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6.8/10
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An English schoolteacher meets his lookalike, a French count; and unwillingly swaps identities with him.An English schoolteacher meets his lookalike, a French count; and unwillingly swaps identities with him.An English schoolteacher meets his lookalike, a French count; and unwillingly swaps identities with him.
Ernie Priest
- Man
- (uncredited)
Jack Sharp
- Cafe Bar Patron
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis was a very troubled production. Writer and Director Robert Hamer was struggling with the alcoholism which would eventually kill him only a few years later, and had so much difficulty with Bette Davis that he had several lapses during filming, with only the support and kindness of his friend Sir Alec Guinness (who had insisted on him as director) getting him through the ordeal. Davis, whose career was in a major slump, was angry at being restricted to a cameo and was unpleasant to everyone on-set. Guinness later commented that her legendary professionalism was "largely a myth". Daphne Du Maurier, the author of the original novel, had also created difficulties by interfering with the filming and offering complaints at perceived deviations from her original story. MGM had no faith in the movie and extensively re-edited it after shooting was completed, also imposing a score which Hamer did not want composed by studio veteran Bronislau Kaper.
- GoofsThe 1950 Delahaye 135 MS Cabriolet belonging to Jean is made in France and has Paris plates but the steering wheel is on the right, indicating an export model for England or other countries that drive on the left.
- Quotes
[last lines]
Bela: What are you doing here?
John Barratt: Fate has made a beautiful mistake and we are together when we might have been apart.
- Crazy creditsOpening credits are shown over various images of the book by Daphne Du Maurier.
- ConnectionsRemade as The Scapegoat (2012)
Featured review
A Very English view of Death
Based on a Daphne du Maurier source-text, THE SCAPEGOAT is very much in the tradition established by Hamer's more famous earlier film KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS (1949), also starring Guinness. In this film Guinness plays two roles; that of a mild-mannered university teacher whose identity is stolen by a rakish French aristocrat. The university teacher takes over the aristocrat's life, and proves rather good at it; so much so that he does not want to recover his old life when the aristocrat asks him to. The climax is a violent one. Hamer's film, although set in France, takes a particularly English approach to death; the performances are quietly understated, and the atmosphere of menace restrained. Bette Davis seems rather out of place in a cameo role as the aristocrat's mother; her grande dame performance, complete with rolling New England vowels, contrasts starkly with that of Guinness. The ending is a bit peremptory, betraying the fact that THE SCAPEGOAT was not without its production difficulties, especially when scriptwriter Gore Vidal had to deal with an increasingly alcoholic director. Nonetheless THE SCAPEGOAT is definitely worth a view, if only for Guinness' versatility as an actor.
helpful•170
- l_rawjalaurence
- Oct 20, 2013
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $943,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 31 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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