The 1988 American comedy film Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, starring Steve Martin, Michael Caine, and Glenne Headly, was directed by Frank Oz. Dale Launer, Stanley Shapiro, and Paul Henning wrote the screenplay. The Hustle, starring Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson, is a remake of the 1964 Bedtime Story starring David Niven and Marlon Brando. Again, Shapiro and Henning wrote the remake.
In the movie, two con artists compete to defraud an heiress of $50,000. Martin portrays Freddy Benson, a less affluent, small-time competitor of Caine’s more sophisticated and slicker Lawrence Jamieson, who arranges elaborate ruses to defraud wealthy women. The French Riviera is where it happens. The movie was released on December 14, 1988, and critics gave it high marks.
Antibes, Cannes, Beaulieu-sur-Mer (referred to in the movie as “Beaumont-sur-Mer”), Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Nice, and Villefranche-sur-Mer were among the places used for filming. The leading players in the scenario went to the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Movie Locations Captured During Shooting.
Bedtime Story, from the year 1964, was remade, featuring Michael Caine and Steve Martin as Lawrence and Freddy, two con men, were vying for Janet Colgate’s (Glenne Headly) attention in the pleasantly glitzy French Riviera setting.
Since the 18th century, the British aristocracy has made this sprawl of seaside resorts centered on Nice and extending from Cannes to Monte Carlo, their summer retreat. Later, the sight of artists like Matisse, Picasso, and Renoir—all of whose homes were in Cagnes-sur-Mer—came into the shining light. Finally, in the 1960s, it was linked to the jet set and, notably, the annual Cannes Film Festival.
But “Beaumont-sur-Mer” takes place in a fictional environment. The Grand Hotel du Cap-Ferrat, located south of Beaulieu on the tip of the peninsula of Cap-Ferrat, serves as a stand-in for Beaumont’s “Grand” and is located at 71 Boulevard du Général de Gaulle, an opulent Edwardian resort east of Nice.
The opulent hotel, which formerly hosted celebrities like Somerset Maugham and Charlie Chaplin, features a Rotunda constructed in 1909 by Gustave Eiffel (yep, the Tower’s architect), as well as a grand lobby with a crystal table by René Lalique and an elaborate silver chandelier by Tisserant.
Other Riviera locales included Nice town and the nearby fishing village of Villefranche-sur-Mer. The idyllic village and its maze of twisting streets have been used in several motion pictures, including Ronin and the renegade Bond film Never Say Never Again.
The resort’s casino now falls under the region of Beaulieu-sur-glass-enclosed Mer’s Rotonde Lenôtre, Avenue Fernand Dunan, a Belle Époque building that was once the dining room of the former Hotel Bristol which is now used as an exhibition space. The airport at “Beaumont” is the Aerodrome International Cannes-Mandelieu.
The art gallery now falls under the Villa Ile-de-France of the Foundation Ephrussi de Rothschild in Cap Ferrat. A member of the financial dynasty of the Rothschilds, Baroness Béatrice de Rothschild had the house built on the narrowest part of the Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat peninsula and had it furnished with antiques, old master paintings, sculptures, and ceramics. The deceased woman donated the now-open public property in 1934 to the Académie des Beaux-Arts division of the Institut de France.
While Lawrence’s luxurious home was Villa Hier, a private estate on the Cap d’Antibes shore, which required tons of sand to pave the naturally stony beach, Juan Les Pins, to the southwest, is home to the yacht harbor.
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Dirty Rotten Scoundrels: Plot
On the French Riviera near Beaumont-sur-Mer, there is a cunning and intelligent conman named Lawrence Jamieson. To gather money for his country’s “freedom warriors,” he poses as a prince in exile and connives to woo wealthy women with the aid of his butler Arthur and the immoral police officer Andre. His only reason for worry was about “The Jackal,” a different con artist who appeared in the neighborhood.
Lawrence encounters small-time American con artist Freddy Benson on a train. Freddy boasts about his pitiful successes in defrauding wealthy women of their money by fabricating a pathetic tale about a sick grandmother.
Freddy gets tricked into choosing a different location by Lawrence, who then has him arrested and put on a plane out of town out of fear that Freddy’s amateur antics will scare off his prey. Finally, Freddy blackmails Lawrence into accepting him as a student after running into one of Lawrence’s old marks.
With little success, Lawrence tries to impart flair and sophistication to Freddy. Then, he enlists Freddy to help him with his scams by having him portray his mentally disabled brother Ruprecht to frighten off the women Lawrence has been seducing (and now, in the new con, proposed to). Unfortunately, Lawrence won’t offer Freddy a share of the company’s profits, so Freddy furiously resigns but makes a point of staying in town.
Lawrence and Freddy settle on a bet because Lawrence doesn’t want to give up his area to Freddy: whoever can swindle $50,000 out of a chosen mark first win, and the other one has to leave town. So, they go after recent immigrant Janet Colgate, the gullible; “United States Soap Queen.”
Freddy pretends to be a former member of the U.S. Navy who is psychosomatically disabled and in need of $50,000 to see renowned Liechtensteinian psychiatrist Dr. Emil Schaffhausen for treatment. As Dr. Schaffhausen, Lawrence offers to treat Freddy; when Janet expresses sympathy for him. However, he demands that Janet pay the $50,000 treatment fee directly.
Lawrence learns that despite winning her vacation and the title of “Soap Queen” in a contest, Janet is not legitimately a soap heiress and instead intends to sell off the majority of her possessions to finance Freddy’s medical care. Lawrence tries to cancel the wager because he only deceives wealthy people.
The first person in bed with Janet, the proclaimed winner, and Freddy responds with a new wager. Lawrence agrees that if Freddy fails to woo Janet, he will win despite his contempt and refusal to approach her.
Lawrence twirls with Janet and taunts Freddy while pretending to continue Freddy’s treatment. This incident angers some British sailors nearby, who Freddy persuades to go after Lawrence. He dashes into Janet’s hotel room and walks toward her while; rising to show his affection. Lawrence, who has been present in secret, declares Freddy to heal.
He says that he ushers Freddy out of the room where the sailors released him when they learned that; he is a Royal Naval Reserve officer. Lawrence leaves the sailors with Freddy, who knows he lost the bet but joins them in their celebratory drinking while he places Janet on a departing plane.
Instead, Janet goes to her hotel room, where she discovers Freddy. She tells him she loves him, and they kiss and start getting ready. Lawrence learns about this through Andre, and he graciously concedes defeat. He expects Freddy to show up so he can celebrate his success, but Janet shows up instead; in tears and claims that Freddy stole the money her father gave her.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels: Cast
Doris Day, Cary Grant, and Rock Hudson were written into the original Bedtime Story movie from 1964 as vehicles for them. Marlon Brando, Shirley Jones, and David Niven eventually starred in its production.
The cast of the 1988 version also underwent modifications. When Mick Jagger and David Bowie asked Dale Launer to write a script, it appeared as a potential vehicle for them. Launer proposed a Bedtime Story remake. Unfortunately, Bowie and Jagger backed out of the remake to work on a Martin Scorsese film after Launer bought the rights. According to Bowie, they were “a little tweezed” that they missed out on a script that had the potential to be great.
According to Split Sider, Eddie Murphy was reportedly a candidate for the part of Freddy Benson. Additionally, John Cleese was asked to play Jamieson but turned it down. In an interview from 2008, he said that he had second thoughts. Michael Palin released his diaries in two volumes and stated that Cleese “reluctantly” declined the part.
On April 1, 1988, Frank Oz called Palin and asked him to consider the role of Jamieson, according to Palin’s account. A few days later, Palin took a flight from London to New York City to audition for the part, but he needed to find out if he was right.
A script was also emailed to Richard Dreyfuss. Despite being requested to play Jamieson instead of Benson due to a miscommunication, Steve Martin instead read Benson’s lines because Martin had previously been asked to portray Jamieson. Martin’s portrayal of Benson captured Oz’s interest, and he decided on this option. Jamieson was ultimately cast as Michael Caine.
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