Hollow Triumph

The only novel by radio personality Forbes, basis for the classic 1948 film noir (also known today under its UK title, "The Scar"), shot by John Alton and starring Paul Henreid and Joan Bennett.


Upon his parole from jail, gangster John Muller pulls one final job against a rival mobster and flees to Los Angeles. There, he is mistaken for psychologist Victor Bartok, for whom he is a double except for a scar on Bartok's face. When Bartok's secretary Evelyn, who is love with him, mistakes Muller for Bartok, Muller plots to assume his identity. All goes well until Muller mistakenly scars the wrong side of his face, making Evelyn aware of his plan.