Death of a Scoundrel

Director: Charles Martin

Overview

A contemptuous and self-serving immigrant, Clementi Sabourin (George Sanders) pulls himself up by his bootstraps by instrumenting a series of cons and seductions which bilk several very wealthy persons out of most of their money. Most of the action is related in a series of flashbacks after Sabourin's body is found dead in a Park Avenue apartment. Death of a Scoundrel is a fictionalized adaptation of the life and mysterious death of Serge Rubenstein.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/01/2011
UPC:	0883316398135
Original Release:	1956
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Language:	English
Time:	2:00:00

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

George Sanders	Clementi Sabourin
Yvonne DeCarlo	Bridget Kelly
Zsa Zsa Gabor	Mrs. Ryan
Victor Jory	Leonard Wilson
Nancy Gates	Stephanie North
Coleen Gray	Mrs. Van Renassalear
John Hoyt	Mr. O'Hara
Lisa Ferraday	Zina Monte
Tom Conway	Gerry Monte
Celia Lovsky	Mother Sabourin
Werner Klemperer	Lawyer
Justice Watson	Butler
John Sutton	Actor
Curtis Cooksey	Oswald Van Renassalear
Gabriel Curtiz	Max Freundlich
Morris Ankrum	Captain Lafarge
George Brent	Man with Balloon at Party
Robert Morgan	Chuck Kelly
Jewell Lain	Cashier
Max Steiner	Composer

Technical Credits

Charles Martin

Charles Martin

Producer,Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

No one is ever going to confuse Death of a Scoundrel with what could actually be called a good movie, but that doesn't mean that it can't be a great deal of fun to watch. Make no mistake about it: Death is a potboiler from the word go, a lurid tale that's told baldly and predictably and which employs a number of coincidences and contrivances that stretch credulity past the breaking point. In Death's world, people aside from the leading character pretty much exist only to be easily duped by said leading character, even when the duping is as plain as the nose on George Sanders' suavely untrustworthy face. This is a world of extremes, which in the right hands could have served as either a satirical or serious commentary on the gullibility of mankind but which here is too silly to be treated as anything other than a trifle. But that trifle is blessed with the always pleasing lensing of James Wong Howe and the committed, if not terribly insightful, direction of Charles Martin, as well as the excellent, leitmotif-laden Max Steiner score. It also features a cast that relishes the absurd story in which they have been cast, as it gives them a chance to do a great deal of showing off. Sanders, Yvonne De Carlo and the rest aren't giving us great acting, but they are totally in sync with the screenplay and direction and give us terrifically entertaining turns. It's ultimately all trash, but it's trash that's easy to enjoy.