Death of a Scoundrel (1956)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Charles Martin

Writer:

Charles Martin (written by)

Release Date:

31 October 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Men, Women... he used them, ruined them on his fantastic march to self-destruction

Plot:

When Clementi Suborin is found murdered, his secretary recounts to the police the story of his rise from Czech refugee to ultra-rich New Yorker...

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman | Murder

Cast

George Sanders	...	Clementi Sabourin
Yvonne De Carlo	...	Bridget Kelly
Zsa Zsa Gabor	...	Mrs. Ryan
Victor Jory	...	Leonard Wilson
Nancy Gates	...	Stephanie North
Coleen Gray	...	Mrs. Edith Van Renasslear
John Hoyt	...	Mr. O'Hara
Lisa Ferraday	...	Zina Monte
Tom Conway	...	Gerry Monte aka Sabourin
Celia Lovsky	...	Mrs. Sabourin (Clementi's mother)
Werner Klemperer	...	Herbert Bauman (Clementi's lawyer)
Justice Watson	...	Henry (Clementi's butler)
John Sutton	...	The Actor as 'Tom' in Stage Play
Curtis Cooksey	...	Oswald Van Renassalear
Gabriel Curtis	...	Max Freundlich (as Gabriel Curtiz)

Also Known As:

Diary of a Scoundrel
Loves of a Scoundrel
The Loves and Death of a Scoundrel

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (certificate #17961) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Company:

Charles Martin Productions

Trivia:

This film and The Falcon's Brother (1942) are the only two films to feature Tom Conway and real life brother George Sanders. They played brothers in both films.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Worth Winning (1989)

George Sanders as a bad boy you love to hate (and hate to love)

I caught this on Turner Classic Movies this morning and found it completely mesmerizing. I'm not quite sure what the other reviewer meant when he/she wrote that real people in the 50's didn't talk this way. Real people don't talk like the folks in Gilmore Girls, but I love that show. Complex, witty dialogue attracts me and this movie has it in spades. George Sander's character is an unapologetic liar, seducer, perpetrator of financial fraud, yet he remains charming and watchable at all times. I compare this to his scoundrel role in All About Eve; that character gave me the creeps when he revealed the corruption under the charm and cynicism. In Death of a Scoundrel, the character instead inspires a whole range of emotions including, finally, pity.

I laughed out loud throughout this movie, as Sanders' rogue juggles multiple women. In one scene, his servant announces a rich woman (Zsa Zsa Gabor) has come to his house unexpectedly. He quickly ushers out the woman with whom he's been having tea and romancing. Zsa Zsa comes in and while exchanging pleasantries with him picks up one of the teacups, examines it for lipstick, and says "Beautiful cup" as she sets it down.

In another scene, he is romancing a married woman and invites her to lunch the next day. She comments that he is very bold, seeing as how she is married. He replies that he finds her too fascinating not to pursue. She says, "But I am attached!", and he replies, "I don't want to attach you, I only want to borrow you for a while." Very funny, melodramatic, and eminently watchable film.