''The Woman I Stole'' is a 1933 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 ...

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, an ...

directed by

Irving Cummings Irving Caminsky (October 9, 1888 – April 18, 1959) was an American movie actor and director. Career Born in New York City, Cummings started his acting career at age 16 in ''Diplomacy''. His Broadway, performances included ''In the Long R ...

, starring Jack Holt,

Fay Wray Vina Fay Wray (September 15, 1907 – August 8, 2004) was a Canadian/American actress best known for starring as Ann Darrow in the 1933 film ''King Kong (1933 film), King Kong''. Through an acting career that spanned nearly six decades, Wray a ...

and Donald Cook. It is based on the

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

''Tampico'' by

Joseph Hergesheimer Joseph Hergesheimer (February 15, 1880 – April 25, 1954) was an American writer of the early 20th century known for his naturalistic novels of decadent life amongst the very wealthy. Early life Hergesheimer was born on February 15, 1880 Phil ...

, with the setting shifted from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

Main cast

* Jack Holt as Jim Bradler *

as Vida Carew * Donald Cook as Corew * Noah Beery Sr. as Gen. Rayon *

Raquel Torres Raquel Torres (born Paula Marie Osterman or Wilhelmina von Osterman; November 11, 1908 – August 10, 1987) was a Mexican-born American film actress. Her sister was actress Renee Torres. Early life Torres was born in Hermosillo to a German e ...

as Teresita * Edwin Maxwell as Lentz * Charles A. Browne as Deleker

Critical reception

A contemporary review in

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

described the film as " ctory product, but factory product of a successful kind," and noted that the film's tent is melodramatic, but the treatment is particularly smooth and innocent of overdone heroics without sacrifice of action" and that the "acting is engaging in its simplicity." Writing in

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

, movie critic

Andre Sennwald Andre David Sennwald (August 4, 1907 — Jan 12, 1936) was a motion picture critic for ''The New York Times''. Life After graduating from Columbia University School of Journalism, Sennwald was hired as a reporter for ''The New York Times'' in 1930 ...

described the film as "a melodrama of definite interest," "a beguiling adventure" with a narrative that is "told with color, speed and reticence," and having a conclusion in which "Fay Wray cool her sinful heels on a distant pier while the two men who perilously avoided her net plan to celebrate their good fortune in a quart of brandy."

References

Bibliography

* Roy Kinnard & Tony Crnkovich. ''The Films of Fay Wray''. McFarland, 2013.

External links

* 1933 films 1933 adventure films 1930s English-language films American adventure films Films directed by Irving Cummings Films with screenplays by Jo Swerling Columbia Pictures films American black-and-white films 1930s American films {{adventure-film-stub