The Magnificent Fraud

{{short description|1939 film by Robert Florey}} {{more citations needed|date=March 2019}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2015}} {{Infobox film | name = The Magnificent Fraud | image = File:The Magnificent Fraud.jpg | caption = | director = [[Robert Florey]] | producer = [[Harlan Thompson]] | screenplay = Gilbert Gabriel<br>Walter Ferris | based_on = {{Based on|"Caviar for His Excellency" (short story)|[[Charles G. Booth]]}} | starring = [[Akim Tamiroff]]<br>[[Lloyd Nolan]]<br>[[Mary Boland]]<br>[[Patricia Morison]] | cinematography = [[William C. Mellor]] | editing = [[James Smith (film editor)|James Smith]] | studio = [[Paramount Pictures]] | distributor = Paramount Pictures | released = {{Film date|1939|07|21|United States}} | runtime = 78 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = }}

'''''The Magnificent Fraud''''' is a 1939 American [[crime film]] directed by [[Robert Florey]] and starring [[Akim Tamiroff]], [[Lloyd Nolan]], [[Mary Boland]] and [[Patricia Morison]].

==Plot==

[[Akim Tamiroff]] plays an actor performing in a nameless Latin American country who is pressed into service when the president is fatally injured by a bomb. Impersonating the president, the actor balances the pleasures and temptations of office, dangerous palace intrigue, and his duty to the people of the country.

The plot is identical to the 1988 [[Richard Dreyfuss]] film ''[[Moon over Parador]]''; both are based on a short story by [[Charles G. Booth]] called "Caviar for His Excellency".

Parts of the film were shot in [[Balboa Park (San Diego)|Balboa Park in San Diego]].

==Cast== * [[Akim Tamiroff]] as Jules LaCroix / President Alvarado * [[Lloyd Nolan]] as Sam Barr * [[Mary Boland]] as Mme. Geraldine Genet * [[Patricia Morison]] as Claire Hill * [[Ralph Forbes]] as Harrison Todd * [[Steffi Duna]] as Carmelita * [[Ernest Cossart]] as Duval * [[George Zucco]] as Dr. Luis Virgo * [[Robert Warwick]] as General Pablo Hernandez * [[Frank Reicher]] as Mendietta Garcia * [[Robert Middlemass]] as Morales * [[Abner Biberman]] as Ruiz * [[Donald Gallaher]] as Dr. Diaz

==Production== [[George Raft]] had meant to play the lead but he refused the part so Lloyd Nolan replaced him. This had also happened on ''St Louis Blues''. The disagreement led to Raft and Paramount parting ways.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Filmink|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/stars-stop-stars-george-raft/|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|title=Why Stars Stop Being Stars: George Raft|date=February 9, 2020}}</ref>

==See also== *''[[Moon over Parador]]'' *[[Dave (film)|''Dave'' (film)]]

==References== {{reflist}}

== External links == * {{IMDb title|id=0031604}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magnificent Fraud}} [[Category:1939 films]] [[Category:Films directed by Robert Florey]] [[Category:Paramount Pictures films]] [[Category:1939 crime drama films]] [[Category:American crime drama films]] [[Category:Films set in South America]] [[Category:American black-and-white films]] [[Category:1939 American films]] [[Category:1939 English-language films]] [[Category:English-language crime drama films]]