''Amateur Crook'' is a 1937 American

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film directed by

Sam Katzman Sam Katzman (July 7, 1901 – August 4, 1973) was an American film producer and director. Katzman produced low-budget genre films, including serials, which had disproportionately high returns for the studios and his financial backers. E ...

. The film is also known as ''Crooked But Dumb'' (in the United Kingdom) and ''Jewel Thief'' (American TV title).

Plot

Joan Barclay as Betsy Cummings takes a job as a secretary, using the alias “Mary Layton”, only to find that her Father (

Forrest Taylor Edwin Forrest Taylor (December 29, 1883 – February 19, 1965) was an American character actor whose artistic career spanned six different decades, from silents through talkies to the advent of color films. Early years Taylor was born in B ...

as Jerry Cummings) is being cheated by his brokers, Monte Blue as Crone and

Jack Mulhall John Joseph Francis Mulhall (October 7, 1887 – June 1, 1979) was an American film actor beginning in the silent film era who successfully transitioned to sound films, appearing in over 430 films in a career spanning 50 years. Early years Mu ...

as Jan Jaffin. She steals the diamond, worth fifty thousand dollars, her Father used as collateral for a loan, which the brokers plan to cheat him out of; and, the chase is on, with the crooked

loan sharks A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high interest rates, has strict terms of collection upon failure, and generally operates outside the law. Description Because loan sharks operate mostly illegally, they cannot reasonably ...

and police after her.

Bruce Bennett Bruce Bennett (born Harold Herman Brix, also credited Herman Brix; May 19, 1906February 24, 2007) was an American film and television actor who prior to his screen career was a highly successful college athlete in football and in both intercol ...

(Billed as Herman Brix, one of the movie serials “

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...

s”) as Jimmy Baxter, an honest but broke artist, hides her as a

mannequin A mannequin (also called a dummy, lay figure, or dress form) is a doll, often articulated, used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, window dressers and others, especially to display or fit clothing and show off different fabrics and textiles. P ...

, and helps her get away, in a stolen car. They just have to keep ahead of everyone after them, until her Father can get back, if he can get back, with the brokers’ crooked henchmen trying to stop him. Out of luck and almost out of time, they all end up in front of a Justice of the Peace, who tries to fathom out the facts, and whether to jail the pair or marry them, before his dinner gets cold. Joan Barclay disguised as a mannequin, in Amateur Crook (1937)

Joan Barclay disguised as a mannequin, in Amateur Crook (1937)

Cast

as Jimmy Baxter * Joan Barclay as Betsy Cummings, alias Mary Layton * Monte Blue as Crone *

as Jan Jaffin *

Vivien Oakland Vivien Oakland (born Vivian Ruth Andersen; May 20, 1895 – August 1, 1958), was an American actress best known for her work in comedies in Hollywood in the 1920s and 1930s, most notably with the Hal Roach Studios. Oakland appeared in 157 films ...

as Mrs. Flint, Landlady *

Jimmy Aubrey Jimmy Aubrey (23 October 1887 – 2 September 1983) was an English actor who worked with both Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy, having gone with Fred Karno's theatrical company to America in 1908. However he left to start on his own in v ...

as Ben Armand, Junk Dealer *

Fuzzy Knight John Forrest "Fuzzy" Knight (May 9, 1901 – February 23, 1976) was an American film and television actor. He was also a singer, especially in his early career. He appeared in more than 180 films between 1928 and 1967, usually as a cowboy h ...

as Jape, the Gas-Station Attendant *

Henry Roquemore Henry Roquemore (March 18, 1886 – June 30, 1943) was an American character actor who primarily played bit parts. He appeared in 229 silent and sound films from 1927 until 1943. Many of his roles were uncredited parts in Western movies, ...

as Judge Ephraim *

Edward Earle Edward Earle (16 July 1882 – 15 December 1972) was a Canadian-American stage, film and television actor. In a career which lasted from the 1910s to 1966, he appeared in almost 400 films between 1914 and 1956. He was born in Toronto and died ...

as Deputy Jonas *

as Jerry Cummings *

Fern Emmett Fern Emmett (March 22, 1896 – September 3, 1946) was an American film actress. She appeared in 212 films between 1930 and 1946. Emmett's film debut came with Universal in a two-reel production in 1914. Personal life Emmett was married to ...

as Sarah, Ephraim's Wife *Sam Adams as Policeman *Charles Williams as Drunk Witness

External links

* * 1937 films American romantic comedy films American crime comedy films American black-and-white films Films directed by Sam Katzman 1937 romantic comedy films 1930s crime comedy films Victory Pictures films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films {{1930s-crime-film-stub