MovieChat Forums > Hollow Triumph (1949) Discussion > Too Much Suspension of Disbelief is Requ...

Too Much Suspension of Disbelief is Required

posted 11 years ago by mmitsos-1
10 replies | jump to latest

I like this film, and I ADORE Paul Henreid. HOWEVER, this film really requires way too much suspension of disbelief.

SPOILERS!!!!!!!

1. How can Muller pull off Dr. Bartok's mannerisms without really knowing him? Everyone who knew the Dr. W/whom Muller now associates (the secretary/girlfruend, the other lady friend he takes to the casino, etc.)...it's too fantastic a feat to pull off mimicking another's life w/out knowing him/her.

2. They looked alike AND had the identitical Austrian accent? Again, major suspension here.

3. What dod he do with the body....just throw it over into the water (this isn't necessarily a plot or suspension of disbelief problem, but, I wish they showed it).

4. Where does he live after he kills the doctor....still where he (Muller) used to live, or at Bartok's house? If the latter, did he manage all his affairs while assuming his identity, with little to no knowledge of him prior?

5. When Miller walked into Evelyn's office to get a cancelled check, and she noticed him with it, he just brushed it away after first asking him, "what are you doing with this"? He then changes the subject, and then he takes the check at the end of their meeting. We then see him that night at home looking at it to practice Bartok's signature. Wouldn't Evelyn have noticed the check missing from her file?

On another note, while the look of the film improved a little bit after the whole first segment, when he breaks away from his thug friends, that whole initial segment was SO DARK and sort of grainy eith VERY dimple/cheap-looking sets....the film looks as if it was made in 1932...not 1948!

With all this, I still like the film (it's still on...haven't seen the end yet), and I ADORE Paul Henry.

[–] mmitsos-1 11 years ago

#5. Correction - Muller, not Miller

[–] practicepiano 11 years ago

I always say that films like this need very strong disbelief suspenders -- and a disbelief belt.

[–] CatTales 10 years ago

in other movies with similar plots - identical characters meeting up - chances are they would not have identical voices either. It's only because Henreid the actor has an accent that we notice this problem.
In "Prisoner of Zenda"(1937), did the audience collectively shake their heads thinking "how could both characters sound like Ronald Coleman?" I've forgotten how the voice element was handled in the original novel. The characters are related, but from different countries; maybe the European double was supposedly educated in England so they sound similar. But anyway, I hope the point is made.

[–] franzkabuki 10 years ago

Yeah, his preparation for playing Bartok was really unbelievably sloppy - in addition to studying the doc's mannersims, he could have also at least find out what his wife looked like.

There are other strange plot developments, of course - like, for instance, why was this weasely guy who told him about their identical looks, follow Dr Bartok around like that? It could have something to do with those dudes whom the doc owes the money, but then again he knows perfectly well where he works, so why tail him? He' s a completely unnecessary character seemingly only there to provide some suspense when he later sees Muller as Bartok (that's another bizarre plot development - the guy suddenly feels an urgent need to tell Bartok about his dead ringer an entire month after it happened...)

And another thing that puzzles me - why did Muller take this backseat ride with Bartok when he murdered him and where were they going? Maybe it's explained in the film, but apparently I missed it.

"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan

[–] MystMoonstruck 9 years ago

2. They looked alike AND had the identitical Austrian accent? Again, major suspension here.

Actually, they show him trying to imitate the doctor's speech patterns from the tapes made in his office. However, he seems to throw out the "learned" accent very quickly. It seems we only hear a bit of it the first time he visits the office as the doctor. Yes, the twin accents bit is odd; why didn't he use the accent he practiced?

But, I shrugged and went with it. Maybe they thought we'd be focused on the "scar on the wrong cheek" bit.

(W)hat are we without our dreams?
Making sure our fantasies
Do not overpower our realities. ~ RC

[–] essex9999 9 years ago

2. The few times we heard Bartok speak, he had an accent, too. It's actually more logical that a psychologist named Victor Bartok would have a Central European accent than that Johnny Muller - about whom there is no suggestion of being foreign except his accent - would have one, especially since his brother, obviously older or at least close to the same age, speaks unaccented American English.

[–] MsELLERYqueen2 9 years ago

That's fine with me. I love far-fetched mysteries/thrillers.

~~
💕 JimHutton (1934-79) and ElleryQueen 👍

[–] mdonln 7 years ago

mmitsos-1 says > How can Muller pull off Dr. Bartok's mannerisms without really knowing him?

Yeah, there was a lot of 'playing along' required to watch this movie. Still, I enjoyed it and thought it had a good message: the grass isn't always greener on the other side. It's easy to believe other people's lives are less complicated than ours but that's rarely the case.

Bartok was a foreigner and Muller was an American ex-con. They may have looked similar but the way they lived, moved, their mannerisms, style would have been very different - influenced by their history. Even if we can accept the accent and other things are passable, that scar should have caught at least one person's attention right away. Most likely it would have been the guy who told him about the resemblance in the first place. He claimed to have been very observant but wasn't.

The other big difference was attitude. Bartok never seemed to answer when anyone spoke to him casually; like good morning, hello, etc. Muller always did. Those tiny little things tend to raise curiosity. People ask, huh, what changed?

Woman, man! That's the way it should be Tarzan. [Tarzan and his mate]

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

I thought for sure Muller had actually seen Bartok in person at least once before deciding to slash his own face. If so, that would make him look really inattentive in executing his plan. I could be remembering wrong, though.