''Arsène Lupin'' is a 1932 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorshi ...

mystery film directed by Jack Conway and starring

John Barrymore John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly att ...

and

Lionel Barrymore Lionel Barrymore (born Lionel Herbert Blythe; April 28, 1878 – November 15, 1954) was an American actor of stage, screen and radio as well as a film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''A Free Soul'' (1931) ...

. It was produced and distributed by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

.The film is based on a popular 1909 play by

Maurice Leblanc Maurice Marie Émile Leblanc (; ; 11 December 1864 – 6 November 1941) was a French novelist and writer of short stories, known primarily as the creator of the fictional gentleman thief and detective Arsène Lupin, often described as a French c ...

and

Francis de Croisset Francis de Croisset (; born Franz Wiener, 28 January 1877 – 8 November 1937) was a Belgian-born French playwright and opera librettist. Early life Born as Franz Wiener, he was educated in Brussels on 28 January 1877 into a prominent Jewish-Bel ...

.''Arsène Lupin'', original Broadway opening Lyceum & later Hudson Theatres August 26, 1909 to January 1910, 144 performances; IBDb.com
/ref> Leblanc created the character

Arsène Lupin Arsène Lupin (French pronunciation: ʁsɛn lypɛ̃ is a fictional gentleman thief and master of disguise created in 1905 by French writer Maurice Leblanc. The character was first introduced in a series of short stories serialized in the magazi ...

, a charming, brilliant gentleman thief (in his case, actually a noble thief) in 1905. Lupin preys on rich villains.

Premise

The film portrays the battle of wits between the famous gentleman thief and his would-be nemesis, Detective Guerchard. It culminates in the theft and recovery of the ''

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' ( ; it, Gioconda or ; french: Joconde ) is a half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known ...

'' and Lupin's escape with the beautiful woman—also a thief—sent by the detective to trap him.

Cast

as the Duke of Charmerace *

as Detective Guerchard *

Karen Morley Karen Morley (born Mildred Linton; December 12, 1909 – March 8, 2003) was an American film actress. Life and career Born Mildred Linton in Ottumwa, Iowa, Morley lived there until she was 13 years old. When she moved to Hollywood, she attend ...

as Sonia *

John Miljan John Miljan (November 9, 1892 – January 24, 1960) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1924 and 1958. Biography Born in 1892, Miljan was the tall, smooth-talking villain in Hollywood films for almost four deca ...

as Prefect of Police *

Tully Marshall Tully Marshall (born William Phillips; April 10, 1864 – March 10, 1943) was an American character actor. He had nearly a quarter century of theatrical experience before his debut film appearance in 1914 which led to a film career spanning alm ...

as Gourney-Martin *

Henry Armetta Henry Armetta (born Enrico Armetta; July 4, 1888 – October 21, 1945) was an American character actor who appeared in at least 150 American films, beginning in silent movies. His last film was released posthumously in 1946, the year after his d ...

as Sheriff's man * George Davis as Sheriff's man * John Davidson as Butler * James Mack as Laurent *

Mary Jane Irving Mary Jane Irving (October 20, 1913 – July 17, 1983) was an American actress. She appeared in 58 films between 1917 and 1938. Biography Born in Columbia, South Carolina, Irving began her career as a child actor in silent films. A popular ...

as Marie *

Olaf Hytten Olaf Hytten (3 March 1888 – 11 March 1955) was a Scottish actor. He appeared in more than 280 films between 1921 and 1955. He was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and died in Los Angeles, California from a heart attack, while sitting in his car ...

as Party Guest (uncredited) *

Leo White Leo White (November 10, 1882 – September 20, 1948), Leo Weiss, was a German-born British-American film and stage actor who appeared as a character actor in many Charlie Chaplin films. Biography Born in Germany, White grew up in England where ...

as Jeweler (uncredited)

Box office

The film grossed a total (domestic and foreign) of $1,110,000: $595,000 from the US and Canada and $515,000 elsewhere. It made a profit of $245,000.

References

External links

*
Arsene Lupin
' at TCM * * *
Several lobby posters
1932 films 1932 mystery films American mystery films American heist films Films directed by Jack Conway Films scored by Alfred Newman American films based on plays Films based on adaptations Films based on works by Francis de Croisset Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films American black-and-white films Arsène Lupin films 1930s American films Films set in Paris {{mystery-film-stub

Premise

Cast

Box office

See also

References

External links