A Scandal in Paris

The movie is totally Sanders', and one of his finest--certainly one of his finest NON-supporting roles. BUT, it is also Landis's finest performance--her Flame Song is beautifully performed and foreshadows [sic--in both sense of the term]her final demise. See it for Sanders, who is always so worthwhile, but see it for Landis--at her peak

A kind of anti-Les Miserables, this sophisticated period comedy inverts conventional morality, following a thief/scoundrel as he rises to become the chief of police of Paris. This makes an ideal showcase for George Sanders at his peak of suavity, which he maintains even in a blond wig while posing for a portrait of St. George [this evolves into a theme of the film: "In all of us there is a St. George and a dragon"]. Naturally, Sanders effortlessly spins aphorisms: on adultery, he murmurs, "Sometimes the chains of matrimony are so heavy they have to be carried by three".

Very much a production of displaced Europeans [Sirk, Shuftan, Eisler, Pressburger], the story celebrates a continental tolerance ["No man is a saint"]. Douglas Sirk clearly enjoys the subversive charm of the criminal mind which stays sharp by exploring all the possibilities for larceny. However, Sirk is not cruel: the provincial victims are not buffoons; they are just not sharp enough to see all the angles in each situation. He does not mock the cheerful dowager [Alma Kruger] who is eager for more adventurous company, and even the bumbling cuckold [Gene Lockhart] is ultimately touching when he disguises himself as a canary-merchant.

Like its contemporary, Renoir's DIARY OF A CHAMBERMAID, this sometimes seems like a European film trapped in Hollywood. However, while the first hour sometimes strains to be "naughty" [as in a decorous skinny-dipping scene], Sirk is able to unify the tone more successfully than Renoir. If Signe Hasso seems a bit old [at 30] as the wide-eyed ingenue, and Carole Landis struggles through her music hall number, Sirk guides both of them to satisfying moments, justifying their casting. The plot – involving a garter made of rubies, a monkey called Satan, and a Chinese carousel with a giant Pekinese to ride -- develops increasingly clever and surprising twists, to a pleasing conclusion.

Although the story line bogs down a bit and the plot gets a bit thick at times to follow, for fans of George Sanders this film is an absolute must. I cannot imagine anyone else but Sanders in the lead as the con man Eugene Francois Vidocq the thief who rises to become the head of the Paris PD and then gets put in charge of the security at the bank. The better to rob it when the time comes.

Even when in the greatest of danger of exposure Sanders is never at a loss for word, wit or wits. The only one who knows the whole story of Sanders is Akim Tamiroff and he won't tell.

I cannot and will not spill any of the elaborate plans that Sanders makes, but it involves his ability to con every one so that he is trusted implicitly.

One should also take careful note of Gene Lockhart who usually is playing sniveling rats. Here for a change of pace he's a detective who Sanders makes an absolute fool out of.

Forget Addison DeWitt and the Oscar Sanders won for playing him, A Scandal In Paris is no doubt his career role. And he looks like he's having such a good time in the part.

I was already a fan of George Sanders - but this film really gives him the witty language that he can spin under his breath better than any actor in movies. The story itself is far more interesting in its twists and turns than expected. Listen carefully - and you hear real style and imagination.

Romanticized and not entirely historically accurate, but nevertheless an entertaining movie about Eugene Francois Vidocq, (based on his memoirs, which were probably not entirely accurate either) who goes from thief to Chief of Police in Paris, with quite a lot of adventure in between. (there's a funny scene where he's posing in armor on a horse, for a portrait of St. George, then steals the horse and runs off, later committing another theft by stealing a bejeweled garter from a lovely singer/gold digger, played by Carole Landis. Meanwhile, his portrait is admired by Theresa (Signe Hasso), granddaughter of the Marquise de Pierremont, who soon falls for the real man.

There's a couple of touching scenes. In one, Eugene tells Teresa the difference between her and Loretta, is that in Loretta's eyes he sees the man he is, but in Theresa's, he sees the man he could be. In another, Theresa steals some jewelry (ones that will belong to her anyway) to let him know that she'll love him no matter what, and wants to be part of his life, even if it means becoming like him.

I won't give away any more details, except to say that Jo Ann Marlowe gives a great performance as Theresa's precocious little sister, who tells Eugene she knew all about him from the start.

A fun movie!