''Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman'' (1925) is a

feature length A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film ( motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation ...

silent

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

crime drama Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

/ romance

motion picture A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since ...

starring House Peters,

Miss DuPont Miss DuPont (born Patricia Hannon; April 28, 1894 – February 6, 1973) was an American film actress and fashion designer. She is perhaps best known for her roles in ''Foolish Wives'' (1922) and for a supporting role in the Clara Bow vehicle '' ...

Hedda Hopper Elda Furry (May 2, 1885February 1, 1966), known professionally as Hedda Hopper, was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, more than 35 million people read her columns. A strong supporter of the Hous ...

Fred Esmelton Frederick Bryant Esmelton, known as Fred Esmelton (born Frederick Batty Green Bryant; June 22, 1872 – October 23, 1933) was an Australian-born American film actor, as well as a stage actor and director. He appeared in 30 films, usually in ...

, and Walter Long.

Directed Direct may refer to: Mathematics * Directed set, in order theory * Direct limit of (pre), sheaves * Direct sum of modules, a construction in abstract algebra which combines several vector spaces Computing * Direct access (disambiguation), a ...

King Baggot William King Baggot (November 7, 1879 – July 11, 1948) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. He was an internationally famous movie star of the silent film era. The first individually publicized leading man in America, Baggo ...

and produced by

Carl Laemmle Carl Laemmle (; born Karl Lämmle ; January 17, 1867 – September 24, 1939) was a German-American film producer and the co-founder and, until 1934, owner of Universal Pictures. He produced or worked on over 400 films. Regarded as one of the ...

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

, the

screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

was adapted by Harvey F. Thew from the play by Eugene W. Presbrey and the 1899 short story collection, '' The Amateur Cracksman'', by E.W. Hornung.

Background

The play on which the film was based was written by E.W. Hornung and Eugene Presbrey. A successful production played at the Princess Theatre in New York from 27 October 1903 for 168 performances before touring. Raffles was played by

Kyrle Bellew Harold Kyrle Money Bellew (28 March 1850 – 2 November 1911) was an English stage and silent film actor. He notably toured with Cora Urquhart Brown-Potter, Cora Brown-Potter in the 1880s and 1890s, and was cast as the leading man in many s ...

and Manders by Stanton Elliot.

Plot

Raffles (played by House Peters) is an English gentleman with a secret life—he is the notorious jewel thief known as "The Amateur Cracksman." While sailing from India to England accompanied by his friend, Bunny Manners (played by Freeman Wood), it is rumored that the infamous cracksman is aboard ship. Raffles warns a lady passenger to keep an eye on her necklace, which is stolen soon afterward. Although a search reveals no evidence, the necklace is returned upon reaching London. Lord Amersteth (played by Winter Hall) and his wife, Lady Amersteth (played by Kate Lester), are having a party at their home and Raffles attends. Another guest, noted criminologist Captain Bedford (played by Fred Esmelton), makes the assertion that a very valuable string of pearls cannot be stolen. Encouraged by this, Raffles steals it. He has also stolen the heart of Gwendolyn Amersteth (played by Miss DuPont), the daughter of his hosts. Capt. Bedford finally captures him, but he escapes with Gwendolyn's help and they run away to be married. Raffles returns the pearls and promises to retire from being a burglar.

Cast

References

External links

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''Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman''
at the

AFI Catalog of Feature Films The ''AFI Catalog of Feature Films'', also known as the ''AFI Catalog'', is an ongoing project by the American Film Institute (AFI) to catalog all commercially-made and theatrically exhibited American motion pictures from the birth of cinema i ...

1925 films 1925 crime drama films 1920s American films 1920s English-language films 1920s romance films American black-and-white films American films based on plays American silent feature films English-language crime drama films English-language romance films Films based on British novels Films based on multiple works Films directed by King Baggot Films set in England Films set in London Silent American crime drama films Surviving American silent films Universal Pictures films Works based on A. J. Raffles {{silent-crime-drama-film-stub