Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Name: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Genre: Crime, Comedy
Released: 1988-12-14
Duration: 1 h 50 min
Rating: 7.6
Cast: Steve Martin, Michael Caine, Glenne Headly, Anton Rodgers, Barbara Harris

Nice guys finish last. Meet the winners.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)

Timing: 1:50 (110 min)

—
no scores

7.1/10
1062

7.4/10
86000

Rate the movie:

Everything about the movie

Video 9

Photo 32

Actors and characters

Video for the film Dirty Rotten Scoundrels — DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS (1988) | Bailing Out Freddie | MGM

3:39

Photo 32

Release date

Country

Production

Genre

Budget

$6 500 000

Box office

$42 039 085

Website

Director

Frank Oz

Actors

Steve Martin, Michael Caine, Glenne Headly, Anton Rodgers, Barbara Harris, Ian McDiarmid, Dana Ivey, Meagen Fay, Frances Conroy, Nicole Calfan
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Dale Launer, Paul Henning

Producer

Bernard Williams, Charles Hirschhorn, Dale Launer

Camera operator

Michael Ballhaus

Composer

Miles Goodman

Artist

Roy Walker, Tony Rimmington

Audition

John S. Lyons, Donna Isaacson

Editing

William S. Scharf, Stephen A. Rotter
Whole Team (90)

Short description

Two con men try to settle their rivalry by betting on who can be the first to swindle a young American heiress out of $50,000.

What's left behind the scenes

The scene in the prison, when Freddy tries to remember Lawrence’s name, was an improvisation conceived by Steve Martin.
When director Frank Oz invited Michael Caine for a role in the film, he tempted him with a villa in the south of France, which would be at the actor’s complete disposal for the entire duration of filming. Caine agreed, discovering that this villa was conveniently located right between the villas of his friends, actor Roger Moore (1927-2017) and composer Leslie Bricusse.
In the casino scene, Freddy, dressed in a US Army officer’s uniform, tries to wager one of his medals during a roulette game, but the dealer does not allow it. Medals in the US are made of low-grade brass, not precious metals, specifically to prevent them from being traded.
Originally, the film was intended to star Mick Jagger and David Bowie (1947-2016) in the lead roles. Studio executives wanted to reunite them on screen after the success of the 1985 music video for “Dancing in the Street.” Following the success of the 1986 comedy “Ruthless People” (Jim Abrahams, David and Jerry Zucker), they turned to screenwriter Dale Launer for ideas. Jagger had previously written a song for “Ruthless People.” Launer suggested a remake of Ralph Levy’s 1964 comedy “A Hard Day’s Night,” which he had once seen on television. He even bought the remake rights from one of the original screenplay’s authors, Stanley Shapiro (1925-1990). Soon, Jagger and Bowie left the project, and Martin and Caine were invited to take their place.
During filming, Keanu was 55 and Martin was 42, while director Frank Oz needed them to both appear to be roughly the same age – 45-50 years old.
In the opening credits of the film, after the main actors, the word "are" appeared instead of "In" (in…), which can be translated as "Steve Martin and Michael Caine are outright swindlers."
In the movie's opening credits, after the lead actors, the word 'are' was used instead of 'In' (as in 'In the movie...'), which can be translated as 'Steve Martin and Michael Caine are notorious swindlers.'
The prison scene, where Freddy tries to remember Lawrence's name, was an improvisation devised by Steve Martin.
When director Frank Oz invited Michael Caine to take a role in the film, he lured him with a villa in the south of France, which would be at the actor's full disposal for the entire filming period. Caine agreed upon discovering that this villa was conveniently located right between the villas of his friends, actor Roger Moore (1927-2017) and composer Lesley Duncan.
It was originally intended to film this movie starring Mick Jagger and David Bowie (1947-2016). Studio bosses wanted to bring them together on screen again following the success of the music video for the 1985 song 'Dancing in the Street'. Riding the wave of success from the 1986 comedy 'Ruthless People' (Jim Abrahams, David and Jerry Zucker), they turned to screenwriter Dale Lerner for ideas. Jagger had previously written a song for the film 'Ruthless People'. Lerner suggested making a remake of Ralph Levy's comedy 'Bedtime Story' (1964), which he had once seen on television. He even bought the remake rights from one of the original screenwriters, Stanley Shapiro (1925-1990). Soon after, Jagger and Bowie left the project, and Martin and Caine were cast in their roles.
During filming, Caine was 55 and Martin was 42, whereas director Frank Oz required them both to be approximately the same age—between 45 and 50.