By Forris Day Jr.
“Hollow triumph” is a classic film noir. Originally released in 1948 it is now being rereleased and restored in HD by Film Chest Media. The film is also called “The Man Who Killed Himself”. It is a psychological thriller that follows the story of a man named John Muller (Paul Henreid). Muller gets released from prison and immediately decides to rob a casino run by one of the most brutal gangsters around, Rocky Stansyck (Thomas Brown Henry). Muller is confident that he and his cronies will not be caught but when the robbery goes bad Muller and his crew must try to hide or be killed.
Muller decides to take over the identity of a psychiatrist, Dr. Bartok, who looks amazingly like Muller, except Dr. Bartok has a large scar on his face. Muller self mutilates himself by cutting his face to look like Dr. Bartok but makes a “slight” mistake and this leads to more trouble for Muller. Will he be able to pull of the scam? Will he save himself from certain death? He digs deeper into trouble when he falls in love with Dr. Bartok’s secretary played by Joan Bennet.
“Hollow Triumph” is the epitome of film noir. Loaded with gangsters, pretty women, Tommy guns and a riveting storyline, it is guaranteed to entertain this generation of film noir fans. I found it a very interesting story with lots of action and suspense. It was made when films had to be carried on story and not special effects. The perfect length for having a Saturday night film fest at 84 minutes. It moves smoothly and the characters are developed nicely. Even though John Muller is a bad guy I found myself rooting for him. I’m not sure why, but his character was likable, even though he was evil. This is a film I will watch again.
I loved a scene where he talks briefly with a lady cleaning the floor. I don’t want to give a way too much, but the scene makes a commentary of how people you may deem seemingly unimportant do exist and do notice small details that most don’t. A very touching scene indeed. I like the film and if you like classic movies from the past then you won’t go wrong with “Hollow Triumph”.
