Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)

In director Frank Oz's comedy - a remake of Bedtime Story (1964) (starring David Niven and Marlon Brando); both films were written by the same team of Stanley Shapiro and Paul Henning; a later remake was the female-centric The Hustle (2019) with two female leads (Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson):

• the plot was about two cons (one American and one Brit) who engaged in a rivalry to see who could swindle a wealthy American heiress out of $50,000 dollars
• in the film's opening set on the French Riviera, British con artist Lawrence Jamieson (Michael Caine) was introduced; Lawrence's current tactic was to pretend to be an exiled royal prince (addressed as "Your Highness") raising money for "freedom fighters" in his country; although their faces were not shown, he was seen reluctantly accepting a gift of a valuable pearl necklace removed from the neck of a rich female (Cheryl Pay)
• the suave, wealthy, and educated pseudo-aristocrat Lawrence lived in the coastal resort of Beaumont-sur-Mer (fictional), and had two associates to assist in his ploys to scam "extremely rich, very married, eminently corruptible" females at the local casino: police chief-official Inspector Andre (Anton Rodgers) and manservant Arthur (Ian McDiarmid)

In French Riviera Casino, Lawrence Posed as Exiled Prince to His 'Mark': Fanny Eubanks (Barbara Harris) from Omaha, Nebraska To Acquire Her Diamond Earrings

• Lawrence's next 'mark' in the Grand Hotel's casino was gullible Fanny Eubanks (Barbara Harris) from Omaha, NB; he was able to convince her of his princely role, and swindled her out of her diamond earrings; after selling her jewelry, the proceeds were divided amongst the trio (Lawrence, Andre, and Arthur)
• Lawrence traveled by train to deposit his funds in a Zurich, Switzerland bank, and on his return trip by train to his French Riviera villa, in the train's dining room, Lawrence watched another con artist in action; the loud, unrefined and obnoxious American con-artist Freddy Benson (Steve Martin) acquired a free meal from a gullible female (Nicole Calfan) who believed his tale about a sick grandmother; she ordered the waiter: "Waiter, give this man whatever he wants"; Freddy then proceeded to order a huge meal: ("I'll have a double turkey sandwich on rye, a side order of fries, one of those large knockwurst, three bags of potato chips, chocolate milk and two beers. Why don't you have a beer. Three beers")

Con-Artist Lawrence Jamieson (Michael Caine) Watching Freddy's Con on Train in Dining Car

In Lawrence's Train Compartment, Freddy Arguing About How It Was Justified To Fleece Wealthy Females

• shortly later with Freddy in his train compartment, Lawrence criticized Freddy's low-brow, shabby and inferior tactics as a confidence artist; Freddy claimed that Lawrence had a lot to learn about women ("the weaker sex"), and then persuasively rationalized the need to fleece unsuspecting wealthy females out of their money through cons: ("We're the weaker sex. Men don't live as long as women. We get more heart attacks, more strokes, more prostate trouble. I say, it's time for a change. I say, let them give us money. Let's live off them for a while. That probably shocks a guy like you, right?...Look what I did in the dining car! She gave me 100 francs. That's like uh, twenty bucks! Do you have any idea what it feels like to take a woman for $20 bucks?")
• Lawrence and Andre used a decoy to get rid of potential competitor Freddy and divert him away from conducting his cons in Beaumont-sur-Mer rather than in the richer Portofino on the Italian Riviera; Lawrence didn't want Freddy screwing up his own local game: "A poacher who shoots at rabbits may scare big game away"; Lawrence and Andre suspected that Freddy was the 'Jackal' - a notorious American con who was 'working' throughout Western Europe
• suddenly, Freddy appeared back in Beaumont-sur-Mer riding in an open white convertible Ferrari seated next to Krista Knudsen (Aina Wallé), the widow of a rich Danish match king; he had convinced her with his false story about a sick grandmother (who required an operation) and was handed a wad of cash; Lawrence arranged for Andre to arrest the swindler and "trickster" Freddy who was impingong on his territory and put him in jail; Lawrence bailed him out and put him on a plane out of the country; during the flight, Freddy was informed by returning Omaha resident "Lady Fanny" Eubanks that she had seen him speaking to "Your Highness" - an exiled prince; Freddy suddenly realized that he had been conned by a fellow con
• in the next scene, Freddy was suddenly back in France and approached Lawrence at his villa; he persuasively blackmailed the consummate scam-artist to mentor him in the finer arts of conning rich women to improve his game, or otherwise threatened to ruin his 'business'; Lawrence told a skeptical Andre: "I am taking him in gracefully in order to get him out gracefully"
• to the tune of "Puttin' on the Ritz" in a shot vignette, Freddy was measured by a tailor and treated to a new wardrobe; greasy pink hair gel was applied, and he was given lessons in how to walk, flower-arranging, and customary etiquette and refined manners
• Lawrence was currently wooing Miss Trumble (Meagen Fay) from Tulsa, Oklahoma; Lawrence's goal was to scare off his newest prospect - marriage-minded heiress Miss Trumble after he had proposed to her and she had offered him $100,000 francs of her money for his "noble cause" to fight Communists; to dissuade her from marriage, Freddy joined Lawrence in his 'prince charade' by taking on the role of Lawrence's younger idiot and spastic brother - "monkey boy" Prince Ruprecht, a la Jerry Lewis

Miss Trumble Meeting Exiled Prince Lawrence's Spastic Brother 'Prince Ruprecht'

• after being introduced in his dark, locked quarters, 'Ruprecht' expressed his distaste for the idea of Lawrence's engagement and his moving away to live with Miss Trumble in the US by angrily destroying pottery; he lubricated a yellow latex glove on his left hand after being asked the question: "What did we do when Uncle Ted was here?" and then he hugged Miss Trumble too tightly until he was threatened: "Ruprecht, do you want the genital cuff?" - and then he behaved; he was assured: "Don't worry, Ruprecht. We won't go anywhere without you" and then told the distressed Miss Trumble: "He'll enjoy Oklahoma's wide open spaces"

Lubricating a Latex Glove

Hugging Miss Trumble Tightly

• in another scene with a new fiancee named Diana (Frances Conroy) from Palm Beach, at a long dining room table, 'Prince Ruprecht' ate with a cork on the end of his fork to prevent him from hurting himself, since it was explained by Lawrence that he often would poke himself in the eye (the one with an eyepatch); when commanded by Lawrence to eat his meal, the retard asked: "Excuse me, may I go to the bathroom first?"; when given permission, he appeared to pee into his pants under the table, and then after a look of relief, he responded: "Thank you"

Ruprecht Required to Eat With a Cork on End of His Fork to Prevent Him for Injuring Himself

• exasperated by not receiving a share of the cash, and always being ordered around by Lawrence, Freddy threatened to leave and forfeit any future training; however, he remained in town and began to worry "top dog" Lawrence who feared his business would suffer: "There simply isn't enough room for both of us to work in Beaumont sur Mer"; but Freddy countered that he could easily ruin Lawrence: "I could always call Lady Fanny of Omaha"; the two decided to set up a competitive rivalry to battle for $50,000 from a selected mark; the winner would acquire the sole rights to the 'territory' of Beaumont-sur-Mer for future scams, while the loser would be required to leave the area and never return
• the duo's first victim was the slightly bumbling American heiress Janet Colgate (Glenne Headley) - a sweet, naive "United States Soap Queen" actress who had just checked into the Riviera's Grand Hotel; both Freddy and Lawrence competitively tried to con Janet - Freddy surprised Lawrence by posing as a crippled, uniformed US Navy veteran who suffered from loss of feeling in his legs due to emotional trauma
• at dinner, Freddy told Janet a sad sob story about how he had won a dance contest with his fiancee, but then found her making love naked on the studio's dance floor with Dance USA host Danny Terrio; he claimed that he required $50,000 for an operation to be performed in the clinic of famous Liechtenstein psychiatrist Dr. Emil Schaffhausen
• the doctor happened to be conveniently seated in the lobby of the hotel where Janet found him, and he reluctantly agreed - after she begged - to examine Freddy's condition, but under one stipulation by the doctor: 'No money for him. If I decide to take this case, you must pay the fee directly to me"
• in a hilarious scene, Dr. Schaffhausen struck Freddy's bare, 'crippled' legs ("Do you feel this?") multiple times to try to reveal that he was a fraud, but Freddy didn't cry out until he shed tears of joy (and pain) when the doctor finally agreed to take him on as a patient: ("Look, he's so happy he's crying"); the doctor whisked Janet away to his villa where he attempted to woo her, although Freddy was also present and trying to interfere; both cons continued to compete for the love and affectionate attention of Janet
• soon after, Freddy again attempted to garner sympathy from Janet by staging a runaway wheelchair accident that sent him tumbling down the stone steps of Lawrence's villa to a beach below; when Janet ran to his rescue, he denounced the doctor: "He hates me. He's trying to torture me" and then tried to convince Janet to kiss him: "Am I attractive and exciting to you?"; Lawrence found them on the beach and suggested an alternative therapeutic strategy: 'You and I must be his role model. We must enjoy ourselves so much that Freddy will really want to jump out of the wheelchair and join us"
• on a dance floor as Freddy looked on jealously from his wheelchair, the "doctor" persuaded Janet to kiss him: "It was love that put him in that chair. Perhaps love could get him out. Would you mind if I gave you a little kiss?"
• following Janet's revelation later that evening that she wasn't as wealthy as Lawrence had earlier assumed, he and Freddy changed the bet - the winner would now be the first to sleep and have sex with Janet; the loser would be forced to leave town: "Loser leaves town"; Freddy immediately came up with another ploy to convince Janet to love him, without "doctor" Lawrence's interference; he returned alone to Janet's hotel room that night and suggested to her: "I could walk if the desire was strong enough....I think you're the only person in the world who can give me that desire....I love you and I think I could walk again if I thought you loved me too"
• as she stood in her hotel's bedroom in a black negligee, she urged him to get up from his wheelchair and walk across the room to her; through the pain, Freddy made it to the bed and began kissing Janet, when Lawrence's voice from across the room surprisingly interjected: "Our love, Freddy. We all love you. It's moments like this that make being a doctor worthwhile"; Freddy's ploy backfired when Janet congratulated the "doctor" for his genius and how he could "perform miracles"
• however, Janet was even more deceptively clever than either of them and ultimately swindled both of them out of $50,000 dollars; although she appeared to have left town, she returned to her vacated hotel room where she vowed her love for Freddy and they prepared to make love; when notified that Janet had returned and presumably had slept with Freddy, Lawrence feared he had lost the bet ("It seems the teacher has underestimated the student"); but then Janet appeared in tears at the villa and claimed to Lawrence that Freddy had slept with her, but then had stolen her money, mink, jewelry, and traveler's checks, and that he had also pretended to be unable to walk; in sympathy with Janet, Lawrence gave her a satchel filled with $50,000 dollars to "cover" her losses
• just before Janet boarded a plane to leave, she impulsively returned Lawrence's money satchel; after her departure, Freddy frantically arrived in a hotel bathrobe to complain that Janet had stolen HIS clothes and money; Lawrence opened the satchel and found that it contained Freddy's clothes and a note from Janet - she revealed her identity as the elusive "Jackal" who had absconded with their money; Freddy was upset by her conniving dishonesty, but Lawrence reacted with praise: "Isn't she wonderful?"
• as Freddy and Lawrence commiserated over their losses at Lawrence's villa a week later, Janet came into view as she arrived on a yacht with a group of wealthy vacationers from Greece; she posed as brash NYC real estate agent "Paula" wearing a red wig; both Lawrence and Freddy played along as she tried to impress her Greek millionaire client Nikos (Louis Zorich) by introducing him to both Lawrence (pretending to be Australian "Chips O'Toole" with a "Down Under" accent) and Freddy (posing as Chips' mute junior whizz-kid partner "Randy Bentwick")

Janet as NYC Real Estate Agent "Paula" Arriving on Yacht with Rich Vacationers From Greece

Lawrence and Freddy Posing as Australian "Chips O'Toole" and "Randy Bentwick" for Janet

• as the film concluded - and in the film's final line, she joined arms with the two of them and revealed that she was ready to join them in fleecing the travelers that she had brought: "Fellas, last year I made three million dollars. But your fifty thousand was the most fun. Are you ready? Then, let's go get 'em"