Derek Winnert

Information

This article was written on 29 Mar 2017, and is filled under Reviews.

Current post is tagged

, , , , , , , ,

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels **** (1988, Steve Martin, Michael Caine, Glenne Headly, Anton Rodgers, Barbara Harris) – Classic Movie Review 5214

Director Frank Oz’s delicious 1988 comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels stars a perfect team in Steve Martin, Michael Caine and Glenne Headly.

Caine plays a suave Englishman named Lawrence Jamieson who preys on wealthy widows by posing as a deposed prince, and Martin plays a gauche American called Freddy Benson, the new kid on the block.

They are rival conmen working on the French Riviera, but the wealthy tourist town of Beaumont-sur-Mer is only big enough for one of them. Soon they make a bet to see who can swindle $50,000 out of wide-eyed US soap queen heiresss Janet Colgate (Headly) first, with the loser agreeing to quit town.

Caine and Martin make a splendid comedy duo in this delightful, funny, old-fashioned comedy, directed by Muppeteer Oz. The final twist can be seen coming very early on, but the writers are able to keep the comic pace hot till the inevitable dénouement.

Written by Dale Launer, Stanley Shapiro and Paul Henning, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is remake of – and great improvement on – Ralph Levy’s limp 1964 Bedtime Story starring Marlon Brando, David Niven and Shirley Jones. Though Stanley Shapiro and Paul Henning appear in the credits, they are only there for their script for Bedtime Story.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels also stars Anton Rodgers as Inspector Andre, Barbara Harris, Ian McDiarmid, Dana Ivey, Meagen Fay, Frances Conroy and Nicole Calfan.

Another remake is on its way. Chris Addison is to direct MGM’s 2017 gender-reversal reboot called Nasty Women, starring Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson. It was finally released on 10 May 2019 in the UK and US as The Hustle. Dale Launer, Stanley Shapiro and Paul Henning were all credited for the story and screenplay, along with Jac Schaeffer.

RIP Glenne Headly (1955–2017).

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5214

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com

Comments are closed.

Recent articles

Recent comments