...the original version of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, a 1988 comedy. I just saw the original again for the first time in years and found this tale of two competitive French Riviera con artists fleecing rich women a charming, polished delight.

David Niven is perfectly cast, bringing his charm and droll humor to the role of the wealthy, well established con artist, working in collaboration with the corrupt captain of police, to suavely pluck the rich female tourists arriving in his affluent but small Mediterranean town, without their ever knowing that they have been plucked. Along, though, comes a brash American con artist interloper (Marlon Brando),threatening to spoil the pickings for Niven. From there the story takes off.

The film looks like parts of it may have been filmed in the Riviera, adding considerably to the sunshine kissed affluent atmosphere of this handsome production. And there is often some rather clever dialogue. At one point Brando, in talking to the French town police officer, says, "She caught me with another woman. You're French. You understand." "To be with another woman, that is French," replies the Frenchman, "To be caught, that is American." That same line of dialogue, by the way, would re-appear in the remake (Stanley Shapiro has writing credit on both films).

Niven brings his expected aplomb to his role. Did any actor ever look more at home in a white tuxedo? But Brando is an unexpected pleasure to watch in this film, as well, gleefully leaping into the role of the lower class brash Yankee ready to exploit the gullibility of innocent women. At one point Niven says to him, "By no stretch of the imagination would I associate myself with someone like you. You're crude." "Well, so is oil until you refine it into high octane gasoline," says Brando, wanting to be taught all the tricks of sophisticated film flammery at the hands of an old master like Niven.

Both Bedtime Story and its Dirty Rotten Scoundrels remake are well worth viewing. Where the remake has an edge over the original, though, is in the casting of Steve Martin, who has a few sequences of physical comedy brilliance when he poses as "Ruprecht," Niven's brain addled "brother," who acts, at times, like he's almost half monkey. These scenes are hysterically funny, thanks to Martin. Michael Caine plays the Niven role in the remake, and he's more than fine.

The real difference - the ending of the original shows the remaining romance of the production code era, that love can flourish even under the most lurid of circumstances. The remake's ending shows all the cynicism that you would expect in a post-Watergate, post-Vietnam world. Both endings work well. I'll let you watch and find out what I mean.

I saw it in the late '60's on TV when I was home from school. Years later I became a screenwriter and got a call from David Bowie's production company. He and Mick jagger wanted to do a movie together and hoped I would write it. I suggested doing a remake of Bedtime Story with Bowie as Lawrence Jamison and Mick as Freddy.

They were both interested, the studio (UA) was interested, but the movie had been made at Universal and there was no way they could get the rights. A number of other studios were interested, but couldn't wrestle the right away from Universal.

Turns out no had bothered to do a copyright search. I did. Turns out the rights had reverted back to the original writer/producer Stanley Shapiro. We met at the Pink Turtle (a coffee shop at what was the Beverly Wilshire) and did a deal on a napkin.

The original title was King of Hill. Since Stanley was the man behind the Doris Day/Rock Hudson/Cary Grant movies - he decided to write (with Maurice Richlin - who went on to pen the original Pink Panther) a movie where Cary Grant and Rock Hudson would compete for Doris Day.

Apparently, Cary had asked Rock to do a movie with him, but Rock had turned him down. So Cary didn't want to do a movie with Rock. And Doris wouldn't do the movie without the both of them. Hence it was re-cast with Niven, Brando and Shirley Jones.

Stanely said this movie didn't do all that well in its original run. He felt that the movie fell flat in the south because of Brando championing civil rights.

Thought I do prefer my ending, but this is nevertheless a very charming movie. Which is why I tried to preserve as much as the original as possible. Hey, if ain't broke, don't fix it. And certainly don't change it.

"Bedtime Story" is a very unusual film in that I actually much preferred the remake, "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels"...and I rarely enjoy remakes. I won't bore you with a lot of details--suffice to say that it's pretty much the same plot but the character played by Marlon Brando is very sexist and crude...much more so and much more of a jerk than the character played by Steve Martin. And, therein lies the problem--he plays such an obvious pig that the film loses the audience. You just cannot believe he's a con man...and a successful one at that. Overall, an interesting idea that only is modestly interesting...at best. Stick with the 1988 film...your brain will thank you.