Design for Scandal

Rache ist süß

Retrospective 2022

Judge Cornelia Porter makes an enemy of a newspaper tycoon when she awards his wife large alimony payments during the divorce proceedings. To get his revenge, the publisher agrees to sic reporter Jeff Sherman on the judge. The plan is to seduce Porter, opening her up to blackmail by embroiling her in a public scandal involving Sherman’s planned marriage. He follows her to the seaside resort where she is vacationing, where the upright judge initially rebuffs Sherman’s advances. But by posing as an artist, he manages to exploit her love of sculpture. Far from her usual professional habitat, Judge Porter displays a “typically feminine” weakness. After Sherman flatteringly calls her glamourous, she checks herself out in the mirror – providing Rosalind Russell with a perfect opportunity to show off her physical comedy chops. Although she manages to rise above false compliments, she proves powerless against Sherman’s insinuations of love – with the central gag of this romantic comedy being that even the man whispering sweet nothings ends up succumbing to them.

by Norman Taurog
with Rosalind Russell, Walter Pidgeon, Edward Arnold, Lee Bowman, Jean Rogers, Mary Beth Hughes, Guy Kibbee, Barbara Jo Allen, Leon Belasco, Bobby Larson USA 1941 English 85’ Black/White

With

Rosalind Russell
Walter Pidgeon
Edward Arnold
Lee Bowman
Jean Rogers
Mary Beth Hughes
Guy Kibbee
Barbara Jo Allen
Leon Belasco
Bobby Larson

Crew

Director	Norman Taurog
Screenplay	Lionel Houser
Cinematography	Leonard Smith, William Daniels
Editing	Elmo Veron
Music	Franz Waxman
Sound	Douglas Shearer
Art Director	Cedric Gibbons
Costumes	Kalloch
Producer	John W. Considine Jr.

Produced by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.

Additional information

Print: 16mm collection print courtesy of the UCLA Film & Television Archive