''Fools for Scandal'' is a 1938

screwball comedy Screwball comedy is a film subgenre of the romantic comedy genre that became popular during the Great Depression, beginning in the early 1930s and thriving until the early 1950s, that satirizes the traditional love story. It has secondary charact ...

film starring

Carole Lombard Carole Lombard (born Jane Alice Peters; October 6, 1908 – January 16, 1942) was an American actress, particularly noted for her energetic, often off-beat roles in screwball comedies. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Lombard ...

and Fernand Gravet, featuring

Ralph Bellamy Ralph Rexford Bellamy (June 17, 1904 – November 29, 1991) was an American actor whose career spanned 65 years on stage, film, and television. During his career, he played leading roles as well as supporting roles, garnering acclaim and award ...

Allen Jenkins Allen Curtis Jenkins (born Alfred McGonegal; April 9, 1900 – July 20, 1974) was an American character actor, voice actor and singer who worked on stage, film, and television. He may be best known to some audiences as the voice of Officer Charl ...

, Isabel Jeans, Marie Wilson and

Marcia Ralston Marcia Mascotte Ralston (19 September 1906 – 23 November 1988) was an Australian-born American actress who appeared in Hollywood films in the 1930s and 1940s. In Australia Ralston's father was well known Australian singer and actor John Rals ...

, and produced and directed by

Mervyn LeRoy Mervyn LeRoy (; October 15, 1900 – September 13, 1987) was an American film director and producer. During the 1930s, he was one of the two great practitioners of economical and effective film directing at Warner Bros., Warner Brothers studios, ...

. It was written by Herbert Fields and

Joseph Fields Joseph Albert Fields (February 21, 1895 – March 4, 1966)According to the State of California. ''California Death Index, 1940–1997''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, Californiaancestry.com/ ...

with additional dialogue by Irving Brecher, and uncredited contributions by others based on the unproduced 1936 play ''Return Engagement'' by Nancy Hamilton, James Shute and Rosemary Casey. The songs are by

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...

and

Lorenz Hart Lorenz Milton Hart (May 2, 1895 – November 22, 1943) was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include "Blue Moon"; " The Lady Is a Tramp"; "Manhattan"; " Bewitched, Bo ...

. ''Fools for Scandal'' is now best remembered as one of Lombard's worst films and one that set her on the course for seeking dramatic roles for the next few years.

Plot

Film star Kay Winters (

) is traveling through Paris under a wig and the pseudonym of Kay Summers with her maid and companion Myrtle ( Marie Wilson). She meets Rene ( Fernand Gravet), a French

marquis A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wido ...

who has lost all his money and has pawned all his material possessions to live, something Paris society does not know. He sees her on the street in

Montmartre Montmartre ( , , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement of Paris, 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Rive Droite, Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for its a ...

and offers to give her a tour of the real Paris. Kay, who already had plans to attend dinner with Lady Paula Malverton ( Isabel Jeans), tries to brush him off, only to become charmed by the persistent and impetuous Rene. Once finished with the tour, they have dinner, and unexpectedly run into Lady Malverton and her party. Lady Malverton calls Rene over to her table. When he returns, he discovers that Kay has left. However, she left a note asking him to lunch with her the following day. Kay returns to her hotel, to see Phillip Chester (

) waiting for her, the man who is in love with her. The next day, Kay is waiting by the fountain and Rene discovers that he has overslept. His friend, Dewey Gilson (

), has taken too long getting Rene's suit from the pawn shop. Rene waits, helplessly, as Kay prepares to leave. However, he runs down and obtains two carpets from a salesman, wrapping them around himself as a form of wealthy robe. He alerts Kay that he will be ready to have lunch in just a while, but two women, who believe that he is selling the carpets, demand to buy them. In an argument about who can buy the carpets between the women and Kay, the carpets are pulled from Rene and he runs away in his underwear. Later, Rene discovers that Kay is actually a movie star. Before he can contact her, however, she leaves for London. Rene follows her. He comes to her house at a party in which Kay has ordered her guests to appear in animal masks. Upon seeing Rene, she invites him to dinner, where Lady Malverton tells him to demonstrate his skills as a chef. After tasting the food that Rene prepares, Kay, as a joke, offers him a job as her cook. Rene, delighted, accepts without Kay knowing. Meanwhile, Phillip begs Kay to marry him, but she again postpones her answer. Lady Malverton finds Rene in the kitchen, where he tells her that he has taken the job of being Kay's chef. Lady Malverton spreads the gossip. The following morning, Kay is delivered breakfast by Rene and begs him to leave. Rene tells her he has no such intention and answers the phone several times and tells everyone he is Kay's chef. Lady Malverton arrives with a swarm of gossips and demands to know the truth. Kay tells them that she has hired him as a chef. Nonetheless, the tabloids are already running reports that Rene is Kay's "love chef". Kay, undaunted, accepts Phillip's proposal of marriage and orders an engagement dinner. Rene does his best to spoil the dinner and succeeds, with Phillip walking out of the house after a quarrel with Kay. Rene finally gets Kay to admit she loves him, but she tells him that she will not marry him, as the difference in social status between them will earn her the derision of everyone she knows. Rene tells her that he is a French marquis and leaves, angered by her silly fears. Kay follows him into an opera house where they kiss before an unexpected audience.

Cast

as Kay Winters * Fernand Gravet as Rene Vilardell *

as Philip Chester *

as Dewey Gilson * Isabel Jeans as Lady Paula Malverton * Marie Wilson as Myrtle *

as Jill * Tola Nesmith as Agnes *

Heather Thatcher Heather Thatcher (3 September 1896 – 15 January 1987) was an English actress in theatre and films. Career Dance By 1922, Thatcher was a dancer. She was especially noted for her interpretation of an Egyptian harem dance. Her exotic clothes wer ...

as Lady Potter-Porter * Jacques Lory as Papa Joli-Coeur * Tempie Piggott as Bessie Cast notes: ''Fools for Scandal'' featured a cameo by Lombard's

Pekingese The Pekingese (also spelled Pekinese) is a dog breed, breed of toy dog, originating in China. The breed was favored by royalty of the Chinese sovereign, Chinese Imperial court as a companion dog, and its name refers to the city of Beijing (Peki ...

, and it was the third pairing of Lombard and Bellamy.

Production

The working title of the film, which was planned to be filmed in

Technicolor Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...

, was "Food for Scandal"; both titles were inspired by Sheridan's play ''

The School for Scandal ''The School for Scandal'' is a comedy of manners written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on 8 May 1777. Plot Act I Scene I: Lady Sneerwell, a wealthy young widow, and her hireling S ...

''. The day of its release, April 16, 1938, Sheridan's play was feature on NBC Blue's program ''Great Plays''.https://www.spreaker.com/user/17365801/gsmc-classics-great-plays-episode-7-scho The film was Lombard's first and last for Warner Bros., and Mervyn LeRoy's last; he then went to

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

.Miller, Frank
"Fools for Scandal" (article)
on TCM.com. Fernand Gravet came to Warners after having achieved considerable success in French films under the name Fernand Gravey, but the failure of ''Fools for Scandal'' prevented him from achieving star status in the United States. He made one other film in the U.S., '' The Great Waltz'' for MGM, then returned to France. Warners borrowed

Ted Tetzlaff Ted Dale Tetzlaff (born Dale Herbert Tetzlaff; June 3, 1903 – January 7, 1995) was an American Academy Award-nominated cinematographer active in the 1930s and 1940s. Career Tetzlaff was particularly favored by the actress Carole Lombard, whom ...

, Lombard's favorite cinematographer, from

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

for the film, so that Lombard would be comfortable with how she was shot. She later said that she knew ''Fools for Scandal'' was a flop "when my friends confined their comments to how beautifully I had been photographed". Unfortunately, she never worked with Tetzlaff again.

Reception

''Fools for Scandal'' was an enormous box-office failure. Although Lombard considered '' The Gay Bride'' her worst film, many contemporary fans give ''Fools for Scandal'' that distinction. Lombard lacked chemistry with Gravet, and audiences, who had already begun tiring of screwball comedies, noted a similarity between the plots of ''Fools for Scandal'' and Lombard's previous screwball film ''

My Man Godfrey ''My Man Godfrey'' is a 1936 American screwball comedy film directed by Gregory La Cava and starring William Powell and Carole Lombard, who had been briefly married years before appearing together in the film. The screenplay for ''My Man Godfr ...

''. ''Fools'''s failure prompted Lombard to pursue only dramatic roles for the next few years until she joined

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

and Robert Montgomery for 1941's '' ''Mr. & Mrs. Smith''''.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fools For Scandal 1938 films 1938 romantic comedy films 1930s screwball comedy films American romantic comedy films American screwball comedy films 1930s English-language films Films directed by Mervyn LeRoy Films set in London Films set in Paris Warner Bros. films American black-and-white films 1930s American films English-language romantic comedy films