Hollow triumph (1948)

Film noir / Directed by Steve Sekely

PLOT

After a heist goes wrong, an ex-convict must flee the wrath of the murderous casino owner. When he discovers he has a lookalike who works as a psychoanalyst, he decides to steal the man’s life.

REVIEW

Time for another film noir. This is a minor one that is mostly forgotten nowadays. Despite its low budget, the film pulls off some well-done cinematography, courtesy of the legendary John Alton (see trivia section below for some information about his career). In that sense, you could say the movie was successful, because setting the right mood is vital when you’re making a film noir.

Alton’s use of chiaroscuro lighting creates a visually striking and moody atmosphere, characteristic of the genre. The interplay of light and shadow contributes to the film’s overall sense of foreboding and mystery, enhancing the psychological tension that permeates the narrative. The use of low-key lighting in the dimly lit alleys and smoky interiors heightens the sense of danger and moral ambiguity, creating a visually arresting experience for the viewer.

Another quality of the film is its cast. Paul Henreid, who plays the lead character (John Muller), brings a complex and layered portrayal to the morally ambiguous part. Joan Bennett and Eduard Franz also give strong performances.

This film, however, is not without flaws. And all of them have to do with the script.

Let’s start with pacing. While the setup and conclusion are well-executed, there are instances where the narrative seems to lose momentum, affecting the overall rhythm of the film. The pacing issues can be attributed to certain scenes that, while contributing to character development, may feel slightly prolonged and less gripping than other parts of the story. This unevenness doesn’t derail the film, but it does slightly diminish the overall impact of its narrative intensity.

Most of all, however, the plot is plagued with inconsistencies.

For instance, there’s a scene where goons manage to track Muller to the place where he is staying. When he comes out, they chase him down dark alleys. He escapes and... what does he do? He goes back to his place to pack his things. I remember seeing quite a few films where characters would argue “We can’t go back there now, they know where we live! They’ll be watching the place. It’s not safe.” But here? No sirree. Not only does it not occur to our hero (and he’s supposed to be bright), but—wait for it—there are no goons on watch there. And why stop at that? That’s right, it gets even better. Get a load of this.

Having decided his only option is to remove his lookalike and pose as Bartok, he takes time to study the doctor’s life and work. Makes sense, right? The way the film is shot and edited suggests a fair amount of time passes. And yet, there is no indication that he has moved. He seems to stay in the same place. Though the goons never come to bother him again. How convenient.

And that’s the main issue I have with the film, by the way. Too many things done for convenience. We’re told in the first scene that Muller has a brilliant mind and studied psychoanalysis in medical school before dropping out. And look, what a coincidence! His lookalike just happens to be a psychoanalysis. Well golly gee, what were the odds? It’s rare enough to come across your own lookalike, but this here takes the cake.

And it doesn’t stop there—of course, it doesn’t! The two goons show up again later in the film... at a garage where Muller took a temp job. He’s working the night shift, just for a few nights, and they just happen to come by one of those nights. This one is really annoying because it doesn’t even add anything to the plot. Absolutely nothing happens, as the goons never even look at him (and that in itself is not very believable, the way the scene is filmed), which leaves the viewer wondering what the point was.

There’s another one like that a bit later. It was a dentist, met in the street, who told Muller he had a lookalike. That dentist knows Bartok (the psychoanalyst) but waits a whole month before recounting the incident to Bartok. And guess what? This happens right after Muller takes his place. What are the odds of that? But, again, this serves no purpose as, in the end, nothing comes out of it.

I suppose one could make an argument that those two incidents are there to keep the character on pins and needles... but I don’t buy it. Besides, resorting to coincidences rarely is a good idea.

On the plus side, I did enjoy some of the twists. Without spoiling anything, I’ll just say the one about the scar and another with an orchid. But while the plot attempts to be complex, it ultimately fails because the viewer can see many things coming... Though, to be fair, I expected everything to unravel through the dentist, and that turned out to be a bit of a red herring.

I’ll close with a quote from the film that I liked. It’s something Evelyn (Joan Bennett’s character) says to Muller: “You never can go back and start again. Because the older you grow, the worse everything turns out.”

Now ain’t that the truth...

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Have you watched this film? What did you think of it?

What is your favorite film noir?

Let us know in the comments!

TRIVIA NOTES

• The film was reissued as “The scar.”

• Born in Hungary, director Steve Sekely fled the rise of fascism in 1938 and worked in Hollywood for most of his career after that. His credits include films in various genres: horror (“Revenge of the zombies”), espionage (“Waterfront”), musical (“Lake Placid serenade”), romantic comedy (“The fabulous Suzanne”), adventure (“Blonde savage,” “Amazon quest”), western (“Stronghold”), biblical (“Desert desperadoes”)... though he is best known for a science-fiction classic: “The day of the Triffids” (1962) which he shot in the UK. His television credits include episodes of Orient Express, New York Confidential, and Assignment: underwater.

• Bryan Foy worked both as a director and producer. His father was a vaudeville star with whom he performed in his youth. After penning some songs, he turned to Hollywood where he specialized in low-budget films for most of his career. He later produced some bigger projects, including his most famous one, the war film “Guadalcanal diary” (1943). Other credits include “West of Shanghai,” “The invisible menace,” Richard Fleischer’s “Trapped,” and Andre DeToth’s “House of wax.”

• Best remembered for his roles in “Casablanca” and “Now, Voyager,” Paul Henreid has had a prolific career in film and television. He played the male leads in “Joan of Paris,” “In our time,” “The conspirators,” “The Spanish Main,” “Of human bondage,” and “Last of the buccaneers.” In 1952, he made his directorial debut with the film noir “For men only,” in which he also starred. He went on to direct five other films (including “Live fast, die young”) as well as episodes of Alfred Hitchcock presents, Bonanza, The Virginian, and The big valley.

• Joan Bennett began her career in the silent era, though she is best remembered for the femme fatale roles she played in three Fritz Lang films noir of the 1940s: “Man hunt” (1941), “The woman in the window” (1944), and “Scarlet Street” (1945). She also was in the main cast of the cult soap opera Dark shadows. Her final role was in Dario Argento’s “Suspiria” (1977). She had two sisters who were also actresses: Constance and Barbara Bennett.

• The lead character’s brother is played by Eduard Franz who had a long career in Hollywood playing small parts in features and television shows. His credits include “The iron curtain,” “The thing from another world,” “One minute to zero,” “The jazz singer” (the 1952 remake), “Sins of Jezebel,” “Casablanca,” “The ten commandments,” Wagon train, The restless gun, Gunsmoke, The fugitive, The invaders, Hawaii Five-O, and Hart to Hart.

• John Qualen, who plays the dentist, was a Canadian-born actor of Norwegian descent who often played Scandinavian parts. One of his earlier roles was in 1931’s “Arrowsmith” which was the first of many films he made with John Ford. The famous director used him again in “The grapes of wrath,” “The searchers,” “The man who shot Liberty Valance,” “Cheyenne Autumn,” and more. He also played memorable parts in Howard Hawks’ “His girl Friday” and Michael Curtiz’s “Casablanca.” His many television appearances include episodes of Alfred Hitchcock presents, Cheyenne, Maverick, Mister Ed, Bonanza, The Virginian, I spy, and The FBI.

• Only three years before his shot to fame, a young Jack Webb appeared here in an uncredited role as one of the two goons sent to kill Muller. He is, of course, best remembered for portraying Sgt. Joe Friday in Dragnet (1951-59 and 1967-70) which also launched his career as a producer, writer, and director. For television, he also produced Adam-12, Emergency!, Hec Ramsey, and Project UFO.

• John Alton is a respected cinematographer with a career spanning five decades who handled the cinematography of many classics, including several films noir (“Bury me dead,” “He walked by night,” “Raw deal,” “Border incident,” John Sturges’ “Mystery street,” etc.) He often worked with directors Allan Dwan, Vincente Minnelli, and Richard Brooks. His final job was on Mission: Impossible, for which he shot the pilot in 1966.

• Composer Sol Kaplan scored well-known features such as “Apache trail,” “Reign of terror,” “711 Ocean Drive,” “Niagara,” Jean Negulesco’s “Titanic,” and “The spy who came in from the cold.” His television scores include one episode for The Monroes and two for Star Trek. He is the father of director Jonathan Kaplan.

CREDITS

Directed by Steve Sekely.

Screenplay by Daniel Fuchs, based upon a novel by Murray Forbes.

Produced by Paul Henreid.

Music by Sol Kaplan.

Cinematography by John Alton.

Edited by Fred Allen.

Starring Paul Henreid as John Muller, Joan Bennett as Evelyn Hahn, Eduard Franz as Frederick Muller, Leslie Brooks as Virginia Taylor, John Qualen as Swangron, Mabel Paige as charwoman, Herbert Rudley as Marcy, Charles Arnt as Coblenz, George Chandler as Aubrey (assistant), Sid Tomack as Artell (manager), Alvin Hammer as Jerry, Ann Staunton as blonde, Paul Burns as Harold, Charles Trowbridge as deputy, Morgan Farley as Howard Anderson, Thomas Browne Henry as Rocky Stansyck, Jack Webb as Bullseye, Henry Brandon as Big Boy.

Produced by Bryan Foy Productions.

Distributed by Eagle-Lion Films.

Released on August 18, 1948.

Running time: 83 minutes.

Genre: Film noir.

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Text (c) 2023 by Alex S. Garcia.

Header image: screenshot of the film’s title card.

Film poster from unsoloclic.info.