How many "Vidocq" versions are there ? Probably more than you'd want to see.The last one was released a couple of years ago (feat Depardieu) and was a commercial and artistic flop.French versions galore are up for grabs including a miniseries in the sixties.
This American version of the thief-turned -cop is a different matter cause it is probably as far as the real life character as it can be.George Sanders' suave portrayal is actually close to Arsene Lupin the French gentleman-burglar invented by Maurice Leblanc.After all Detlef Sierck (Douglas Sirk) was European .Aunt Ernestine is some kind of equivalent of Lupin's old nanny Victoire.The parallel with Saint George and the dragon is a good idea ,when a man has actually to fight against himself on the way to redemption.
The film is highly praised in Vidocq's native France:Jacques Lourcelles writes that ,"lost in Hollywood ,Sirk is at home again in an old tale of good old Europa.
I must confess I find "scandal in Paris" a bit cold and sometimes dull and I like Sirk best in his "Melodrames Flamboyants".
This American version of the thief-turned -cop is a different matter cause it is probably as far as the real life character as it can be.George Sanders' suave portrayal is actually close to Arsene Lupin the French gentleman-burglar invented by Maurice Leblanc.After all Detlef Sierck (Douglas Sirk) was European .Aunt Ernestine is some kind of equivalent of Lupin's old nanny Victoire.The parallel with Saint George and the dragon is a good idea ,when a man has actually to fight against himself on the way to redemption.
The film is highly praised in Vidocq's native France:Jacques Lourcelles writes that ,"lost in Hollywood ,Sirk is at home again in an old tale of good old Europa.
I must confess I find "scandal in Paris" a bit cold and sometimes dull and I like Sirk best in his "Melodrames Flamboyants".