User:Godsy/Cad

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A cad or bounder is a man who has selfish or immoral interests in attaining power, wealth, success as through marriage or sexual conquests with no regard as to the moral means of achieving these. It is a type of gentlemanly character

History

The first documented use of cad came in 1838 and the phrase complete and utter bounder comes from the same semantic world. According to Curious Words and English Phrases, the word originated woth the Mary Queen of Scots as an abbreviation for caddie and was also used to refer to errand boys. Eventually a second meaning developed having to do with vulgar men.

In film

Cad characters are epitomised by depictions made by English Actors Sir Robert Stephens, George Sanders and most notably Terry-Thomas. The archetypal stereotype of the cad usually appears with a pencil moustache and Brylcreem coiffured hair.

In the films where the cad appears, they are usually set as an antagonistic character. The cad will usually employ techniques involving lying, deceipt and duplicity to get their way, which usually work for the main part of the story but are usually reavealed by the end of the story as the tables are turned. A good example of this plot device is in the Terry Thomas film School for Scoundrels. In this film, the dastardly deeds carried out by Raymond Delauney are returned on him so the film's main protagonist, Henry Palfrey, wins the day.

Examples

• The Cad, a 1915 short film directed by and starring Ben F. Wilson
• The Cad in the Hat, Simpsons episode
• Cad and Caddy, a 1947 animated short film directed by Seymour Kneitel and Izzy Sparber
• Egad the Cad, a play
• Cad: Confessions of a Toxic Bachelor by Rick Marin
• The Bounder

See also

• Rake (character)
• Blackguard
• Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (film)