In 1964 Marlon Brando made the film BEDTIME STORY with David Niven and Shirley Jones, about the battle between two rival con-artists on the Riviera, to determine who was going to be the local king of the racket in running the town. It was a good comedy, but while it demonstrated (as TEAHOUSE OF THE AUGUST MOON had) that Brando was an accomplished comic when he wanted to be, somehow it was not as good as it could have been. Yet Brando, Niven, and Jones did excellent work in it.
The film was remade in 1988 as DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS, with the leads played by Steve Martin, Michael Caine, and Glenne Headley. The general feeling is that if the original was a good comedy, the remake was all-around an excellent one.
Brando's "Freddy Benson" ran a small con-game racket pretending to be a soldier trying to get money for his grandmother's operation in the U.S. Brando would target young American ladies who were traveling on trains on the Italian - French border, and take them for small sums. But he hoped to go after richer game. The richer game were targeted by Niven's "Lawrence Jamieson", who got large sums from wealthy women who were willing to finance a counter-revolution in a fictitious country he is exiled king of. Niven, of course, does not want competition. He tries to work with Brando for awhile, but Brando strains at the restraint of his distinctly junior partner position. So they agree to a con-artist test on the first subject that comes along: whoever takes her for $10,000.00 will be the winner. Along comes Jones' who they think is the heiress to a soap fortune, and they go after her. In the end, she is not an heiress, and Brando and she go back to America as husband and wife. Niven resigns himself to the sad lonely life of the elite on the Riviera.
SPOILERS COMING UP The 1988 version changed the characterizations a bit. Niven sees himself as a patron of the arts, because he was not very good in any of them but now has the money to help support people. Caine does too, but his interest is more controlled - more of a hobby really. He is an organized conman and he has set up a first rate system with his valet and the local police chief. Martin's "Freddie" is far dumber and sloppier than Brando's. He practices the same con-games, and tries to rise above that nonsense, but he lacks any grace to do so. In fact, he blackmails his way into Caine's establishment to become a gentleman conman, and is kept only as an idiot. So was Brando, but Brando was intelligent to see he was being wasted. Martin is just demanding.
Certain things were improved by the changes. Shirley Jones was a total innocent who was brought into the Caine - Martin rivalry as a dupe. Glenne Headley's character is more devious, as it turns out, and improves the atmosphere of plot, counter-plot, counter - counter-plot that runs the script. It also enables the conclusion of the story to involve all three principals instead of just one (Caine in place of Niven). And, as it turns out, Headley has as low an opinion of Martin's intelligence as Caine does, even if they will be working together.
The film was remade in 1988 as DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS, with the leads played by Steve Martin, Michael Caine, and Glenne Headley. The general feeling is that if the original was a good comedy, the remake was all-around an excellent one.
Brando's "Freddy Benson" ran a small con-game racket pretending to be a soldier trying to get money for his grandmother's operation in the U.S. Brando would target young American ladies who were traveling on trains on the Italian - French border, and take them for small sums. But he hoped to go after richer game. The richer game were targeted by Niven's "Lawrence Jamieson", who got large sums from wealthy women who were willing to finance a counter-revolution in a fictitious country he is exiled king of. Niven, of course, does not want competition. He tries to work with Brando for awhile, but Brando strains at the restraint of his distinctly junior partner position. So they agree to a con-artist test on the first subject that comes along: whoever takes her for $10,000.00 will be the winner. Along comes Jones' who they think is the heiress to a soap fortune, and they go after her. In the end, she is not an heiress, and Brando and she go back to America as husband and wife. Niven resigns himself to the sad lonely life of the elite on the Riviera.
SPOILERS COMING UP The 1988 version changed the characterizations a bit. Niven sees himself as a patron of the arts, because he was not very good in any of them but now has the money to help support people. Caine does too, but his interest is more controlled - more of a hobby really. He is an organized conman and he has set up a first rate system with his valet and the local police chief. Martin's "Freddie" is far dumber and sloppier than Brando's. He practices the same con-games, and tries to rise above that nonsense, but he lacks any grace to do so. In fact, he blackmails his way into Caine's establishment to become a gentleman conman, and is kept only as an idiot. So was Brando, but Brando was intelligent to see he was being wasted. Martin is just demanding.
Certain things were improved by the changes. Shirley Jones was a total innocent who was brought into the Caine - Martin rivalry as a dupe. Glenne Headley's character is more devious, as it turns out, and improves the atmosphere of plot, counter-plot, counter - counter-plot that runs the script. It also enables the conclusion of the story to involve all three principals instead of just one (Caine in place of Niven). And, as it turns out, Headley has as low an opinion of Martin's intelligence as Caine does, even if they will be working together.