Design for Scandal (1941)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Norman Taurog

Writers:

Lionel Houser (story)
Lionel Houser (screenplay)

Release Date:

December 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Rosalind RUSSELL - Walter PIDGEON Hilariously together in the year's love-and-laugh hit!

Plot:

To save his job, newsman Jeff Sherman offers to help his boss get out of a swingeing alimony settlement...

Plot Keywords:

Alimony | Divorce | Judge | Newspaper | Photographer

Cast

Rosalind Russell	...	Judge Cornelia C. Porter
Walter Pidgeon	...	Jeff Sherman
Edward Arnold	...	Judson M. 'J.M.' / 'Judsy' Blair
Lee Bowman	...	Walter Caldwell
Jean Rogers	...	Dotty
Mary Beth Hughes	...	Adele Blair
Guy Kibbee	...	Judge Graham
Barbara Jo Allen	...	Jane aka Janie
Leon Belasco	...	Alexander Raoul - a sculptor
Bobby Larson	...	Freddie
Charles Coleman	...	Wilton - Blair's butler
Thurston Hall	...	Northcott - Blair's lawyer

Also Known As:

Her Honor (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #7805)

Filming Locations:

Jack Oakie's Venijay Ranch, California, USA

Company:

Loew's

Movie Connections:

Referenced in We Must Have Music (1942)

Soundtrack:

Wonderful One

Now I know they hate the name Sherman in Georgia!

(There may be Spoilers) Zany and sophisticated 1941 screwball comedy that has big city newspaper mogul J.M "Cuddle Baby" Bair, Edward Arnold, enlisting his former ace reporter "Smilin Jeff" Sherman, Walter Pigeon, to do a job for him. "Cuddle Baby" wants Jeff to get the goods on the Judge who just threw the book on him giving his gold digging 22 year former party girl wife Adele, Mary Beth Bowman, a $250,000.00 settlement in his divorce suite.

J.M feeling like a fool to be taken to the cleaners by Judge Cornelia Porter, Rosalind Russell, tries to get her transfered out of her job presiding over family matters in divorce court, so his appeal against her decision would be handled by a judge that he can buy off. J.M then find out that she's just been elected to a six year term and has an impeccable record as a jurist. Jeff comes up with this scheme to get Judge Porter involved in a love triangle with him being the effected party who's affections are stolen from his future wife Dotty, Jean Rogers, by the Family Courts straight as a arrow Judge Cornelia Porter.

working all the angles Jeff finds out that the Judge is an armature sculpture and artist. Finding she's going to the Cape Cod artist colony to spend the summer Jeff get's a local sculpture from there Alexander Roaul, Leon Belasco, a job back in NYC to paint the JM Blair Building as Jeff moves into his studio and in on Judge Porter trying to impress her with his, really Raouls, art works.

Jeff at first trying to entrap Judge Porter by romancing her starts to fall in love with the judge. Soon he scuttles his plans that he concocted with both Dotty and his boss J.M Blair. J.M is outraged with Jeff for leaving him out in the cold and having his "fiancé" and "future wife" Dotty stick "Cuddle Baby" Blair with a $5,000.00 tab, plus all the furs and jewelry she could buy with his checkbook, to go along with Jeff's insane scheme.

With the case now going to court Blair knows that he'll lose, again, in the courts when the "other woman" in Jeff's life Judge Porter takes the stand. Jeff instead of accusing her of destroying his "marraige", that's still some two months away, with Dotty admits that he's in love with Judge Porter and thus has the entire case against her thrown out with now "Cuddle Baby" Blair, as well as Jeff, facing time behind bars for trying to frame the good and incorruptible Judge Porter.

While all this is going on Blair came to an agreement with his former wife Adele to drop her divorce settlement against him for a lump sum of $150,000.00 saving him almost $100,000.00 in divorce payments. Later Blair find out to his shock and surprise that she was to marry a rich old oil geezer, John D. Rockerfeller Jr?, the next day after she already cashed his check! If Blair waited one more day his divorce payments would have been immediately halted since she was to be married and wouldn't be entitled to them!

Judge Porter, or Cornelia, finally realizes that she's in love with the buffoonish but handsome Jeff Sherman forgets all his zany antics and tricks that he played on her by now knowing that his heart not his brain was in the right place but not always at the right time.