Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

MamaGravity good back-story, and good acting

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

JohnHowardReid Producer: Michael Balcon. Executive producers: Daphne Du Maurier, Alec Guinness. Copyright August 1959 by Du Maurier-Guinness Productions. Released through Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. New York opening at the Guild: 6 August 1959. U.S. release: August 1959. U.K. trade premiere: August 1959. Australian release: 22 October 1959. Sydney opening at the Liberty. 92 minutes. NOTES: Location scenes filmed in the Loire Valley, France. COMMENT: Newsweek headed their review of the book with the caption, "Take Me Back to Manderlay". Indeed, there are so many echoes of Rebecca in the film, it often seems the sprawling chateau and its atmospheric surrounds is the real star of the movie rather than Mr Guinness, or rather two of Mr Guinness who revels in the cleverly crafted split screen special effects. Mind you, that is all to the good, for neither Guinness is terribly convincing. Not all his fault, either. The book takes great pains to point out that the Barrett character can speak French like a native. And what does Mr Guinness speak? English! Not a word of French, would you believe, in either of his incarnations. The same goes for the rest of the cast. British accents all around. In fact the only person who has a foreign accent is the lovely Nicole Maurey. Still, that is a convention I guess we have to put up with. But even suspending our disbelief, the film still presents insoluble problems. The plot seems not only confused and confusing, but takes an interminable time to get under way. It is Miss Maurey, of course, who makes the picture worth watching. Despite her star billing, Miss Davis has only two or three scenes. It is is young Annabel Bartlett who enjoys the principal female role, though Irene Worth (as the wife) and Pamela Brown (as the sister) are allowed to share in the histrionics. The Scapegoat is one of those rare movies that actually play better (at least in a wide-screen format) on television where the viewer can relax in comfort and doesn't really care how long the plot takes to make itself clear, or how talkative and slow-moving it all is. True, attractively atmospheric scenery and a fair dollop of production values help too.

Edgar Allan Pooh . . . as a lack of affect infects BOTH of his indistinguishable characterizations in THE SCAPEGOAT. "John" is plagued by boredom, and "The Count" suffers from ennui, which hardly makes for a riveting picture. Apparently "Bela" (the Count's mistress) can tell them apart because one of these johns is cut, but Bela's off-screen discovery does nothing to help viewers distinguish between two of the most phlegmatic personages ever expected to carry a plot. At least REBECCA kept us guessing until the end as to whether it was Col. Mustard in the boathouse with a sea anchor or Elvira Gulch in the attic with her candlestick. But since MGM's trailer for the Picturization of Daphne the Muddier's later pin-the-tail-on-the-scapegoat novel contends that this yarn "is Twice as Exciting on the screen" as it is in the book, viewers are likely to rush out of Revival Theater Showings eager to ditch any unread Book-of-the-Month Club copies of THE SCAPEGOAT in their nearest Goodwill Recycling Bin.

mark.waltz Way before Peter Sellers came along to sweep the title of Britian's actor who completely disappeared into each character he played, Sir Alec Guennis was there doing just that. Whether as the lovable rogue Fagin in David Lean's masterpiece version of "Oliver Twist" or the subtle villain of "The Lady Killers", Guennis could almost out-do Lon Chaney Sr. when it came to the art of creating a character beyond his physical appearance with even little make-up to create a characterization. Decades before his comical butler in "Murder By Death" ("As you can see, I can see", he chuckles in that Neil Simon classic) or guiding the heroes of "Star Wars", Guennis was stunning audiences and critics alike with each performance he gave.This version of the novel by Daphne DuMaurier goes down familiar territory in the tale of a man assuming the life of another and only getting into trouble with the results of those actions. Here, the good man is an unwilling participant, while the bad man remains mostly in the background, waiting like a spider to strike so he can swallow the fly. In this case, the intended fly is his fragile wife (Pamela Brown) while "bad Guennis" wants to obviously frame "good Guennis" for her murder. Thrown into the midst is a mistress, "bad Guennis's" two children, and his psychotic bed-ridden mama, played as if an older Fanny Skeffington by Bette Davis. Unlike other Du Maurier mysteries successfully done on screen (most notably "Rebecca" and "My Cousin Rachel"), "The Scapegoat" is plagued with a confusing narrative. Guennis is excellent, and fortunately he is on screen for most of the film, so this does sustain interest. But the legendary Bette isn't at her best here, and screams most of her lines as if preparing to kick Joan Crawford in "Baby Jane". She only has three scenes (two of them while in bed) so there are only a few opportunities to feel sorry for her. As an acting exercise for Guennis, this is worth watching, but that is the only positive statement I can muster concerning this misfire.

bregund 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?