Death of a Scoundrel

George Sanders is the scoundrel in "Death of a Scoundrel," a 1956 film that, though it appears to be a low-budget, boasts a fine cast: Yvonne DeCarlo, Colleen Gray, Nancy Gates, Victor Jory, and Zsa Zsa Gabor.

Supposedly the story is based on the antics and ultimate murder of Serge Rubinstein that hit the news around the time the film was made. The lead role was originally given to George Brent, but the actor became ill and couldn't do the role. Because the party scene had already been filmed, he can be spotted there.

In the beginning of the movie, Sanders, who plays Clementi Sabourni, is lying dead. One of his business associates tells his story to the police.

It begins in Czechoslovakia when Sabourni, believed to have died in a concentration camp, appears at the shop of his brother (played by Sanders' real-life brother, Tom Conway).

He wants money and his girl - except there's no money and his brother has married his girl. Furious, Sabourni turns his brother over to the Communist police for being involved in black marketeering and selling stolen goods.

In return, he gains his passage to America. His brother is killed resisting arrest. When Sabourni arrives in New York, he spots a woman (DeCarlo) stealing a wallet. Clementi picks her up and steals the wallet from her. But her husband chases him in an effort to retrieve it, and Clementi is shot. The husband is hit by a truck when Clementi pushes him into the street.

While Clementi is being treated for his bullet wound, he learns of the marvels of a new drug, penicillin. Using a check that was in the wallet, he buys stock in the company. Thus his career begins.

The film is fascinating, in part because of the deals in which Clementi masterminds, and all of the women he juggles as a result. He becomes involved with a wealthy widow (Gabor) while flirting with her aspiring actress secretary (Gates), and trying to convince the wife (Gray) of a successful businessman to divorce her husband so that he can get her stock and take over her husband's company. His schemes grow more outrageous until his brother's widow - who is also his ex-girlfriend - appears.

Zsa Zsa Gabor (a recent ex-Mrs. Sanders at the time of filming) is stunningly beautiful and delightful in her role. Lovely Colleen Gray doesn't have a large part, but she shines when on screen.

The exotic DeCarlo brings an earthiness and sarcasm as Bridget Kelly, who, though rough around the edges, is in love with Clementi and loyal to him.

Sanders is a marvel - always likable no matter how heinous his character, always smooth, and always watchable. If he's a little too old for Clementi, it doesn't matter. He still makes it work.

I don't think this would have been as good a movie with Brent in the lead. A year before his suicide, Sanders appeared in an episode of "Mission: Impossible" and played an elderly con man - magnificently dressed, proud, and elegant.

When he is defeated, the character turns into a tired old man in a matter of seconds. That is true acting, and there aren't many that can do it. Sanders could.

Don't let the black and white and the low budget fool you. "Death of a Scoundrel" is well worth viewing.

I first became aware of this movie when I bought the soundtrack composed by Max Steiner back in the 80's. With its Eastern European flavour, the score for "Death of a Scoundrel" was Steiner in top form, and as I later discovered, was one of the best things about the movie.

The film begins with Clementi Subourin (George Sanders) lying shot dead across a bed. His assistant, Bridget Kelly (Yvonne De Carlo), tells his story, which is revealed in a long flashback.

In Czechoslovakia just after WW2, Subourin returns from a concentration camp to visit his brother, played in the film by George Sanders' real-life brother, Tom Conway. After discovering that his brother has virtually forgotten him and even married the girlfriend he had asked him to protect, Subourin turns his brother over to the police for dealing on the black market.

He travels to America where he makes a fortune speculating on the stock market - mostly by questionable means. Along the way he encounters people who either become allies or more likely, enemies. Subourin is ruthless and vengeful, and has affairs with many women, often at the same time. He is a forerunner of the Wolf of Wall Street but seen through the heavy filter of 1950's censorship.

Ultimately, it all unravels and we finally learn who pumped the bullets into him.

The movie covers a lot of ground, and has a good script - for the most part. However it falls down visually. Almost totally studio bound, where a filmmaker like Val Lewton and his team could transform a cheap set into a work of art using the shadows from a shuttered window, the guys who made "Death of a Scoundrel" were masters of over-lighting.

The scenes set in Europe are the worst. It's almost as though someone found an unused storeroom at RKO and thought, "Great, this can be Czechoslovakia".

Apart from his trademark arrogance and disdain; George Sanders' character also shows nervousness, petulance and even a little contrition. It almost seems like too much acting from George. I prefer his Addison DeWitt from "All About Eve" where, although he only displays one mood, absolute superiority, it is undiluted Sanders. His back-story is also poorly thought out. After he has just been released from a concentration camp, he looks amazingly healthy - in the pink in fact. At no point does he seem to carry the baggage from the experience that Rod Steiger does in "The Pawnbroker".

The cast is full of beautiful women. Yvonne De Carlo and Zsa Zsa Gabor are foremost among them, and are numbered in the quartet of women looking down on George Sander's body in the striking poster for the film, which along with Sanders and Steiner, was another element in the sum of the parts that turned out to be greater than the whole.

I seem, no matter what the film, to always be drawn to a George Sanders film. He usually plays the most offensive, morally bankrupt, devious, underhanded roles. If there is someone out to swindle a woman from her possessions through flattery - George Sanders is there. If a young ingénue is promised fame for the price of her physical love - George Sanders is there. If a brother is turned in for stealing rare objects d'art to the police - George Sanders is there. These are just a portion of the terrible things George Sanders does in Death of a Scoundrel, but, amazingly, Sanders remains almost likable throughout because of his innate affability and charm. No one turns a phrase better than Sanders, and it is his easy wit, dry delivery, wry sense of humor, predisposition to sarcasm, and excellent timing that make him stand out in what would otherwise be pretty routine stuff. Death of a Scoundrel opens with Sanders already dead. We then get to, through the character of lovely Yvonne De Carlo, trace the roots of how Sanders first became a scoundrel and how he eventually died. The story, though full of overstated melodrama, is an interesting one with the Sander's character actually given some depth of characterization. The supporting cast is top-notch with Zsa Zsa Gabor giving what I think is one of her all around best performances. She and Sanders appear to have strong chemistry between them(little wonder as they had previously been married/divorced). Nancy Gates does a very credible job as an aspiring actress. John Hoyt is always good and Coleen Gray gives a good turn as well. Tom Conway, the real life half-brother of Sanders, plays Sander's brother in the film. But supporting cast aside, this movie is all Sanders. I really liked Death of a Scoundrel. It is not a great film, but it was much better than I had thought it would be. It goes to show that quality acting, a coherent script, thoughtful direction from Charles Martin, and a sense of style, not just in how the film appears but in the way the film is made, all go a long way in making the mundane pretty good.

That quote from James Cagney in The Oklahoma Kid seems to be the life motto of George Sanders in Death Of A Scoundrel. I can't believe that George Brent was originally cast in the role because this was a part George Sanders was born to play. Especially with one of his wives Zsa Zsa Gabor in the cast as well albeit too briefly.

Yvonne DeCarlo opens the door to some homicide cops who discover the body of Sanders who is lying there shot to death. DeCarlo herself got a career role as one tough girl from the streets. She and Sanders seem fated with each other, but Sanders is never happy with just one.

Zsa Zsa, Nancy Gates, Coleen Gray are some of the many who encounter Sanders and leave quite the worst for wear.

Sanders is a post war Czech immigrant who with some stolen loot from the rich Victor Jory starts a financial empire that would be the envy of our current president. He's also got the morals of him as well. A little more than 30 years later Michael Douglas got an Oscar for playing Gordon Gekko who seems to have learned from Sanders.

The film is based loosely on the homicide, the still unsolved homicide of Serge Rubinstein who was also found shot to death in a a still unsolved case. He too made a lot of enemies who number in the thousands with reason to do him in.

In Death Of A Scoundrel, Sanders is at his caddish best. An absolute must for his legion of fans.

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. The tale of betrayal, womanizing and fraud confirms that almost everyone who knew him wanted him dead.

"Death of a Scoundrel" is a fictionalized adaptation of the life and mysterious death of Serge Rubinstein. He was a stock and currency manipulator, a playboy, Café society denizen, convicted draft-evader and murder victim. I had never heard of hi, but now i want to know more.

The film is quite good, but somewhat misleading. It is presented as a film noir, but really is more of a biopic. Within the first minute or two we get a heinous murder, but the remainder never gets gritty like you would expect from the opening.