Based ona true story worthy of Fritz Lang-that of a crook who became chief of police, and remained a crook-in thehands of Douglas Sirk, A Scandal in Paris is an elegant period piece with its own powerfully ironicundertones. George Sanders portrays Fran?ois Eug?ne Vidocq, a thief, scoundrel and upstart of theNapoleonic era who connives to have himself appointed Chief of Police, whence he infiltrates his crookedcolleagues into key posts. Such a one is abashed only by the shock of true love (for Signe Hasso). The film'sleisurely pace vexed critics at the time, but is in league with the laconic personality of Sanders, Sirk'sfavorite actor with his deadly cynicism and deadpan wit. Sanders, Sirk said, "had a great capacity forunderstanding in-between values, being an in-between person himself. He got all the vacillation of thecharacter, its irony. He had just the right degree of arrogance and aplomb for the part" (Jon Halliday, Sirkon Sirk). Halliday writes: "An almost surrealist film, dense with Sirkian themes-identity, the weight of thepast, people as shadows...one of Sirk's most delicate works." The film's score is by Hanns Eisler.