This film has a history of name confusion to rival Hitchcock's SECRET AGENT, SABOTAGE, and SABOTEUR, or HERE COMES MR. JORDAN, HEAVEN CAN WAIT, and HEAVEN CAN WAIT. There is a 1941 comedy with Loretta Young and Frederic March called BEDTIME STORY about Broadway theater people. Then this film was created in 1964, and marked the only time David Niven and Marlon Brando co-starred in a comedy. Then the 1964 comedy was remade in 1988 with Michael Caine and Steve Martin in the Niven and Brando film, but was now called DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS. That is the title that shall always be recalled with this story, especially since it has been turned into a successful musical show in London and New York City.
Truth be told, I favor the 1988 version, because the two male leads manage to squeeze more reality out of their characters than Niven and Brando did. Brando had too much intelligence for playing the slovenly conman Freddy Benson, while Steve Martin showed his intellectual limitations far better. Niven got carried away showing Jamieson's intellectual philanthropy (from the proceeds of his swindles), while Caine took the same material and showed it for what it really was - an emotional hobby. That said the 1964 film was good within it's own limits (not notable for nearly a quarter century). The only other alteration was a final surprise which makes the remake much superior.
Lawrence Jamieson has set himself up in a mansion on the gold coast of the Riviera, and attracts wealthy women (with the assistance of the local police chief - who is in his pay). He convinces wealthy women (pretending he is doing it in a noble cause) to give him thousands of dollars for the purpose of freeing his country from the tyrants (it is obvious he is supposed to be a deposed Balkan monarch, fighting the Communists). The con is perfect, and the machinery is well oiled. But along comes Freddy Benson, an American conman, who threatens to ruin the con Jamieson sets up. They try to work together for awhile, but Jamieson sees Freddy as an apprentice (at best a junior partner) and that irks Freddy. So they set up a bet - winner takes over the local Riviera town as his preserve.
They will both go after a new target, and whoever gets $10,000.00 from her first wins. Soon, a young American woman (Shirley Jones) shows up as "the American Soap Queen". Freddy pretends that he is a soldier suffering from some psychological shock that has left him crippled (he is actually spoofing, in part, his serious performance in his first movie THE MEN where he was a crippled war hero). Jamieson pretends he is a famous Vienese psychologist who Freddie claims he has tried to contact. And the film gets into a series of feints and pretenses that both men play on each other (to get them out of the way while they work out their wiles on Jones). Jones is a perfectly decent type, who gradually is very attracted to Brando.
SPOILERS COMING UP.
It turns out that Jones is the winner of a big contest from the American Soap Company, and she is not a millionaire. Niven learns this first and then Brando. But Brando has slowly gotten to like Jones too, so he ends up returning to America with her as her husband. Niven accepts that he must struggle on as a bachelor to the end - and heads back to the glittering life of the Riviera.
That is not how the remake ended. Jones' character turned out to be a very successful female con-artist, who beats Caine and Martin. Caine, of course, fully appreciates the artistry of the woman (Martin's just angry), but she returns, as she sees both men can be useful partners to her schemes (especially the smarter Caine). So the three of them go after their rich prey with glee at the end.
The remake had the better ending...hand's down! It kept the surprises coming up to the conclusion of the film. But the original had some nice moments. Brando playing the silent assistant to Niven as his apprentice has to play a half-wit brother Prince to Niven's exiled King (Prince Rupprecht), who wears "Napoleon" suits. He also, towards the end, does a nice brief imitation of Niven as the art and culture lover, admiring a "Stradavarius violin". The Chief of Police helping Niven also has an interesting plan to get rid of Brando with a gun whose fingerprints will lead to a weird historical dead end (you have to hear the plan to understand it). So I would recommend the film as a worthy comedy, but one that eventually was far improved upon.
Truth be told, I favor the 1988 version, because the two male leads manage to squeeze more reality out of their characters than Niven and Brando did. Brando had too much intelligence for playing the slovenly conman Freddy Benson, while Steve Martin showed his intellectual limitations far better. Niven got carried away showing Jamieson's intellectual philanthropy (from the proceeds of his swindles), while Caine took the same material and showed it for what it really was - an emotional hobby. That said the 1964 film was good within it's own limits (not notable for nearly a quarter century). The only other alteration was a final surprise which makes the remake much superior.
Lawrence Jamieson has set himself up in a mansion on the gold coast of the Riviera, and attracts wealthy women (with the assistance of the local police chief - who is in his pay). He convinces wealthy women (pretending he is doing it in a noble cause) to give him thousands of dollars for the purpose of freeing his country from the tyrants (it is obvious he is supposed to be a deposed Balkan monarch, fighting the Communists). The con is perfect, and the machinery is well oiled. But along comes Freddy Benson, an American conman, who threatens to ruin the con Jamieson sets up. They try to work together for awhile, but Jamieson sees Freddy as an apprentice (at best a junior partner) and that irks Freddy. So they set up a bet - winner takes over the local Riviera town as his preserve.
They will both go after a new target, and whoever gets $10,000.00 from her first wins. Soon, a young American woman (Shirley Jones) shows up as "the American Soap Queen". Freddy pretends that he is a soldier suffering from some psychological shock that has left him crippled (he is actually spoofing, in part, his serious performance in his first movie THE MEN where he was a crippled war hero). Jamieson pretends he is a famous Vienese psychologist who Freddie claims he has tried to contact. And the film gets into a series of feints and pretenses that both men play on each other (to get them out of the way while they work out their wiles on Jones). Jones is a perfectly decent type, who gradually is very attracted to Brando.
SPOILERS COMING UP.
It turns out that Jones is the winner of a big contest from the American Soap Company, and she is not a millionaire. Niven learns this first and then Brando. But Brando has slowly gotten to like Jones too, so he ends up returning to America with her as her husband. Niven accepts that he must struggle on as a bachelor to the end - and heads back to the glittering life of the Riviera.
That is not how the remake ended. Jones' character turned out to be a very successful female con-artist, who beats Caine and Martin. Caine, of course, fully appreciates the artistry of the woman (Martin's just angry), but she returns, as she sees both men can be useful partners to her schemes (especially the smarter Caine). So the three of them go after their rich prey with glee at the end.
The remake had the better ending...hand's down! It kept the surprises coming up to the conclusion of the film. But the original had some nice moments. Brando playing the silent assistant to Niven as his apprentice has to play a half-wit brother Prince to Niven's exiled King (Prince Rupprecht), who wears "Napoleon" suits. He also, towards the end, does a nice brief imitation of Niven as the art and culture lover, admiring a "Stradavarius violin". The Chief of Police helping Niven also has an interesting plan to get rid of Brando with a gun whose fingerprints will lead to a weird historical dead end (you have to hear the plan to understand it). So I would recommend the film as a worthy comedy, but one that eventually was far improved upon.