Dead Man's Shoes Reviews

This somewhat contrived, but fairly interesting, tale stars Banks as a wealthy industrialist accused of being the infamous thief Jean Pelletier in the years before the war. He winds up in court, claiming that he lost his memory when wounded in the war and that his fiancee identified him from a picture in the paper. The former lover of Pelletier takes the stand and swears that Banks is the thief, but the industrialist is saved when a man testifies that he saw Pelletier killed during the war. Banks goes home a free man, only to be cornered by the witness, who says he lied and is going to have to blackmail him or tell the cops. Banks, who truly can't remember, begins to wonder whether he really is the criminal or not. Obsessed with finding out, he seeks out Pelletier's former mistress, as well as his mother. These contacts finally convince him that he is indeed the infamous Pelletier, and Banks decides to turn himself in to the authorities. His lawyer, however, talks him out of being so noble and cites the effect it would have on the industrialist's young son. Meanwhile, the mistress learns that the blackmailer is going to tell the cops anyway, so she grabs a gun and kills him.