Death of a Scoundrel

Death of a Scoundrel (1956), starring George Sanders, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Yvonne DeCarlo

Synopsis of Death of a Scoundrel

Death of a Scoundrel – George Sanders stars with beautiful Yvonne de Carlo and Zsa Zsa Gabor in this torrid drama loosely based on the life and mysterious death of Serge Rubenstein.

Cast of characters in Death of a Scoundrel

• Clementi Sabourin (George Sanders, The Village of the Damned, The Picture of Dorian Gray).  The center of the movie, a thoroughly unscrupulous man.  Clementi is an immigrant from Czechoslovakia, who earns his passport by betraying his brother.  He is willing to lie, cheat, steal, and embezzle.  He desires beautiful woman – but doesn’t truly love them.  He perpetually seeks more and more wealth, although it doesn’t satisfy him.
• Gerry Monte (Tom Conway, Peter Pan, Cat People).  Clementi’s brother, who has fallen in love with and married Zina.  Clementi loved Zina but he was missing and presumed dead.  But Clementi wants her back and betrays Gerry to the authorities.  Who kill him while in their custody.
• Zina Monte (Lisa Ferraday, Rancho Notorious).  Gerry’s widow, who eventually finds out that Clementi is culpable in his death.  She confronts him with a gun, but he pretends to be ridden with guilt – lying through his teeth.  Later, she poisons herself – and leaves a note blaming Clementi.
• Bridget Kelly (Yvonne De Carlo, The Munsters, Band of Angels).  The first American that Clementi takes advantage of, but not the last.  She’s stolen a rich man’s wallet.  Clementi follows her to a bar, gets invited to her home, and steals the wallet.  But her ex-husband follows …
• Chuck Kelly (Bob Morgan).  He chases Clementi, and shoots him – and gets pushed into a speeding car for his troubles.
• Mr. O’Hara (John Hoyt, Spartacus, Attack of the Puppet People).  

Editorial review of Death of a Scoundrel courtesy of Amazon.com

He was the most hated man on earth. But he could have been one of the great men in history. He was a genius. So begins the post-mortem recollections of the cast of characters that had the misfortune of crossing paths with Clementi Sabourin, a cad of such monumental proportions that only George Sanders could play him. Clementi’s story plays out in a series of flashbacks, as his life story is relayed by those who knew him to the police, who are investigating his murder. Yvonne DeCarlo, Zsa Zsa Gabor (the ex-Mrs. Sanders), Nancy Gates and Coleen Gray play the eye-catching “Four beautiful reasons behind…the Death of a Scoundrel” promised by the film’s poster while Sanders’ sibling Tom Conway appears as Clementi’s brother. Contributions from the equally celebrated James Wong Howe (cinematographer) and Max Steiner (composer) add luster to the film’s pulp noir pursuit of the truth of a great man, greatly dedicated to only himself.