The Scapegoat – 1959 | 91mins | Drama | Colour

Plot Synopsis

The Scapegoat is a stylish, yet rather over-elaborate murder-mystery adapted from a novel by Daphne Du Maurier. John Barratt (Alec Guinness), a quiet English teacher on holiday in France, is tricked by his double, the aristocratic Count De Gue, into assuming his identity after a heavy drinking session. He inherits a chateau, a crazy mother (Bette Davis), an unhappy wife Francoise (Irene Worth) and a teenage daughter. Barratt is getting to grips with it all when the Frenchman returns, murders Francoise for the inheritance, and proposes to run off with his Italian mistress Bela (Nicole Maurey). The Frenchman intends to kill Barratt too, and there is a duel between the two.