Bedtime Story

This movie has become somewhat obscure through the years and only really got onto my radar via my obsession with Marlon Brando. It's probably best known as the original version of the popular 1980s film Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and it's certainly worth a look-in if you're a fan of the Michael Caine-Steve Martin version or just a fan of comedies that are willing to exploit poor taste for easy laughs.

Brando plays Freddy Benson, a soldier posted in Germany who uses his charms and a bogus story about his grandmother to bed various women and live off their money. After he charms one woman too many and lands himself in hot water with his superior officer, he manages to talk his way out of the uniform and proceeds to con his way across Europe. Whilst riding the train out of Germany he crosses paths with Lawrence Jameson (David Niven), a suave and silver-tongued con artist on the other end of the scale - Jameson poses as an exiled prince in the French riviera, convincing rich women from abroad to give him their jewels so that he might free his fictional people from the yoke of tyranny. Freddy proceeds to talk the big talk to Jameson, unaware that he is preaching to the grand daddy of all con artists. When the two men eventually realise that they are cut from the same cloth it begins a rivalry of escalating proportions - one that will eventually see Freddy posing as wheelchair-bound cripple and Jameson posing as famous psychologist.

It's somewhat amusing to see this sort of subject matter given the 60s light comedy treatment... there's a lot of sex involved but obviously it can't be shown explicitly so we instead get some very funny and strange scenes where the deeds are heaily implied but not seen. It was also refreshing to see these two characters end the film mostly unreformed (though at least one of them gets a sort of comeuppance, but it's still played for laughs). David Niven is perfectly cast as the high end con artist, a debonair patron of the arts who has made himself king in his own little castle. He gets a lot of very funny lines and is enough of a pro to never overstate them. Brando on the other hand seems to be trying to fight the smirk off his face most of the time, playing Freddy as a cocky wiseguy who isn't anywhere near as smart as he thinks he is. His funniest scenes are the ones where his character is aware that he's out of his depth (such as one where he gets put in gaol), but for the bulk of the film Brando has a hard time keeping it real. In fact, Bedtime Story is one of the few out-and-out comedies that Brando would ever appear in - for the rest of his career he would avoid these kinds of roles, perhaps all too aware that comedy wasn't his strong point.

Having said that though, Brando and Niven have an interesting and entertaining chemistry and the film is never better than when they share the screen. They come from two very different schools of acting and it probably suits the relationship between their characters - who are equal parts friendly colleagues and ruthless rivals. It's quite a fun movie and anyone familiar with the remake Dirty Rotten Scoundrels will probably be surprised at just how similar the two movies are.