Jewel Robbery (1932)

Load of rubbish!!

Great Film overall

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Blistering performances.

Liberal drug use, infidelity out in the open, and the life of a career jewel robber romanticized and celebrated: yes, we're firmly in pre-code territory here folks. The film is frank, sophisticated and deliciously amoral. Suave William Powell and chic-but-naughty Kay Francis are perfectly cast (in one of their many screen pairings). My favorite line: "Tonight is not the night to give you a name, but to forget mine". *** out of 4.

The team of Kay Francis and William Powell had been established at Paramount studios with a handful of pre-code films made in the years prior to their arrival at Warner Brothers in 1932. Long before Powell established a teaming with the dark haired Myrna Loy, he had the equally dark-haired, widow peaked Francis, and ironically, their two best films were their last. "Jewel Robbery" and "One Way Passage" remain two of the greatest pre-code films of the early sound era, with "One Way Passage" a classic tear-jerker that even got a Carol Burnett spoof and "Jewel Robbery" a great companion piece with another film that Francis made that year at Paramount, the elegant Ernst Lubitsch comedy "Trouble in Paradise". While "Trouble in Paradise" is often named among the best comedies of the 1930's, "Jewel Robbery" was nearly forgotten until an appreciation of these films exploded through frequent showings on TCM."Jewel Robbery" shows Kay Francis at her most winsome, a fun-loving but bored socialite, married to an older man (Henry Kolker) whom she complains about having gout, but longing for adventure, she had better be careful about what she wishes for. On a routine shopping trip to her favorite jewelers, she is present when Powell makes his entrance and holds her and several other customers hostage. Powell, however, is as sophisticated and urbane as the customers, and deals with the nervous shop owners and other customers by offering them a special cigarette which immediately calms them down. That cigarette, never mentioned by its real name, proceeds as Powell says it will, to make them sleepy and later very hungry. Later, the store manager smokes it and begins to think he's Napoleon. Now if that ain't the "pot" calling the kettle black....Excited by this brief escapade, Francis isn't thrilled however by the theft of her own jewelry which she later discovers hidden in her safe! Powell makes his presence known, and their love making imminently follows. But Francis is obviously not going to give up her baroness title without a struggle, and this leads to her plot to have a rest away from all of this so she can continue her liaison with Powell without being caught. Socialite pal Helen Vinson becomes her confidante, while the naive Kolker never suspects a thing. Clarence Wilson, the eagle-beaked character actor who always played skin-flint bankers or unlikable authority figures, has a ball with his part which shows him higher than a kite, bringing on major laughter.To add to the comedy, there's Hardie Albright as Powell's right-hand man and Ruth Donnelly as the distracted maid. Francis gives one of her most light-hearted performances, squealing in delight over a bubble bath and even giving a few asides to the audience as if winking at them for being in the know of her secret intrigues. Powell is perfectly cast as the elegant scoundrel, making him so likable that you really want to see him getting away with all his nefarious deeds. This is what makes pre-code cinema so much fun is that these really likable characters got away with sin, and nobody judged them because they really rooted them on.

First comes the disclaimer – I admit to being a big time Kay Francis fan. I particularly love her in movies like this – light romantic comedies. She simply shines – she is sophisticated, enchanting, elegant, seductive and absolutely inimitable; while at the same time projecting an impish charm and sense of humor that simply captivates - hell, I admit to even adoring her slight lisp – it's the minor "imperfection" that enhances the whole! This movie was released a good ten years before I was born, but I finally got to see it last week and it was worth waiting for. Other reviewers have outlined the plot, so I will only add that this movie is Kay Francis at her best, as good as, or better than her role in "Trouble in Paradise". She and William Powell play beautifully off each other, and the supporting cast – each and every one of them – is nothing short of terrific. This movie is really a gem and a wonderful example of what Hollywood could do (and did) in the early days of "talkies" before the Hayes Office Code made a travesty of film-making. They could not have made this film in 1935, just three years later. The sexual innuendos and situations would have been verboten – yet everything was merely insinuated, not blatantly exploited. This small three or four year "window" in the history of movies was able to be sophisticated, witty, erudite and adult without the necessity of crudity, gratuitous sexuality or the use of language and violence simply for it's shock value rather than for what it adds to the story or plot. Yes, yes, I know – I'm old and need to move with the times. However, this movie shows just how entertaining, funny and charming and sexy good writing, good acting and good direction can be. If you haven't seen it – do so – you won't be disappointed.

Jewel Robbery (1932)*** (out of 4) William Powell stars as a masterful jewel robber who uses not only his mind but also his charm when it comes time to pull a job. On his latest job he meets a victim (Kay Francis) and quickly becomes fixated on her but not half as much as the crush she grows on him. Soon the two are trying to come together even while the police are still looking for him. Powell remains a fairly popular star today due to many classic movies but this one here is usually forgotten about and never mentioned, which is a real shame because this is one of the better pre-code comedies out there. Not only do we have Powell being as charming as ever but we also get some very risky material, which certainly could only belong in a pre-code. For starters, we get Francis playing a bored wife, not girlfriend, who keeps trying to run off with another man. Secondly, during the robbery Powell wants to make his victims forget what they saw and go to sleep so he gives them "laughing cigarettes", which is naturally marijuana. There are several scenes where people are smoking on these joints, not knowing what they are, and then laughing with no idea of how dumb they look.. These scenes are extremely funny and at times downright hysterical considering the time frame that the movie was released. As funny as REEFER MADNESS is these scenes are even funnier. Powell is the main reason to watch this film because of his charm and wit, which are all over every scene. Francis wasn't as impressive but I think a lot of this is due to her character being rather annoying. The movie is very fast paced from start to finish and it never takes a break and these are just more reasons for catching this gem when it shows up on television.