Very well executed

Really Surprised!

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Women make horrible judges, powerful newspaper owner Edward Arnold announces in court, upset by judge Rosalind Russell's fining him for contempt and giving wife Mary Beth Hughes a huge settlement. That's all it takes for Arnold to vow revenge, rehiring recently fired employee Walter Pidgeon in his scheme against her. He presents himself to her when she goes on vacation, chewing her ear off and generally making a nuisance of himself as he poses as a sculptor and purposely romances her in an awkward manner to get her into an awkward position so Arnold can blackmail her. Obviously, nature isn't going to take that course of action, and there's a lot of silliness in taking this ridiculous plot in the direction it goes.In spite of the implausabilities, this is an entertaining, if plot heavy, screwball comedy, with Jean Rogers as a blackmailing beautician, Vera Vague as Russell's malapropism spouting sister, Bobby Larson as Russell's prankster playing nephew (using the heads of sleeping bald men as an etch-a-sketch) and Guy Kibbee as an influencial judge. This is certainly a gorgeous film to look at (the type that probably produced gorgeous stills and lobby cards) and romantic in spite of it's con plotline. My judgement? Simply enjoy and throw the book at those thoughts that criticize the film as a whole.

Delightful romantic comedy with a plot that is, basically, a rehash of "Libeled Lady" (1936), beautifully done with nice cast. Rosalind Russell appears as a judge — as she would again in "The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer" (1947) — but also as a career woman whose repressed femininity makes her easy game for unscrupulous ladies' man Walter Pidgeon. That particular feature adds interest to the interaction between both characters and even, in a way and to a certain extent, gives this unpretentious little comedy a sort of an edge on the aforementioned classic screwball comedy. The chemistry between the leading couple is perfect and both are great in their respective parts. Arnold is also effective in another of his roles as a ruthless businessman (here a newspaper editor), the kind of characterization he played to perfection in several Frank Capra's comedies. Famous 'Vera Vague' (Barbara Jo Allen) plays a bit part, and the character that made the actress's fame is credited under hers (between parentheses) in the main titles.

DESIGN FOR SCANDAL (1941) Walter Pidgeon, Rosalind Russell Lively Script. Pidgeon orchestrates a scandal to help his boss get even with a judge (Russell) for a ruling in a divorce case. Pidgeon, a fixer/reporter (more like an experienced con-man) is an amoral opportunist. Russell, the judge, is cold and emotionally walled-off from the world as Pidgeon tries to seduce and compromise her.In my opinion Pidgeon deserved to be indicted despite how glib and affable he was.Pidgeon's performance is adequate, he's likable as always. Russell is also adequate and beautiful. But I was distanced from immersion into the story by both of their slightly wooden line delivery. I kept getting the sense they were speaking lines, acting. The script was snappy, maybe that was the problem? Too snappy for ordinary people to be saying.I think that's one of the problems with these movies from the 40's that have such great writing. It undermines the credibility of our character identification. Who speaks like that? Who is that smart, that quick? Yet it's the same thing we enjoy so much, the thing that makes such movies rise above the rest.So, the answer is to have characters that the audience can believe are smart enough to be delivering such quick-witted comebacks.Also, the deliveries from the two lead characters here sounded a bit overly rehearsed.I liked this movie from the start and as it developed but drifted away emotionally during the last act.Lots of wonderful supporting cast including the great (and aging) Edward Arnold, the ubiquitous Guy Kibbee, and Leon Belasco (playing a sculptor).

Walter Pidgeon is a reporter who agrees to do some dirty work for his boss in "Design for Scandal," also starring Rosalind Russell and Edward Arnold. After Arnold takes a beating in his divorce case, presided over by Russell, Pidgeon offers to help him out in return for getting his job back (when he thought he was going to die, he told off the boss - always a mistake). His assignment is to devise a scandal involving the judge so that his boss can have her removed from the bench. Pigeon follows the lady on her vacation and makes his play, enlisting the help of his girlfriend to build an alienation of affections case.This is a very mild comedy, highly predictable, and this type of role wasn't Pidgeon's forte. He's quite handsome in the role, but the part called for someone like Cary Grant, Errol Flynn, Clark Gable - an attractive, fast-talking rogue. Russell, like Celeste Holm and sometimes Katharine Hepburn, played these strong career women since her beauty was not conventional. She's very good, but the theme is always the same, isn't it - a successful career is fine but you're deluding yourself. What you really want to do is take off those tailored suits and get a man - because being a smart and successful woman will never win you anything important. It all gets a little tired, but it does give me some insight into why my mother turned out the way she did.