Sanders' accomplice is Akim Tamiroff, who helps him escape from prison and assists him in various larcenies. Tamiroff's family is composed of accomplished criminals, including a forger who gives Sanders papers to make him a lieutenant in the French Army. Sanders uses his newfound station to steal from golddigger showgirl Carole Landis and her cuckold fiancé, police prefect Gene Lockhart.
Sanders next big score is the De Pierremont family jewelry. He becomes their house guest and soon steals the jewels, but has second thoughts after De Pierremont (Alan Napier), the Minister of Police, fires Lockhart. Sanders schemes to replace Lockhart as police prefect, which will give him access to the Bank of Paris vault. Sanders assumes the desired post after "solving" the jewelry theft crime and "recovering" the stolen loot.
Because it is a movie, De Pierremont has a beautiful marriageable daughter, Signe Hasso. Hasso has a crush on Sanders despite his criminal past, which is soon known to her. Either Hasso or Landis could turn Sanders in at any moment, which forces final reel plot resolutions.
How others will see it. This movie is completely obscure, probably because it was independently produced. Because it is black and white, many viewers will find it inaccessible. But classic film devotees will recognize many cast members and enjoy the film immensely, thanks to Sanders' comic anti-hero performance and a sterling screenplay by the unheralded Ellis St. Joseph.
How I felt about it. A Scandal in Paris is nearly completely fictional. Even the birth story is incorrect. Vidocq was not illegitimate. His father was a wealthy businessman, and perhaps the first victim of Vidocq's thievery. More importantly, the film version of Vidocq abhors violence, while the real-life Verdocq was noted for his duels and jailed for assault.
Vidocq did become a high-ranking police official, but it was due to his success first as a stool pigeon, and later as the leader of an undercover police squad. It seems fair to state that Vidocq was never an aristocrat, although did die wealthy, partly due to his sensationalized (and ghostwritten) memoirs.
But then, A Scandal in Paris is a completely facetious movie, and is one big wink to the audience. It makes no pretense to accurately depict the life of Vidocq. Rather, Vidocq is a comic anti-hero who turns "good" only because he has won the love of a comely heiress and her grateful family. Minor concessions are made to the Production Code, but he is basically the same scoundrel throughout. If he is now on the side of the law, it is out of self-interest rather than as an act of restitution.
As a scoundrel who assumes the airs of a gentleman, the ever-sardonic George Sanders is ideally cast. Less satisfactory is the presence of Akim Tamiroff, a reliable Hollywood supporting actor often typecast as swarthy, thick-accented comic villains. He is short, stocky, vaguely Eastern Europe, and a physical representative of our xenophoic fears. Here, he is Vidocq's partner in crime, at least until Vidocq takes all of Therese's substantial dowry for himself after ending the plot to loot the Bank of Paris.
The tragic figure here is Carole Landis. And it was that way in real life. Landis went through five husbands before her death by suicide at the age of 29. Sanders also committed suicide, but at least waited until he was 61 to do so.