Bedtime Story

1964 "The Sin-tillating Capers of Two Cunning Con Men who Fleeced the Sexiest Chicks on the Riviera...until each decided to become king of the mountain !"
6.7| 1h39m| NR| en
Details

Benson, is a Casanova who tricks women into having sex with him before leaving them. He is content with his game until he meets Jamison, a real operator who poses as an exiled prince and not only gets women to share his bed but also to give him money to help him fund his supposed counter-revolution.

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Reviews

Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.
filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.
dbdumonteil Very funny comedy .The repetitive side ("My granny is sick...She needs an operation...Alas I've not got enough money! Poor dear") is no problem.On the contrary,it becomes funnier and funnier as the movie progresses."Bedtime story" hints at fairy tales characters ,particularly the Little Red Riding Hood and Prince Charming (David Niven may be a fake shrink ,but he is a true prince short of the readies,a prince going as far as to "create" an evil prince in his château).But the most successful gags are provided by the spoof on all the Freudian works which were thriving since the forties (their heyday with such directors as Siodmak,Hitchcock,Lang ,Tourneur ..).Brando about to faint and pretending he is suffering each time he sees lovers dance is a nod to all these movies in which the hero(ine) couldn't stand a certain thing,because in his/her past something bad happened.I even suspect the writers of having borrowed the scene in which Shirley Jones and Brando are on the beach (You can do it on my legs too)from the famous scene on the boat when Marilyn Monroe tries to arouse Tony Curtis's desire .A treat for big babies.
MARIO GAUCI Before tackling the film proper, I'd like to point out some fascinating trivia first: originally, this was planned with Cary Grant and Rock Hudson in mind who were to compete for Doris Day and, allegedly, it was almost revived as a starring vehicle for (brace yourselves) David Bowie and Mick Jagger (!!)…before saner minds prevailed and we got DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS (1988) – with Michael Caine and Steve Martin replacing David Niven and Marlon Brando respectively – instead. Anyway, the premise was quite original at the time – rival con-men decide to collaborate but clash over fleecing a woman who turns out to be poor – and the film itself was actually better than I was expecting: in any case, "The most vulgar and embarrassing film of the year" – as The Daily Express had deemed the film on its release – it certainly wasn't!Given that BEDTIME STORY was one of Brando's efforts from his lean period (and, uncharacteristically, a comedy at that), I didn't have high hopes for it initially – especially since some of the other "comedies" I had seen Brando in had been pretty desperate attempts: A COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG (1967) and CANDY (1968; see above). Still, that the Method actor was capable of handling lighter material than the brooding dramas he was best-known for, was already evident early on in his career with GUYS AND DOLLS (1955) and THE TEAHOUSE OF THE AUGUST MOON (1956), but this is perhaps his most engaging performance in this field; that said, it's rather disquieting to see him mugging like a Jerry Lewis wannabe (when posing as Niven's half-wit brother)! His co-star isn't particularly taxed by his role – having often played the roué, it's one he could have done in his sleep – but he's always good value in this type of light entertainment; ditto Shirley Jones, who plays it more or less straight.The delightful opening, lending fairy-tale connotations to the narrative (hence the title) and the various schemes by which the two male stars attempt to outwit one another in order to obtain Jones' favors (and, in the process, her money) constitute the film's highlights; these include the famous scene in which Brando poses as a paraplegic – recalling his celebrated debut performance in Fred Zinnemann's powerful social drama THE MEN (1950) – as a result of which Jones arranges for him to be "cured" by renowned shrink Niven! I watched the film via the R2 DVD from Orbit Media, presenting the Universal film in a full-screen format; I haven't been able to ascertain what the original aspect ratio was, but I didn't find the compositions overly compromised; for the record, BEDTIME STORY is still unavailable on R1 DVD and one wonders what held it from being included in Universal's four-film 2-Disc Set of "The Marlon Brando Franchise Collection"...
RAUL SIERRA OTERO Bedtime Story is a fine comedy with two superb actors. The story, the rhythm of the movie and the acting is characteristic of the best period of the English, American, Italian and French comedy. No special effects, just a good story and good acting. Excellent!. Good comedies in the fifties, sixties and seventies were common, Bedtime Story is one, Prudence and the Pill, The Pink Panther, How to Murder Your Wife, The Statue, The Ladykillers, etc… I do not like re-makes in general, but I hate bad re-makes. The bad news is that the list of re-makes is growing. Is it because they lack creativity and ingenuity? Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a really bad one. I wonder why Steve Martin keeps trying to show the world how lousy actor and worse comedian he is compared to Brando or Peter Sellers in the Pink Panther. The same for the 2004 version of The Ladykillers, it is awful. So, my recommendation is: stick to the originals.
catcha22 Being the basis for "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," I couldn't help watching this one. I had the bad fortune of seeing the remake first, however, and they are scene-by-scene identical up until the last bits. I think that I liked "Bedtime Story" more, however. Marlon Brando did a much better job than Steve Martin did 25 years later. David Niven played the part better too. "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" twisted the end of the movie and set it up for a sequel, but that never came through. I like it fine, anyway, just how it is.