Hollow Triumph

John Müller is released from prison and immediately masterminds a holdup at an illegal casino run by Rocky Stansyck. The robbery goes badly, and the mobsters capture several of his men and force them to identify the rest before killing them.

Stansyck's ruthless reputation compels Müller to leave town and go into hiding. He considers his options while staying one step ahead of his pursuers.

He takes an office job recommended by his law-abiding brother Frederick, but quickly decides that working for a living is not for him. The lure of easier, illicit schemes lingers in his mind.

A chance encounter with dentist Dr. Swangron reveals that Müller looks exactly like the psychoanalyst Dr. Bartok, differing only by a scar on the opposite side of his face. He instantly seizes the opportunity to impersonate Bartok.

He slips into Bartok's office to study the records. Evelyn Hahn, Bartok's secretary, interrupts him, mistakes him for her employer, and kisses him before realizing he is not Bartok.

Encouraged by his mistaken identity, he persuades Evelyn to date him, further blurring the lines between Bartok's life and his own. He uses the relationship to practice the ruse and to gather Bartok's patients.

Using Bartok's image as a guide, he photographs the doctor and carves a scar on the right side of his own face. Only after the deed does he learn that Bartok's scar is on the left, the photo's negative reversal nearly betraying him.

He murders Bartok and plans to dump the body in the river, hoping the disguise will hold. The office cleaning lady remains suspicious but is lulled, and Evelyn and Bartok's patients remain unaware of the switch.

Müller learns he has a girlfriend, Virginia Taylor, and that they frequent Maxwell's, a high-class casino. It turns out Bartok has been losing heavily, complicating Müller's cover and his plan to remain hidden.

Frederick Müller traces the trail to Bartok, and the scar convinces him he is looking at a lookalike rather than his brother. Evelyn becomes increasingly suspicious that something is wrong with 'Bartok' and with John Müller.

Evelyn realizes Müller is an imposter and that he probably killed the psychoanalyst, though she does not turn him in yet. Frederick explains to 'Bartok' that John's need to hide has ended due to Stansyck's supposed deportation.

Müller heads to the dock after arranging for other doctors to take care of his patients and promises to sail with Evelyn. Two men intercept him over Bartok's gambling debt and fatally shoot him, while Evelyn sails away unaware that he intended to keep his promise to her.