The Scapegoat (1959)

***SPOILERS*** Off the wall but at the same time interesting story about this French/English teacher John Barratt, Alec Guinness, on a vacation in French-just checking out the sites-runs into his double Franch nobleman Jacques De Gue, also played by Guinness, who seems to take a shine to him. Not that George looks just like him but that he want's him to impersonate him while-from what I can see-going on a two month hunting and fishing vacation as well as trying to locate and photograph "Big Foot" in the great Canadian North-West.Getting John drunk and leaving him alone in a hotel room he got for him Jacques checks out and leave the poor and confused John even more confused to face life as Jacques De Gue on his own. Driven to his château in the French countryside by his loyal chauffeur as well as shoeshine boy Gaston, Geoffrey Keen, as hard as John tries to convince his new found family that he isn't Jacques they refuse to believe him even having the family doctor Aloin, Noel Howlett, declare him to be suffering from schizophrenia! Finally accepting his fate as being a rich French nobleman with all the money and fixing that goes along with it John soon finds out that his mom the Countess, Bette Davis, is a morphine junkie and his wife Francoise, Irene Worth, is suspicious that he whats to have her knocked off in order to get his hands on her money. On top of all that his or better yet his wife's glass factory is on the verge of bankruptcy which he doesn't help by him promising the workers there a hefty raise in their next contract.***SPOILERS*** All this confusion soon comes together when Francoise is thrown to her death out of her two story bedroom window at the château with John herd but not seen arguing with her before her death just moments before it happened by his sister Blanche,Palela Brown,who overheard the conversation. It now becomes apparent that the missing Jacques was behind his wife's murder and used the totally out of touch Jack who was nowhere near the murder scene and had proof of having driven with Gaston down to the town of Villars to go sightseeing at the time of the murder! The ending is a bit crazy with, this by now is getting so confusing, Jacques now coming out of the shadows trying to reclaim his identity from John who's, by having a taste of the good life, now not at all willing to give it up. P.S The only way were able to destinies between the two John & Jacques at the final moment of the movie is a bandage or dressing covering the right hand of one of them that if you blinked or fell asleep by then you'll miss it!

Glad I finally was able to see this great film from 1959 with a great performance by Alex Guinness, (John Braratt/DeGue) who plays a duel role and is completely outstanding in his great acting abilities. Betty Davis, (Countess) gives a great supporting role and from what I had read, Davis & Guinness did not get along very well during the filming of this film. John Braratt is a professor of French who teaches at a college and runs into a man who looks exactly like him and this other man, DeGue drugs Braratt and leaves him in a hotel with all his passports and clothing. John Braratt gets all caught up in DeGue's family involving a wife, daughter, sister-in-law and his mistress. As the film progresses forward he seems to be enjoying his new role. Great acting and a must see film.

Alec Guinness is in top form here, playing dual roles: one a jaded, aimless teacher on holiday in Paris from GB (Barratt), the other an oily, manipulative French count (De Gue). His performance in both roles is understated; one can imagine that in preparation for this film he read du Maurier's book and easily slipped into character, as he did for so many of his other films. One can feel his delight at meeting his exact double in a Parisian bar, and he laughs and gets loaded in what must be the first time in years. He wakes up the next morning in a hotel room, where he is mistaken for his guest.At first he's annoyed and protests vehemently, even when driven all the way out to his twin's country château. Everyone thinks he's gone over the edge. Given a few days he makes a game of the whole thing, wondering how long he can fool everyone before he's found out. In a few weeks he has grown accustomed to his new life, develops a fondness for his "wife" and "child", and brings a social conscience to the family by insisting that a failing company remain open, so that dozens of people can keep their jobs. It's a life-changing transformation not just for the family but for Barratt, who realizes he has finally found what he's looking for.De Gue's dark motives are revealed later when he needs an alibi, and Barratt realizes he has been a patsy.This movie is kind of stiff and formal, but on the other hand the actors are playing people who probably act like that all the time. Bette Davis, in a weird cameo role, injects a dose of much-needed bitchiness as De Gue's mother, the drug-addicted matriarch of the family. Robert Osborne on TCM said that Davis hated working with Guinness, well big surprise there, was there anyone that she loved working with?

We've seen it done a hundred times - twins switching identities - but somehow, having Alec Guinness as the twins makes The Scapegoat a cut above the other switch films. Guinness, of course, played multiple roles with great success in the fantastic Kind Hearts and Coronets, so twins for him must have seemed a cinch. In Kind Hearts, he had the benefit of a variety of disguises and voices. In this film, he had to create two completely different characters who look exactly alike. Of course he does so magnificently.This isn't the most successful DuMaurier adaptation - that honor has to go to Rebecca, in my book, but The Scapegoat has a strong cast - Guinness, Bette Davis, Irene Worth, Pamela Brown, and the lovely Nicole Maurey. The atmosphere of this black and white film is somewhat depressing, given the gargantuan, ugly home the family resides in - but it is certainly the right mood for what Guinness inherits when his double disappears. Bette Davis is good, if on the grand guignol side. Guinness does so much with just a gesture, her histrionics seem out of place. All in all, it's a good film - it's very hard to go wrong when Alec Guinness is involved.