Bedtime Story (1964 film)

Last updated
Bedtime Story
Bedtimestoryos.jpeg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Ralph Levy
Written by Stanley Shapiro
Paul Henning
Produced byStanley Shapiro
Starring Marlon Brando
David Niven
Shirley Jones
Cinematography Clifford Stine
Edited by Milton Carruth
Music by Hans J. Salter
Production
company
Pennebaker Productions
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date
  • June 10, 1964 (1964-06-10)
Running time
99 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Bedtime Story is a 1964 American comedy film starring Marlon Brando, David Niven and Shirley Jones. It was made by Brando's company, Pennebaker Productions, directed by Ralph Levy, produced by Stanley Shapiro, with Robert Arthur as executive producer, from a screenplay by Shapiro and Paul Henning. The music score was by Hans J. Salter and the cinematography by Clifford Stine.

Contents

The film has been the basis for two remakes. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988), starred Steve Martin and Michael Caine. The Hustle (2019), starred Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson, changing the casanova roles from men to women.

Plot

Lawrence Jameson is a refined, elegant con artist living in the French Riviera town of Beaumont-sur-Mer, where he masquerades as the deposed prince of a small European country, seducing wealthy women into donating money and jewellery to his revolutionary "cause". Meanwhile, Corporal Freddy Benson is a small-time operator in the US Army stationed in West Germany, conning his way into the hearts and finances of young women with sob stories about his sick grandmother. His attempt at seducing the daughter of a local Bürgermeister (a mayor) backfires when her father arrives home early, but Freddy is able to blackmail his colonel into giving him an early discharge.

On a train to Beaumont-Sur-Mer, Freddy cockily displays his skill as a conman to Lawrence, whom he believes to be a henpecked husband. Lawrence, believing Freddy's "poaching" will endanger his own activities, attempts to distract him into leaving town, and when that fails, arranges for his arrest. Lawrence has him released and buys him a plane ticket to America. Unfortunately, one of Lawrence's former conquests is on the plane and gives away Lawrence's deception. Freddy returns and blackmails Lawrence into taking him on as an apprentice.

Freddy is taught to play The Prince's mentally challenged brother Ruprecht, a tactic to scare women away from trying to marry the prince. They are successful, but when Lawrence refuses to pay Freddy until he can acquire the culture necessary for Lawrence's style of con, Freddy decides to set out on his own. Lawrence believes that there is not enough room in Beaumont-Sur-Mer for both of them, so the two make a bet: The first one to steal $25,000 from a selected mark will stay, and the other must leave forever.

They choose Janet Walker, a naïve American heiress, announced as the American Soap Queen, as their target. Freddy poses as a soldier who is suffering from psychosomatic paralysis. He wins Janet's affections with a sad story and convinces her that he needs $25,000 to pay for treatment by a celebrated Swiss psychiatrist, Dr. Emil Schaffhausen. Lawrence then masquerades as Dr. Schaffhausen, agreeing to treat Freddy's "condition" with the stipulation that Janet pay the $25,000 directly to him. The two battle for Janet's affections, ruthlessly sabotaging each other, with the worldly Lawrence mostly coming out on top.

Lawrence discovers that Janet is not a major heiress after all, but merely the winner of the American Soap Queen contest, and that she intends to sell all her belongings to pay for Freddy's treatment. Since Lawrence only preys on wealthy women who can afford it, he attempts to call off the bet. Freddy refuses, but suggests they change the bet: the first to get Janet into bed will win. Lawrence refuses to try to seduce Janet, but bets that Freddy will fail to do so.

Freddy has Lawrence kidnapped by some paratroopers whom he fools into believing Lawrence is trying to steal his girl (Janet). He then convinces Janet of his love by "conquering" his paralysis and walking. Lawrence has been present the whole time, and he now declares that Freddy is cured. Lawrence explains that he told the soldiers he had been a British Army paratrooper during the war, and filled them in on Freddy's lies. The angry soldiers keep Freddy occupied until Lawrence puts Janet on a train. However, as the train is departing, Janet receives a telegram stating that Dr. Emil Schaffausen has been dead since 1927. Confused and distraught, she returns to her hotel room, where she finds Freddy, who apparently succeeds in seducing her.

Lawrence gracefully accepts defeat, but Freddy surprisingly has had a change of heart: he could not take advantage of Janet, and realises that his feelings for her are genuine. Instead, he marries her, goes straight, and they return to America. Lawrence reflects that, in the end, Freddy is happier than he, but as he sees his next mark, a ravishing and extremely wealthy blonde, concludes that "a man must learn to live with his misery".

Cast

Production

Portions were filmed on location in Cannes, including at the Carlton Cannes Hotel, while most of the film was shot at Universal City Studios in California.

Reception

In a contemporary review for The New York Times , critic Bosley Crowther wrote: "Bedtime Story is a very funny picture, and Mr. Brando is a first-class farceur. To be sure, the film is lightweight and vapid—just a clever succession of japes and jokes, nothing to cherish in the memory. Neither is the sweet performance of Miss Jones. ... Ralph Levy's direction is temperate, not as wild as you would expect, praise be. And the sets and colors are superior. Mark this one down as good crisp fun." [1]

The rentals accruing to distributors, not total gross, is estimated at $3 million. [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>Heaven Can Wait</i> (1943 film) 1943 American comedy film by Ernst Lubitsch

Heaven Can Wait is a 1943 Technicolor American supernatural comedy film produced and directed by Ernst Lubitsch. The screenplay was by Samson Raphaelson based on the play Birthday by Ladislaus Bus-Fekete. The music score was by Alfred Newman and the cinematography by Edward Cronjager.

<i>East of Eden</i> (film) 1955 film by Elia Kazan

East of Eden is a 1955 American epic period drama film directed by Elia Kazan and written by Paul Osborn, adapted from the fourth and final part of John Steinbeck's epic 1952 novel.

<i>Dirty Rotten Scoundrels</i> (film) 1988 film by Frank Oz

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a 1988 American comedy film directed by Frank Oz and produced by Bernard Williams. It is a remake of the 1964 film Bedtime Story, whose co-writers Stanley Shapiro and Paul Henning received screen credit for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, along with writer Dale Launer. Set on the French Riviera, the film stars Steve Martin and Michael Caine as two con men competing to swindle a wealthy tourist out of $50,000.

<i>The Teahouse of the August Moon</i> (film) 1956 film by Daniel Mann

The Teahouse of the August Moon is a 1956 American comedy film directed by Daniel Mann and starring Marlon Brando. It satirizes the U.S. occupation and Americanization of the island of Okinawa following the end of World War II in 1945.

<i>Shock</i> (1946 film) 1946 film by Alfred L. Werker

Shock is a 1946 American film noir directed by Alfred L. Werker and starring Vincent Price, Lynn Bari and Frank Latimore. It was produced and distributed by 20th Century Fox.

<i>Candy</i> (1968 film) 1968 film by Christian Marquand

Candy is a 1968 sex farce film directed by Christian Marquand from a screenplay by Buck Henry, based on the 1958 novel of the same name by Terry Southern and Mason Hoffenberg, itself based on Voltaire's 1759 novel Candide. The film satirizes pornographic stories through the adventures of its naive heroine, Candy, played by Ewa Aulin. It stars Charles Aznavour, Marlon Brando, Richard Burton, James Coburn, John Huston, Walter Matthau and Ringo Starr. Popular figures, such as Sugar Ray Robinson, Anita Pallenberg, Florinda Bolkan, Marilù Tolo, Nicoletta Machiavelli, Umberto Orsini and Enrico Maria Salerno also appear in cameo roles.

<i>Slightly Scarlet</i> (1956 film) 1956 film by Allan Dwan

Slightly Scarlet is a 1956 American crime film starring John Payne, Rhonda Fleming and Arlene Dahl. The film was directed by Allan Dwan, and its cinematographer was John Alton. The script was based on James M. Cain's novel Love's Lovely Counterfeit.

<i>William Shakespeares Julius Caesar</i> 1953 Shakespearean film by Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Julius Caesar is a 1953 American film adaptation of the Shakespearean play, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and produced by John Houseman for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It stars Marlon Brando as Mark Antony, James Mason as Brutus, Louis Calhern as Caesar, John Gielgud as Cassius, Edmond O'Brien as Casca, Greer Garson as Calpurnia, and Deborah Kerr as Portia.

<i>Morituri</i> (1965 film) 1965 film by Bernhard Wicki

Morituri is a 1965 American war thriller film directed by Bernhard Wicki and starring Marlon Brando, Yul Brynner, Janet Margolin and Trevor Howard. The cinematography was by Conrad L. Hall, and the film musical score was composed by Jerry Goldsmith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jocelyn Brando</span> American actress (1919–2005)

Jocelyn Brando was an American actress, best known for her role as Katie Bannion in the film noir The Big Heat (1953). She was the sister of Marlon Brando.

<i>The Young Lions</i> (film) 1958 film

The Young Lions is a 1958 American epic World War II drama film directed by Edward Dmytryk and starring Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, and Dean Martin. It was made in black-and-white and CinemaScope and was theatrically released by 20th Century-Fox. The film is based on the 1948 novel of the same name by Irwin Shaw.

<i>The Freshman</i> (1990 film) 1990 film by Andrew Bergman

The Freshman is a 1990 American crime comedy film written and directed by Andrew Bergman, and starring Marlon Brando, Matthew Broderick, Bruno Kirby, Maximilian Schell, Penelope Ann Miller, and Frank Whaley. The plot revolves around a young New York film student's entanglement in an illicit business of offering exotic and endangered animals as specialty food items, including his being tasked with delivering a Komodo dragon for this purpose. The film received positive reviews from critics.

<i>Mutiny on the Bounty</i> (1962 film) 1962 film by Carol Reed, Lewis Milestone

Mutiny on the Bounty is a 1962 American Technicolor epic historical drama film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by Lewis Milestone and starring Marlon Brando, Trevor Howard, Richard Harris, Hugh Griffith, Richard Haydn and Tarita in her only role. The screenplay was written by Charles Lederer, based on the novel Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. Bronisław Kaper composed the score.

<i>The Green Glove</i> 1952 film by Rudolph Maté

The Green Glove is a 1952 French-American international co-production film noir directed by Rudolph Maté and starring Glenn Ford, Geraldine Brooks, Sir Cedric Hardwicke and George Macready.

<i>Désirée</i> (film) 1954 film by Henry Koster

Désirée is a 1954 American historical romance film directed by Henry Koster and produced by Julian Blaustein from a screenplay by Daniel Taradash, based on the best-selling novel Désirée by Annemarie Selinko. The music score was by Alex North and the cinematography by Milton R. Krasner. The film was made in CinemaScope.

<i>Guys and Dolls</i> (film) 1955 American musical film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Guys and Dolls is a 1955 American musical film starring Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra, and Vivian Blaine. The picture was made by Samuel Goldwyn Productions and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). It was directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who also wrote the screenplay. The film is based on the 1950 Broadway musical by composer and lyricist Frank Loesser, with a book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, which, in turn, was loosely based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", two short stories by Damon Runyon. Dances were choreographed by Michael Kidd, who had staged the dances for the Broadway production.

<i>The Chase</i> (1966 film) 1966 American drama film directed by Arthur Penn

The Chase is a 1966 American drama film, directed by Arthur Penn, written by Lillian Hellman, and starring Marlon Brando, Jane Fonda, and Robert Redford. It tells the story of a series of events that are set into motion by a prison break. The film also features E. G. Marshall, Angie Dickinson, Janice Rule, Miriam Hopkins, Martha Hyer, Robert Duvall, and James Fox.

<i>Sons and Lovers</i> (film) 1960 British film by Jack Cardiff

Sons and Lovers is a 1960 British period drama film directed by Jack Cardiff and adapted by Gavin Lambert and T. E. B. Clarke from the semi-autobiographical 1913 novel of the same name by D. H. Lawrence. It stars Trevor Howard, Dean Stockwell, Wendy Hiller, Mary Ure, and Heather Sears.

<i>The Fugitive Kind</i> 1960 film by Sidney Lumet

The Fugitive Kind is a 1960 American drama film starring Marlon Brando, Anna Magnani, and Joanne Woodward, directed by Sidney Lumet. The screenplay by Meade Roberts and Tennessee Williams was based on the latter's 1957 play Orpheus Descending, itself a revision of his 1940 work Battle of Angels, which closed after its Boston tryout. Frank Thompson designed the costumes for the film.

<i>The Devil and the Ten Commandments</i> 1963 French film

Le Diable et les Dix Commandements is a French film from 1962 directed by Julien Duvivier that consists of seven sketches played by an ensemble cast that includes Michel Simon, Micheline Presle, Françoise Arnoul, Mel Ferrer, Charles Aznavour, Lino Ventura, Fernandel, Alain Delon, Danielle Darrieux, Jean-Claude Brialy, and Louis de Funès.

References

  1. Crowther, Bosley (1964-06-11). "Comedy Is Presented at Palace Theater". The New York Times . p. 27.
  2. "Big Rental Pictures of 1964", Variety, 6 January 1965 p 39