''Fools for Scandal'' is a 1938 screwball comedy 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 2 ...

and

Fernand Gravet Fernand Gravey (25 December 1905 in Ixelles (Belgium) – 2 November 1970 in Paris, France),Death certificate # 8/445/1970 also known as Fernand Gravet in the United States, was the son of actors Georges Mertens and Fernande Depernay, who ap ...

, featuring Ralph Bellamy,

Allen Jenkins Allen Curtis Jenkins (born Alfred McGonegal; April 9, 1900 – July 20, 1974) was an American character actor and singer who worked on stage, film, and television. Life and career Jenkins was born on Staten Island, New York, on April 9, 190 ...

, Isabel Jeans, Marie Wilson and

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

, and produced and directed by

Mervyn LeRoy Mervyn LeRoy (; October 15, 1900 – September 13, 1987) was an American film director and producer. In his youth he played juvenile roles in vaudeville and silent film comedies. During the 1930s, LeRoy was one of the two great practitioners of ...

. It was written by

Herbert Fields Herbert Fields (July 26, 1897March 24, 1958) was an American librettist and screenwriter. Biography Born in New York City, Fields began his career as an actor, then graduated to choreography and stage director, stage direction before turning to ...

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 musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most ...

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, Both ...

. ''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 (

), a French

marquis A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. 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 wi ...

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 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 ( Ralph Bellamy) 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 *

as Rene Vilardell * Ralph Bellamy 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. Dancer By 1922, Thatcher was a dancer. She was especially noted for her interpretation of an Egyptian harem dance. Her exotic clothes were desig ...

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 beloved Pekingese, Pushface, and was the third pairing of Lombard and Bellamy.

Production

The working title of the film, which was originally planned to be filmed in Technicolor, was "Food for Scandal"; both titles were inspired by

Sheridan Sheridan may refer to: People Surname *Sheridan (surname) *Philip Sheridan (1831–1888), U.S. Army general after whom the Sheridan tank is named *Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751–1816), Irish playwright (''The Rivals''), poet and politician ...

's classic 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 Sna ...

''. The film was Lombard's first and last for Warner Bros., and Mervyn LeRoy's last: afterward, he went to

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

.Miller, Frank
"Fools for Scandal" (article)
on

TCM.com Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasti ...

. 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 US, '' The Great Waltz'' for MGM, before returning to France. Warners borrowed

Ted Tetzlaff Dale H. "Ted" Tetzlaff (3 June 1903, Los Angeles, California – 7 January 1995, Sausalito, California) was an Academy Award-nominated Hollywood cinematographer active in the 1930s and 1940s. Career Tetzlaff was particularly favored by the ...

, Lombard's favorite cinematographer, from

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

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 for her, she was never able to work with Tetzlaff again.

Reception

''Fools for Scandal'' was an enormous box-office failure. Although Lombard considered ''

The Gay Bride ''The Gay Bride'' is a 1934 black-and-white gangster screwball comedy starring Carole Lombard as a wisecracking gold-digger and Chester Morris as the poor man she despises. It was directed by Jack Conway and written by the husband-and-wife team ...

'' 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 Godfre ...

''. ''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 filmmaker. 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 featur ...

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