A Royal Scandal

It took A ROYAL SCANDAL for me to realize that Tallulah Bankhead must have been wonderful on Broadway in THE LITTLE FOXES. Here, under Otto Preminger's direction, she gives a wonderfully restrained (for her) performance as Russia's Catherine the Great, shamelessly flaunting her loneliness in front of a man betrothed to another (ANNE BAXTER) but deciding that he looks fabulous in a white uniform (WILLIAM EYTHE).

Bankhead and Eythe are reason enough to watch this one. For once, he had a role that showed he had talent that should have been nurtured into full fledged stardom, but never was. He bears a strong resemblance to Tyrone Power and handles his role with authority and ease.

Bankhead seems on the verge of doing her Diva act at any given moment, but restricts herself to a few "Shut up!" remarks or slyly commenting on the fact that she'd like to do a lot for the peasants. She never misses an opportunity to give any slightly risqué line a clearer meaning, just from the way she glances or moves. It's a wonderfully entertaining performance.

CHARLES COBURN, ANNE BAXTER, SIG RUMAN and others do their parts in fine form, but VINCENT PRICE is wasted in the role of the French ambassador who ends up becoming the new apple of Bankhead's eye. Baxter is particularly good at demonstrating that she could show flashes of temperament beneath the sweetness and charm.

Best of all, the dialog is full of innocently delivered one-liners that make it one of the most enjoyable farces I've seen in years. And WILLIAM EYTHE shows that he had a talent for farce that should have landed him more such roles.

Well worth watching for the performances alone.