The Story:
On the glamorous French Riviera, suave con artist Lawrence Jameson (David Niven) reigns supreme, posing as a prince to charm wealthy widows into funding his imaginary revolution, until brash American Freddy Benson (Marlon Brando) crashes his elegant scheme by blackmailing him into mentorship after uncovering his secrets.
As rivalries ignite, Lawrence tires of Freddy’s crude antics and proposes a high-stakes wager: the first to swindle $25,000 from innocent Janet Walker (Shirley Jones), the so-called U.S. Soap Queen, claims the Riviera turf, with the loser exiled; Freddy feigns paralysis from a broken heart for sympathy, while Lawrence masquerades as psychiatrist Dr. Emil Schuffhausen, subjecting Freddy to hilarious “therapies” like leg-whippings to sabotage him.
Twists abound when Lawrence learns Janet’s modest truth, sparking his unlikely chivalry to shield her, only for the clever vixen to reveal her own masterful con, absconding with his fortune and forging an improbable alliance between the scoundrels in this riotous battle of wits, charm, and deception!
