The Scoundrel (1935)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Directors:

Ben Hecht
Charles MacArthur

Writers:

Ben Hecht (story)
Charles MacArthur (story)

Release Date:

30 April 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Film-Noir | Drama

Plot:

A ruthless, cynical, hated publisher is killed in a plane crash, and his ghost must wander restlessly unless someone sheds a tear for him. |

Plot Keywords:

Ghost | Afterlife | Salvation | Soul | Curse

Awards:

Won Oscar.

Cast

Noel Coward	...	Anthony Mallare
Julie Haydon	...	Cora Moore
Stanley Ridges	...	Paul Decker
Martha Sleeper	...	Julia Vivian
Ernest Cossart	...	Jimmy Clay
Alexander Woollcott	...	Vanderveer Veyden
Everley Gregg	...	Mildred Langwiter
Rosita Moreno	...	Carlotta
Eduardo Ciannelli	...	Maurice Stern
Richard Bond	...	Howard Gillette
Helen Strickland	...	Mrs. Rolinson
Lionel Stander	...	Rothenstien
Frank Conlan	...	Massey
O.Z. Whitehead	...	Calhoun
Raymond Bramley	...	Felix Abrams

Runtime:

76 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Hecht-MacArthur Productions

Trivia:

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since. However, because of legal complications, this particular title was not included in the original television package and was not televised until many years afterward.

Quotes:

Anthony Mallare: She's the only woman I've ever met who seems shallower and more superficial than I am. It'll be a perfect match: two empty paper bags, belaboring each other.

This is a GREAT FILM

The Scoundrel is a fantastic film which takes the viewer on an emotional and linguistic journey that reminds one of the power of the film medium. Everything from costumes to sets and lighting changes for the darker in a brilliant way. The whole film shifts in tone radically and boldly. The character MALLARE, whom Noel Coward plays, expresses the psychology of the dark side of humanity in times of love. He articulates what few rarely say, and this makes the dialog exceptional. The perception of human nature. Hecht wrote the pseudo-decadent Huysmans homage FANTAZIUS MALLARE some years before, hence the character's name, I'd imagine. The movie dialog is rich, baroque and sardonic as well. The poet's works were clearly inspired by maxwell Bodenheim's poetry and persona and are hilarious. A real treat.