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Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (film)
Encyclopedia
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a 1988 American comedy film
directed by Frank Oz
. The screenplay by Dale Launer
, Stanley Shapiro
, and Paul Henning
focuses on two con artists
who ply their trade on the French Riviera
. Although it is not officially credited as a remake
of Bedtime Story
, it closely follows the plot of the 1964 film starring David Niven
and Marlon Brando
.
The film ranks as #85 on Bravo's 100 Funniest Movies.
) is a cultivated and suave British master con artist who operates in the deluxe hotels along the French Riviera
under the watchful and approving eye of French Inspector Andre (Anton Rodgers
), the resident chief of police who receives a cut of his take. Their only concern is a mysterious, anonymous character known only as "The Jackal" who has been preying on other wealthy victims of late.
When small-time American hustler Freddy Benson (Steve Martin
) decides to search for easy marks in Beaumont-sur-Mer, Lawrence's home base, Lawrence recognizes that the Jackal has shown his face. He briefly has Andre arrest Freddy for conning a gold digger and release him on the promise of a bribe, but Freddy encounters one of Lawrence's past victims on his plane and realises who Lawrence really is. Freddy returns to Beaumont-sur-Mer and confronts Lawrence, demanding training in his art of the con in exchange for keeping silent. Lawrence agrees, but only as a way to get rid of Freddy since Lawrence does not want a lowly competitor infringing on his territory. Freddy's roles in subsequent cons are limited, and much to his chagrin, he is forced to play Lawrence's mentally disabled younger half-brother, Ruprecht, whose extremely socially subnormal traits are used to repel women that Lawrence has recently conned, and to whom they believe they will be wed.
When Freddy decides that he's had enough of Lawrence's humiliating tutelage and wants to go out on his own, the two agree to a challenge to see who will remain in Beaumont-sur-Mer, since there is not enough room for the two of them in the same small town. The first one to con $50,000 out of a selected mark
will be allowed to stay, while the other must leave and never return to Beaumont-sur-Mer. The two select Janet Colgate (Glenne Headly
), a naive and wealthy American heiress, as their target and embark on their separate strategies while at the same time ruthlessly sabotaging each other. Freddy poses as a psychosomatically crippled soldier who needs to borrow $50,000 for treatment by a celebrated Liechtenstein
psychiatrist
, Emile Shauffhausen. But when Lawrence discovers this scheme he pretends to be Dr. Shauffhausen, insisting Freddy's condition is one he can cure with the stipulation that Janet pay the $50,000 fee directly to him.
Lawrence discovers that Janet is not wealthy after all but on vacation as a contest winner. She plans to sell the remainder of her prizes and combine the proceeds with her father's savings to finance Freddy's treatment. Lawrence has always taken advantage of wealthy and corrupt members of society, but he does not take advantage of the poor and virtuous. Impressed and emotionally touched by Janet's innate goodness, Lawrence calls off the bet. Freddy suggests they change the challenge and make Janet herself the bet, with the first to bed her declared the winner. Lawrence refuses to try to "win," agreeing only to bet that Freddy will fail to do so.
Scheming with a group of sympathetic English sailors (who pity Freddy and think he really is disabled), Freddy has Lawrence abducted and taken to a transport plane to Honduras. He goes to Janet, who admits that she is in love with him. This "cures" Freddy of his disorder. Lawrence is in the bedroom hidden from view, and Janet reveals that he had told her how to handle Freddy's return, and that he would be 'cured'. Once a member of the Royal Naval Reserve
, Lawrence had told the sailors the true story. Frustrated at being played for fools, they strong-arm Freddy into joining their party and glue his palm to a wall to stop him from escaping while Lawrence puts Janet on the next plane out of France. Despite being trapped, Freddy enjoys the party greatly.
The next day, however, Janet does not board her flight. She instead returns to her hotel room to find a remorseful Freddy there. They kiss, close the door and begin to undress. The news reaches Lawrence as he swims, and he accepts his defeat with grace. He is later seen struggling to retain composure as he waits for Freddy to return and gloat over his victory. Janet later goes to Lawrence in tears. She tells him that Freddy has stolen the money her father sent. Lawrence compensates her with $50,000 of his own and takes her to the airport. At the last minute before she boards the plane, Janet tells Lawrence that she cannot take the money and gives the bag back to him. As the plane leaves, Freddy, in handcuffs, appears claiming that Janet robbed the both of them. Puzzled, Lawrence finally opens up the bag and finds a note from Janet instead admitting that she indeed took the $50,000 and that she was The Jackal all along. Freddy rants his head off, while Lawrence smiles in admiration at Janet's cleverness.
Freddy and Lawrence assess their loss. They are about to part company forever when Janet, under a new disguise (as a loud New Yorker named Paula), suddenly arrives at Lawrence's villa with a yacht filled with wealthy people. While the guests refresh themselves, Janet takes the two men aside and announces that as The Jackal she has made a fortune, but she had great fun during her time with Lawrence and Freddy. Joining arms, they set out to find fresh victims.
and David Bowie
, who, according to Bowie were "a bit tweezed that we lost out on a script that could have been reasonably good." Jagger had written the title song to Ruthless People
based on his enthusiasm for the screenplay written by Dale Launer
. When Jagger and Bowie asked Launer to write a screenplay for them, Launer suggested they do a remake of the movie Bedtime Story
, which originally starred David Niven
and Marlon Brando
. Launer ended up securing the remake rights from Stanley Shapiro
, one of the original writers.
Launer rewrote the screenplay and took it to Orion Pictures
. The first director on the project was Herbert Ross
(Turning Point
). Eventually Ross was replaced by Frank Oz
who preferred the Launer version written previously to Mr. Ross' involvement.
, Cannes
, Beaulieu-sur-Mer
(depicted in the film as "Beaumont-sur-Mer"), Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat
, Nice
, and Villefranche-sur-Mer
. The Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild
was visited by the leading characters in a scene. The estate belonging to Lawrence is a private villa located at the tip of the Cap d'Antibes, and the hotel hosting a number of dining and casino scenes is the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat.
includes "Puttin' on the Ritz
" by Irving Berlin
, "Pick Yourself Up" by Jerome Kern
and Dorothy Fields
, and "We're in the Money" by Harry Warren
and Al Dubin
. They all feature the violinist Jerry Goodman
.
extra providing a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film, Frank Oz discusses a teaser trailer
he directed for the studio, which wanted to begin promoting the film before there was enough actual footage to assemble a trailer. An entire day was spent filming a scene in which Freddy and Lawrence stroll along the promenade, politely moving out of the way of other people, until Freddy casually pushes an elderly woman into the water and Lawrence nonchalantly shoves a little boy's face into his cotton candy
. Oz says audiences were surprised to discover the scene was not part of the released film.
There was no trailer
for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Director Oz was shown three trailers made and submitted to Orion by "trailer houses" (companies employed by the studios who will take a movie and create a trailer). Oz didn't like any of them and as a result, no trailer was ever released.
of the Chicago Sun-Times
said, "The plot ... is not as complex as a movie like The Sting
, and we can see some of the surprises as soon as they appear on the horizon. But the chemistry between Martin and Caine is fun, and Headly provides a resilient foil."
Variety
called it "wonderfully crafted" and "absolutely charming" and added, "Director Frank Oz clearly has fun with his subjects, helped out in good part by clever cutting and a great, imitative '30s jazz
y score by Miles Goodman."
Vincent Canby
of the "New York Times said "...one of the season's most cheerful, most satisfying new comedies" and "...blithe, seemingly all-new, laugh-out-loud escapade" and "Mr. Caine and Mr. Martin work together with an exuberant ease that's a joy to watch" plus "In this season of lazy, fat, mistimed and misdirected comedies, exemplified by Scrooged and Twins, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is an enchanted featherweight folly."
Review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes
gives the film a score of 87% based on 31 reviews.
was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
but lost to Tom Hanks
in Big
. Glenne Headly
was named Most Promising New Actress by the Chicago Film Critics Association
.
that opened on Broadway
in early 2005. It starred John Lithgow
as Lawrence and Norbert Leo Butz
as Freddy and Broadway star Sherie Rene Scott
as the soap queen, in the show named Christine Colgate, not Janet.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
directed by Frank Oz
Frank Oz
Frank Oz is a British-born American film director, actor, voice actor and puppeteer who is known for creating and performing the characters Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear in The Muppet Show, Cookie Monster, Bert and Grover in Sesame Street, and for directing films, including the 1986 Little Shop of...
. The screenplay by Dale Launer
Dale Launer
Dale Launer is an American comedy screenwriter. His best known films include Ruthless People, Blind Date, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and My Cousin Vinny....
, Stanley Shapiro
Stanley Shapiro
Stanley Shapiro was an American screenwriter and producer responsible for three of Doris Day's most successful films.Born in Brooklyn, New York, Shapiro earned his first screen credit for South Sea Woman in 1953...
, and Paul Henning
Paul Henning
Paul William Henning was an American producer and writer. Most famous for the successful TV sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies, he was crucial in the development of several "rural" comedies for CBS.-Early life:...
focuses on two con artists
Confidence trick
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility,...
who ply their trade on the French Riviera
French Riviera
The Côte d'Azur, pronounced , often known in English as the French Riviera , is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France, also including the sovereign state of Monaco...
. Although it is not officially credited as a remake
Remake
A remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
of Bedtime Story
Bedtime Story (film)
Bedtime Story is a 1964 comedy film made by Pennebaker Productions, The Lankershim Company and Universal Pictures. It was directed by Ralph Levy and produced by Stanley Shapiro with Robert Arthur as executive producer from a screenplay by Stanley Shapiro and Paul Henning. The music score was by...
, it closely follows the plot of the 1964 film starring David Niven
David Niven
James David Graham Niven , known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther...
and Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
.
The film ranks as #85 on Bravo's 100 Funniest Movies.
Plot
Lawrence Jamieson (Michael CaineMichael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
) is a cultivated and suave British master con artist who operates in the deluxe hotels along the French Riviera
French Riviera
The Côte d'Azur, pronounced , often known in English as the French Riviera , is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France, also including the sovereign state of Monaco...
under the watchful and approving eye of French Inspector Andre (Anton Rodgers
Anton Rodgers
Anton Rodgers was an English actor and occasional director. He performed on stage, in film and in television dramas and sitcoms.-Life and career:...
), the resident chief of police who receives a cut of his take. Their only concern is a mysterious, anonymous character known only as "The Jackal" who has been preying on other wealthy victims of late.
When small-time American hustler Freddy Benson (Steve Martin
Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....
) decides to search for easy marks in Beaumont-sur-Mer, Lawrence's home base, Lawrence recognizes that the Jackal has shown his face. He briefly has Andre arrest Freddy for conning a gold digger and release him on the promise of a bribe, but Freddy encounters one of Lawrence's past victims on his plane and realises who Lawrence really is. Freddy returns to Beaumont-sur-Mer and confronts Lawrence, demanding training in his art of the con in exchange for keeping silent. Lawrence agrees, but only as a way to get rid of Freddy since Lawrence does not want a lowly competitor infringing on his territory. Freddy's roles in subsequent cons are limited, and much to his chagrin, he is forced to play Lawrence's mentally disabled younger half-brother, Ruprecht, whose extremely socially subnormal traits are used to repel women that Lawrence has recently conned, and to whom they believe they will be wed.
When Freddy decides that he's had enough of Lawrence's humiliating tutelage and wants to go out on his own, the two agree to a challenge to see who will remain in Beaumont-sur-Mer, since there is not enough room for the two of them in the same small town. The first one to con $50,000 out of a selected mark
Victimology
Victimology is the scientific study of victimization, including the relationships between victims and offenders, the interactions between victims and the criminal justice system — that is, the police and courts, and corrections officials — and the connections between victims and other social groups...
will be allowed to stay, while the other must leave and never return to Beaumont-sur-Mer. The two select Janet Colgate (Glenne Headly
Glenne Headly
Glenne Aimee Headly is an American actress of film, stage and television.-Early life:Glenne Headly was born in New London, Connecticut and her first years were spent living under the care of her mother in San Francisco and her maternal grandmother in Pennsylvania...
), a naive and wealthy American heiress, as their target and embark on their separate strategies while at the same time ruthlessly sabotaging each other. Freddy poses as a psychosomatically crippled soldier who needs to borrow $50,000 for treatment by a celebrated Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein
The Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...
psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
, Emile Shauffhausen. But when Lawrence discovers this scheme he pretends to be Dr. Shauffhausen, insisting Freddy's condition is one he can cure with the stipulation that Janet pay the $50,000 fee directly to him.
Lawrence discovers that Janet is not wealthy after all but on vacation as a contest winner. She plans to sell the remainder of her prizes and combine the proceeds with her father's savings to finance Freddy's treatment. Lawrence has always taken advantage of wealthy and corrupt members of society, but he does not take advantage of the poor and virtuous. Impressed and emotionally touched by Janet's innate goodness, Lawrence calls off the bet. Freddy suggests they change the challenge and make Janet herself the bet, with the first to bed her declared the winner. Lawrence refuses to try to "win," agreeing only to bet that Freddy will fail to do so.
Scheming with a group of sympathetic English sailors (who pity Freddy and think he really is disabled), Freddy has Lawrence abducted and taken to a transport plane to Honduras. He goes to Janet, who admits that she is in love with him. This "cures" Freddy of his disorder. Lawrence is in the bedroom hidden from view, and Janet reveals that he had told her how to handle Freddy's return, and that he would be 'cured'. Once a member of the Royal Naval Reserve
Royal Naval Reserve
The Royal Naval Reserve is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. The present Royal Naval Reserve was formed in 1958 by merging the original Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve , a reserve of civilian volunteers founded in 1903...
, Lawrence had told the sailors the true story. Frustrated at being played for fools, they strong-arm Freddy into joining their party and glue his palm to a wall to stop him from escaping while Lawrence puts Janet on the next plane out of France. Despite being trapped, Freddy enjoys the party greatly.
The next day, however, Janet does not board her flight. She instead returns to her hotel room to find a remorseful Freddy there. They kiss, close the door and begin to undress. The news reaches Lawrence as he swims, and he accepts his defeat with grace. He is later seen struggling to retain composure as he waits for Freddy to return and gloat over his victory. Janet later goes to Lawrence in tears. She tells him that Freddy has stolen the money her father sent. Lawrence compensates her with $50,000 of his own and takes her to the airport. At the last minute before she boards the plane, Janet tells Lawrence that she cannot take the money and gives the bag back to him. As the plane leaves, Freddy, in handcuffs, appears claiming that Janet robbed the both of them. Puzzled, Lawrence finally opens up the bag and finds a note from Janet instead admitting that she indeed took the $50,000 and that she was The Jackal all along. Freddy rants his head off, while Lawrence smiles in admiration at Janet's cleverness.
Freddy and Lawrence assess their loss. They are about to part company forever when Janet, under a new disguise (as a loud New Yorker named Paula), suddenly arrives at Lawrence's villa with a yacht filled with wealthy people. While the guests refresh themselves, Janet takes the two men aside and announces that as The Jackal she has made a fortune, but she had great fun during her time with Lawrence and Freddy. Joining arms, they set out to find fresh victims.
Cast
- Steve MartinSteve MartinStephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....
as Freddy Benson - Michael CaineMichael CaineSir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
as Lawrence Jamieson - Glenne HeadlyGlenne HeadlyGlenne Aimee Headly is an American actress of film, stage and television.-Early life:Glenne Headly was born in New London, Connecticut and her first years were spent living under the care of her mother in San Francisco and her maternal grandmother in Pennsylvania...
as Janet Colgate - Anton RodgersAnton RodgersAnton Rodgers was an English actor and occasional director. He performed on stage, in film and in television dramas and sitcoms.-Life and career:...
as Inspector Andre - Barbara HarrisBarbara Harris (actress)Barbara Harris is an American actress who was a Broadway stage star and later became a film actress. She appeared in such films as A Thousand Clowns, Plaza Suite, Nashville, Family Plot, Freaky Friday, Peggy Sue Got Married, and Grosse Pointe Blank...
as "Lady" Fanny Eubanks of Omaha - Ian McDiarmidIan McDiarmidIan McDiarmid is a Scottish theatre actor and director, who has also made sporadic appearances on film and television.McDiarmid has had a successful career in theatre; he has been cast in many plays, while occasionally directing others and although he has appeared mostly in theatrical productions,...
as Arthur, Lawrence's butler - Dana IveyDana IveyDana Robins Ivey is an American character actress, who has performed on Broadway and other stage roles, in film and on television.-Early life and family:Ivey was born in Atlanta, Georgia...
as Mrs. Reed - Meagen FayMeagen FayMeagen Fay is an American actress.A native of Chicago, in the early 1980s Fay was a featured cast member at The Second City. Her first television role was in the 1987 television series Ohara....
as Lady from Oklahoma - Frances ConroyFrances ConroyFrances Conroy is an American actress. She is best known for playing Ruth, the matriarch of the Fisher family, on Six Feet Under, which earned her a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award.-Early life:...
as Lady from Palm Beach - Louis ZorichLouis ZorichLouis Zorich is an American actor. He is well-known for his portrayal of Paul Reiser's father "Burt Buchman" in the NBC series Mad About You. He played the role from 1993 to 1999.-Life and career:...
as Nikos, the Greek millionaire
Pre-production
The movie was rumored to have originally been written as a vehicle for Mick JaggerMick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
and David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, who, according to Bowie were "a bit tweezed that we lost out on a script that could have been reasonably good." Jagger had written the title song to Ruthless People
Ruthless People
Ruthless People is a 1986 black comedy written by Dale Launer, starring Danny DeVito, Bette Midler, Judge Reinhold and Helen Slater. It also features Bill Pullman as a supporting role in his film debut....
based on his enthusiasm for the screenplay written by Dale Launer
Dale Launer
Dale Launer is an American comedy screenwriter. His best known films include Ruthless People, Blind Date, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and My Cousin Vinny....
. When Jagger and Bowie asked Launer to write a screenplay for them, Launer suggested they do a remake of the movie Bedtime Story
Bedtime Story (film)
Bedtime Story is a 1964 comedy film made by Pennebaker Productions, The Lankershim Company and Universal Pictures. It was directed by Ralph Levy and produced by Stanley Shapiro with Robert Arthur as executive producer from a screenplay by Stanley Shapiro and Paul Henning. The music score was by...
, which originally starred David Niven
David Niven
James David Graham Niven , known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther...
and Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
. Launer ended up securing the remake rights from Stanley Shapiro
Stanley Shapiro
Stanley Shapiro was an American screenwriter and producer responsible for three of Doris Day's most successful films.Born in Brooklyn, New York, Shapiro earned his first screen credit for South Sea Woman in 1953...
, one of the original writers.
Launer rewrote the screenplay and took it to Orion Pictures
Orion Pictures
Orion Pictures Corporation was an American independent production company that produced movies from 1978 until 1998. It was formed in 1978 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and three former top-level executives of United Artists. Although it was never a large motion picture producer, Orion...
. The first director on the project was Herbert Ross
Herbert Ross
Herbert Ross was an American film director, producer, choreographer and actor.-Early life and career:Born Herbert David Ross in Brooklyn, New York, he made his stage debut as Third Witch with a touring company of Macbeth in 1942...
(Turning Point
Turning Point
Turning point may refer to:* A a point at which the derivative changes sign. See stationary point, in mathematics* A climax , in narrative structure* A discrimen, one of the two marked points on a cursus or classical-period race-track...
). Eventually Ross was replaced by Frank Oz
Frank Oz
Frank Oz is a British-born American film director, actor, voice actor and puppeteer who is known for creating and performing the characters Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear in The Muppet Show, Cookie Monster, Bert and Grover in Sesame Street, and for directing films, including the 1986 Little Shop of...
who preferred the Launer version written previously to Mr. Ross' involvement.
Filming
Filming locations included AntibesAntibes
Antibes is a resort town in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France.It lies on the Mediterranean in the Côte d'Azur, located between Cannes and Nice. The town of Juan-les-Pins is within the commune of Antibes...
, Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
, Beaulieu-sur-Mer
Beaulieu-sur-Mer
Beaulieu-sur-Mer , Italian: Belluogo, is a seaside village on the French Riviera between Nice and Monaco. It is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department and borders the communes of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Èze, and Villefranche-sur-Mer.-History:...
(depicted in the film as "Beaumont-sur-Mer"), Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat
Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat
Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat , Italian: San Giovanni Capo Ferrato, is a commune of the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France.It is located on a peninsula next to Beaulieu-sur-Mer and to Villefranche-sur-Mer and extends out to Cap Ferrat...
, Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
, and Villefranche-sur-Mer
Villefranche-sur-Mer
Villefranche-sur-Mer is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera.-Geography:...
. The Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild
Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild
Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild is a French seaside palazzo constructed between 1905 and 1912 at Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat on the French Riviera by Baroness Béatrice de Rothschild in the Goût Rothschild. It was designed by the Belgian architect Aaron Messiah...
was visited by the leading characters in a scene. The estate belonging to Lawrence is a private villa located at the tip of the Cap d'Antibes, and the hotel hosting a number of dining and casino scenes is the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat.
Music
The soundtrackSoundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
includes "Puttin' on the Ritz
Puttin' on the Ritz
"Puttin' on the Ritz" is a popular song written and published in 1929 by Irving Berlin and introduced by Harry Richman in the musical film Puttin' on the Ritz . The title derives from the slang expression "putting on the Ritz," meaning to dress very fashionably. The expression was inspired by the...
" by Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
, "Pick Yourself Up" by Jerome Kern
Jerome Kern
Jerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A...
and Dorothy Fields
Dorothy Fields
Dorothy Fields was an American librettist and lyricist.She wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films...
, and "We're in the Money" by Harry Warren
Harry Warren
Harry Warren was an American composer and lyricist. Warren was the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song eleven times and won three Oscars for composing "Lullaby of Broadway", "You'll Never Know" and "On the Atchison,...
and Al Dubin
Al Dubin
Alexander "Al" Dubin was an American lyricist. He became known through his collaborations with the composer Harry Warren.-Life and works:...
. They all feature the violinist Jerry Goodman
Jerry Goodman
Jerry Goodman is an American violinist best known for playing electric violin in the bands The Flock and the jazz fusion Mahavishnu Orchestra. Goodman actually began his musical career as The Flock's roadie before joining the band on violin. Trained in the conservatory, both of his parents were...
.
Release
In a DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
extra providing a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film, Frank Oz discusses a teaser trailer
Teaser trailer
A teaser campaign is an advertising campaign which typically consists of a series of small, cryptic, challenging advertisements that anticipate a larger, full-blown campaign for a product launch or otherwise important event. These advertisements are called "teasers" or "teaser ads"...
he directed for the studio, which wanted to begin promoting the film before there was enough actual footage to assemble a trailer. An entire day was spent filming a scene in which Freddy and Lawrence stroll along the promenade, politely moving out of the way of other people, until Freddy casually pushes an elderly woman into the water and Lawrence nonchalantly shoves a little boy's face into his cotton candy
Cotton candy
Cotton candy , candy floss or candyfloss or candy buttox , or fairy floss is a form of spun sugar. Since cotton candy is mostly air, a small initial quantity of sugar generates a tremendously greater final volume, causing servings to be physically large and voluminous...
. Oz says audiences were surprised to discover the scene was not part of the released film.
There was no trailer
Trailer (film)
A trailer or preview is an advertisement or a commercial for a feature film that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema. The term "trailer" comes from their having originally been shown at the end of a feature film screening. That practice did not last long, because patrons tended to leave the...
for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Director Oz was shown three trailers made and submitted to Orion by "trailer houses" (companies employed by the studios who will take a movie and create a trailer). Oz didn't like any of them and as a result, no trailer was ever released.
Critical response
Roger EbertRoger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
said, "The plot ... is not as complex as a movie like The Sting
The Sting
The Sting is a 1973 American caper film set in September 1936 that involves a complicated plot by two professional grifters to con a mob boss . The film was directed by George Roy Hill, who previously directed Newman and Redford in the western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.Created by...
, and we can see some of the surprises as soon as they appear on the horizon. But the chemistry between Martin and Caine is fun, and Headly provides a resilient foil."
Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
called it "wonderfully crafted" and "absolutely charming" and added, "Director Frank Oz clearly has fun with his subjects, helped out in good part by clever cutting and a great, imitative '30s jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
y score by Miles Goodman."
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby was an American film critic who became the chief film critic for The New York Times in 1969 and reviewed more than 1000 films during his tenure there.-Life and career:...
of the "New York Times said "...one of the season's most cheerful, most satisfying new comedies" and "...blithe, seemingly all-new, laugh-out-loud escapade" and "Mr. Caine and Mr. Martin work together with an exuberant ease that's a joy to watch" plus "In this season of lazy, fat, mistimed and misdirected comedies, exemplified by Scrooged and Twins, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is an enchanted featherweight folly."
Review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
gives the film a score of 87% based on 31 reviews.
Box office
The film opened on 1,466 screens in the United States and earned $3,840,498 on its opening weekend. In total it grossed $42,039,085 in the US.Awards and nominations
Michael CaineMichael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
The Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951...
but lost to Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
in Big
Big
Big is a 1988 romantic comedy film directed by Penny Marshall and stars Tom Hanks as Josh Baskin, a young boy who makes a wish "to be big" to a magical fortune-telling machine and is then aged to adulthood overnight...
. Glenne Headly
Glenne Headly
Glenne Aimee Headly is an American actress of film, stage and television.-Early life:Glenne Headly was born in New London, Connecticut and her first years were spent living under the care of her mother in San Francisco and her maternal grandmother in Pennsylvania...
was named Most Promising New Actress by the Chicago Film Critics Association
Chicago Film Critics Association
The Chicago Film Critics Association is an American film critic association.-Members:Current members include:*Sarah Knight Adamson*Zbigniew Banas*Shelley Cameron*Dave Canfield*Vittorio Carli*Erik Childress*Camerin Courtney*Bonnie DeShong...
.
Musical adaptation
The film served as the basis of a successful stage musical of the same nameDirty Rotten Scoundrels (musical)
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a Broadway musical, with music and lyrics by David Yazbek and a book by Jeffrey Lane; it is based on the film of the same name...
that opened on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in early 2005. It starred John Lithgow
John Lithgow
John Arthur Lithgow is an American actor, musician, and author. Presently, he is involved with a wide range of media projects, including stage, television, film, and radio...
as Lawrence and Norbert Leo Butz
Norbert Leo Butz
Norbert Leo Butz is an American actor best known for his work in Broadway theatre.-Personal life:Butz was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Elaine and Norbert Butz...
as Freddy and Broadway star Sherie Rene Scott
Sherie Rene Scott
Sherie Rene Scott is an American actress, singer and writer. She is a co-founder of Grammy winning Sh-K-Boom Records and Ghostlight Records and has appeared in numerous Off-Broadway and Broadway musicals and plays appears on numerous solo and original cast recordings.-Life and career:Scott was...
as the soap queen, in the show named Christine Colgate, not Janet.