''Jewel Robbery'' is a 1932 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was an era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry that occurred between the widespread adoption of sound in film in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship gui ...

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...

heist film The heist film or caper film is a subgenre of crime films and the caper story, focused on the planning, execution, and aftermath of a significant robbery. One of the early defining heist films was '' The Asphalt Jungle'' (1950), which ''Film G ...

, directed by

William Dieterle William Dieterle (July 15, 1893 – December 9, 1972) was a German-born actor and film director who emigrated to the United States in 1930 to leave a worsening political situation. He worked in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood primarily a ...

and starring

William Powell William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor, known primarily for his film career. Under contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the ''The Thin Man (film), Thin M ...

and

Kay Francis Kay Francis (born Katharine Edwina Gibbs; January 13, 1905 – August 26, 1968) was an American stage and film actress. After a brief period on Broadway in the late 1920s, she moved to film and achieved her greatest success between 1930 an ...

. It is based on the 1931 Hungarian play ''Ékszerrablás a Váci-utcában'' by Ladislas Fodor and its subsequent English adaptation, ''Jewel Robbery'' by Bertram Bloch.

Plot

Viennese Viennese may refer to: * Vienna, the capital of Austria * Viennese people, List of people from Vienna * Viennese German, the German dialect spoken in Vienna * Viennese classicism * Viennese coffee house, an eating establishment and part of Viennese ...

Baroness Teri von Horhenfels (

) relieves the boredom of her marriage to her rich but dull older husband (

Henry Kolker Joseph Henry Kolker (November 13, 1874 – July 15, 1947) was an American stage and film actor and film director, director. Early years Kolker was born in Berlin, Germany, in 1874. (Some sources say 1870.) He came to America at age five and w ...

) 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 (

) 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 Lee Kohlmar (27 February 1873 – 14 May 1946) was a German film actor and director. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1916 and 1941. He also directed nine films between 1916 and 1921. He was born in Forth and died in Hollywood, Ca ...

) to smoke a

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

-laced cigarette that soon makes him forget his troubles. However, she persuades the thief 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 Alan Mowbray MM (born Alfred Ernest Allen; 18 August 1896 – 25 March 1969) was an English stage and film actor who found success in Hollywood. Early life Mowbray was born in London, England. He served with distinction in the British Army ...

) 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 Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million William Powell William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor, known primarily for his film career. Under contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the ''The Thin Man (film), Thin M ...

as The Robber *

as Baroness Teri * Helen Vinson as Marianne * Hardie Albright as Paul *

as Detective Fritz * Andre Luguet as Count Andre *

as Baron Franz *

Spencer Charters Spencer Charters (March 25, 1875 – January 25, 1943) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 220 films between 1920 and 1943, mostly in small supporting roles. Biography Charters was born in Duncannon, Pennsylvania. Until aroun ...

as Lenz *

as Hollander * Clarence Wilson as Prefect of Police

Production

The film marked the fifth of seven to pair William Powell and Kay Francis. Powell, who had recently married

Carole Lombard Carole Lombard (born Jane Alice Peters; October 6, 1908 – January 16, 1942) was an American actress, particularly noted for her energetic, often off-beat roles in screwball comedies. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Lombard ...

, initially did not want to appear in the film, but he eventually accepted the role because he considered it amusing.D'Onofrio, Joseph
"Jewel Robbery"
TCM.com; accessed October 26, 2024.

Response

In a contemporary review for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', critic Andre Sennwald wrote: "All this is nervous, brittle comedy of a sort that is sufficiently novel in the films to be stimulating. Miss Francis interprets the countess as if she were giving an imitation of an imitation, and her performance is one in which her usual intelligence and sincerity are strangely absent. An excellent subsidiary cast has been assembled, and William Dieterle's direction has the proper daintiness and wit."

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jewel Robbery 1932 films 1932 romantic comedy films American black-and-white films American films based on plays American crime comedy films American romantic comedy films Films directed by William Dieterle Films set in Vienna Warner Bros. films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films Films scored by Bernhard Kaun Films about adultery Films about nobility English-language crime comedy films English-language romantic comedy films Romantic crime films

Plot

Production

Response

See also

References

External links