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Jewel Robbery
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Wikipedia article
'Jewel Robbery' is a 1932 American pre-Code romantic comedy heist film, directed by William Dieterle and starring William Powell and Kay Francis. It is based on the 1931 Hungarian play 'kszerrabls a Vci-utcban' by Ladislas Fodor and its subsequent English adaptation, 'Jewel Robbery' by Bertram Bloch.
Plot
Viennese Baroness Teri von Horhenfels (Kay Francis) relieves the boredom of her marriage to her rich but dull older husband (Henry Kolker) with love affairs. One day, she meets both her husband and a current lover, Paul (Hardie Albright), at an exclusive jewel shop, where the Baron is to buy her an extravagant diamond ring. While he and the shop owner retire to haggle over price, her tedium is lifted by the arrival of a suave jewel thief (William Powell) and his gang. In turn, he is entranced by her beauty and uninhibited, even cheeky, personality. He locks her husband and Paul, a young cabinet minister she has already tired of, in the vault, and forces shop owner Hollander (Lee Kohlmar) to smoke a marijuana-laced cigarette that soon makes him forget his troubles. However, she persuades Powell to leave her free, but not before he takes her ring.
After misdirecting the police, Teri returns home, envied of her adventure by her equally bored but less reckless friend Marianne (Helen Vinson). A vase of flowers appears in the house but the housekeeper says no delivery was made. Teri surmises that the jewel thief has visited. She and Marianne go upstairs to discover her safe has been cracked. Initially outraged, they discover that nothing has been taken and Teri's ring has been returned. Marianne departs hastily, anxious to avoid becoming entangled in a potential scandal. The thief then enters through the window, and informs Teri that the diamonds taken from the jewel shop are hidden in the safe. He explains it is the safest place to hide them, but a flustered Teri tries to make him take the ring, since she would be considered an accomplice if it was returned to her. When he refuses to take it back, she accuses him of using her to hide out from the police. Police detective Fritz (Alan Mowbray) arrives, flushes out the robber, and takes the two into custody.
However, the arrest is staged; Fritz is a member of the gang. The thief had used the fake arrest to transport Teri to his house without protest for a night of romance. She is intrigued. Instead of plunging into love-making she insists on being wooed. He shows her safe upon safe of jewels from previous heists. Aware Vienna has become too hot for him, he asks her to meet him in Nice, but she hesitates. Just then, the real police arrive and storm the place. He ties Teri up to divert suspicion then flees. Pretending to be terrified, she calls for help. After being untied, and giving a false description of the thief, she announces that she needs a vacation to recover from all the excitement, and will take the first train to Nice. She winks at the camera.
Cast
* William Powell as The Robber
* Kay Francis as Baroness Teri
* Helen Vinson as Marianne
* Hardie Albright as Paul
* Alan Mowbray as Detective Fritz
* Andre Luguet as Count Andre
* Henry Kolker as Baron Franz
* Spencer Charters as Lenz
* Lee Kohlmar as Hollander
* Clarence Wilson as Prefect of Police
Production
The pairing of William Powell and Kay Francis was the fifth of their seven films. Powell, who had recently married Carole Lombard, did not want to do the film initially, but gave in because he saw the role as an amusing one.D'Onofrio, Joseph. [http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/3476/Jewel-Robbery/articles.html "Jewel Robbery"], TCM.com; accessed September 13, 2015.
Response
'The New York Times' gave the film a lukewarm review, calling it a "nervous, brittle comedy", placing the blame on Kay Francis ("her performance is one in which her usual intelligence and sincerity are strangely absent").
See also
* 'The Peterville Diamond' (1942)
References
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