The Scapegoat

The Scapegoat - 1959 | 91mins | Drama | Colour

The Production Team

Director: Robert Hamer.
Producer: Michael Balcon.
Script: Robert Hamer. (from the novel by Daphne Du Maurier) Adaptation by Gore Vidal.
Cinematography: Paul Beeson.
Editing: Jack Harris.
Production Design: Elliot Scott.
Art Direction: Alan Whithy.
Costume Design: Olga Lehmann.
Makeup Department: Elsie Alder and Harry Frampton.
Original Music: Bronislau Kaper.
Sound Department: Stephen Dalby, Norman King and Lionel Selwyn.

The Cast

Alec Guinness - John Barratt/Jacques De Gue
Bette Davis - Countess De Gue
Nicole Maurey - Bela
Irene Worth - Francoise De Gue
Pamela Brown - Blanche
Annabel Bartlett - Marie-Noel De Gue
Geoffrey Keen - Gaston

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. The winner leaves with the mistress in tow – unsure which of the look-alikes is now accompanying her.