. He decides to take his place, cuts the scar into his own face and assumes the life. But that life is not as safe as he assumed; the doctor has debts and enemies of his own. The film runs on the irony of fate and its ending is counted among the cruellest in the genre. Paul Henreid stars and produced, and plays both men himself. The budget was small but the photography is dark and effective. Who it's for: viewers who like forties noir. Who it's not for: anyone waiting for justice to be done; the film does not provide it.