The Scapegoat

directed by Robert Hamer
Category: "Suspense"
Year of Release:1959
Date Added:12/01/2019
Date Watched:12/01/2019
Description:John Barratt (Alec Guinness), an English schoolteacher with a boring life, takes a holiday in France. He meets a count (also Guinness) who looks exactly like him. The two men go out drinking. In the morning, Barratt finds himself mistaken for the count and his mysterious twin nowhere in sight. He goes to the count's chateau, where he meets the count's mother (Bette Davis), wife, daughter, and mistress Bela (Nicole Maurey). At first, Barratt tries to convince everyone that he's not the count, but soon he decides to stick around and try resolve the many problems—because it's the only excitement he's ever had. In time, Bela figures out that he's not the count, but she realizes she loves him. When the count's wife is found dead, Barratt realizes the count did it to benefit from her will. He finds the count and confronts him. The two men quarrel and the count is killed, leaving Barratt free to love Bela.
My Rating:5

Reviews for The Scapegoat

Review - Scapegoat, The

The premise was great. Guinness, Maurey, and the actress who played the daughter were excellent. Bette Davis was even more annoying than usual—it would have been a better movie without her. But the ending was a huge failure. Barratt is free to love the mistress, but how was any of this explained to the rest of the family? What happened to the money? What happened with his great, growing relationship with the count's daughter? Was Barratt held accountable for the count's death? None of that was explained at all.

Reviewed by Roger on 2019-12-01 16:28:41

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