Jewel Robbery (1932)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

William Dieterle

Writers:

Ladislas Fodor (play)
Erwin S. Gelsey (screenplay)

Release Date:

13 August 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Romance

Tagline:

He stole her jewels -- but that wasn't all!

Plot:

A gentleman thief charms a Viennese baron's wife and also conducts a daring daylight robbery of a jewellers.

Plot Keywords:

Vienna | Breaking The Fourth Wall | Phonograph | Incompetence | Bathtub

Cast

William Powell	...	The Robber
Kay Francis	...	Baroness Teri von Horhenfels
Helen Vinson	...	Marianne Horne
Hardie Albright	...	Paul, Undersecretary of State
Alan Mowbray	...	Fritz
André Luguet	...	Count Andre (as Andre Luguet)
Henry Kolker	...	Baron Franz von Horhenfels
Spencer Charters	...	Johann Christian Lenz, Nightwatchman
Lee Kohlmar	...	Hollander the Jeweler
Clarence Wilson	...	Prefect of Police

Runtime:

70 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Vitaphone

Certification:

USA:Approved

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Based on the following Broadway production: Jewel Robbery (1932). Comedy. Written by Bertram Bloch, from the Hungarian of Ladislas Fodor. Directed and produced by Paul Streger. Booth Theatre: 13 Jan 1932- Feb 1932 (closing date unknown/54 performances). Cast: Lionel Braham (as "Lenz"), Stuart Casey, Clarence Derwent (as "Franz"), Mary Ellis, Harold Johnsrud, Hazel Nagley, Eugene Powers, Frederick Roland, Louis M. Simon, Basil Sydney, Robert Vivian, Cora Witherspoon (as "Marianne"). Produced by Paul Streger.

Goofs:

Continuity: After the baroness pulls a gun on the robber, he distracts her by kissing her, whereupon she drops the gun on his foot. She runs to the other side of the room with the robber limping after her. The gun is on the floor as he starts toward her; when he reaches her he's holding it.

Quotes:

Robber: As a matter of fact, I'm opposed to the American school of banditry. I studied in Paris. You have to work harder but you do acquire a certain finesse that is missing from the stick-em-up and shoot-them-down school.

Movie Connections:

Remade as The Peterville Diamond (1942)

Soundtrack:

On the Beautiful Blue Danube (An der schönen blauen Donau, Op. 314)

a pre-code romp

William Powell is a smooth jewel thief who captivates Kay Francis in "Jewel Robbery," a 1932 film made before the dreaded code kicked in. Set in Vienna, Francis plays a baroness who, like her friends, has married a dull man for money and takes lovers. While her husband is buying her a 28-carat diamond and she's arguing with her boyfriend, William Powell and his team enter to rob the store. It's love at first sight.

This is a slight but very amusing film, interesting for the racy story line, the outfits, and Kay Francis herself. A very unusual-looking woman, Francis' heyday was in the '30s, and everything about her screamed '30s, of course - her hair, her fashions, and the kind of films she made. She's somewhat frozen in time there. Powell is his usual dashing, delightful self, and the two work very well together. The scene at Powell's place is particularly interesting, as she demands not to be asked to do anything, but to be forced, at which point, he picks her up and throws her onto his huge bed. "But there are so many pleasant in between steps," she objects.

A delightful movie, not terribly long, but fascinating given the era in film in which it was made.