Arsène Lupin

Suave gentleman thief Arsene Lupin (John Barrymore) clashes with Detective Guerchard (Lionel Barrymore) as he tries to steal the Mona Lisa. Any movie with the two Barrymore brothers together is automatically worth checking out. Karen Morley is also good in her sexy role. Her acting style dates her but she's good at what she does. A charming, fun movie with lots of class. This is old-fashioned but in the best way. You see Hollywood try to revive this type of film every few years but with little success. A must-see for fans of the Barrymores.

I wonder if Arsene Lupin was the inspiration for the infamous Savoir-Faire from the Klondike Kat cartoon. For those who don't know, Savoir-Faire was a French-Canadian mouse who also happened to be a master thief. Probably not but I love imagining Lionel Barrymore saying "Savoir-Faire is everywhere."

Lionel Barrymore is a French police inspector, Guerchard, tasked with finding an elusive thief, Arsene Lupin, who robs usually elaborately protected estates of their art and jewels. John Barrymore is a nobleman whom Guerchard suspects is actually the thief, but because of the classism that exists in France, Guerchard must tread carefully.

Arsene Lupin seems to enjoy making a fool out of the authorities and out of Guerchard in particular just as much as he enjoys the thrill of stealing and also the high life. When Guerchard paroles a particularly charming thief, Sonia (Karen Morley), so she can show up naked in Lupin's bed unexpected and charm Lupin into revealing something, Lupin simply charms her and gets her to fall in love with him so that her loyalties shift.

Guerchard has a month until he's eligible for his pension, but his superior states that if Lupin is not caught in a week, he'll be discharged and thus not get his pension. Complications ensue.

The Barrymore brothers were great in this film, and the ending was unexpected. I will say I would doubt the authenticity of the denouement if there were any other two actors involved. They made it work.

Arsene Lupin may be one of the most infamous jewel thieves on film, but it is difficult to not be charmed or entertained by him at the same time. He does face the danger of being annoying when not executed well, but when done well he is debonair, amusing and a rascally character that is pretty irresistible. Another interest point was seeing the two Barrymore brothers John and Lionel together and there are some very interesting and well done early talkies.

Including 1932's 'Arsene Lupin'. If anybody loves or at least appreciates John and Lionel Barrymore individually they should find much to enjoy, and even more so seeing them together. If anybody loves the character of Lupin, they should find a lot to like about 'Arsene Lupin' (am not saying that for definite and it is not going to be the case for all perhaps). It serves as a very introduction to him if one has little prior knowledge of Lupin and is intrigued by it for appreciating early talkies and the Barrymore brothers. As far as early talkies go, 'Arsene Lupin' is not one of the best but it is not one of the worst either (nowhere near close, personally put it somewhere around high middle).

What really makes 'Arsene Lupin' so worth watching is the Barrymore brothers. Generally have a personal preference for Lionel ever since seeing his unforgettable Potter from 'It's a Wonderful Life' for the first time, and he is clearly having enormous fun here so it was easy to enjoy him. To me though John as Lupin comes off even better, suave, amusing and charming all at once and he is also a lot less theatrical here than he was prone to around this period. Their chemistry is dynamite. Karen Morley more than holds her own and is endearing, love her alluring chemistry with John and she even gets some risque material. Tully Marshall stands out too with great comic timing without being too buffoonish. The whole cast is good.

Likewise with the adroit direction from dependable Jack Conway, have not liked every film of his but he did do some very good ones and 'Arsene Lupin' is one of them. He never seemed ill at ease with the material or at odds with it. The film looks attractive and full of class, especially the photography, and the score has a sense of adventure and tension orchestrated beautifully. There is some nice witty dialogue throughout, it never gets vulgar and the sophistication shines. The story is always involving and has an authentic atmosphere, the ending is thrilling.

Really not much here to criticise, though there are times where the relative infancy of early talkies is betrayed in some staid pacing every now and again, bogged down by not always necessary caption cards, and padding.

Overall, very entertaining. 8/10

A chance to see John and Lionel Barrymore in the same film is never to be passed up. MGM dragged up Arsene Lupin from the Edwardian era. The title character is a French version of Raffles, the titled gent who likes to step out every so often as an amateur thief.

Like Ronald Colman and David Niven in Raffles, Barrymore is as debonair and charming as they playing the titled thief. His Clark Kent persona is the Duke of Charace, but when he's working he's Arsene Lupin. He even sends notes to the police signed Arsene Lupin.

The man assigned to catching the notorious Arsene Lupin is Inspector Lionel Barrymore who has a good reputation. But Lupin proves to be a bedeviller. Never mind say Lionel's superiors, your job is on the line if you don't get him within a week. They make no bones about it, he robs the rich and the rich pay our taxes.

The party of skinflint old nobleman Tully Marshall is the target and it's a game of cat and mouse between the Barrymore brothers.. Lionel brings in reinforcements with the beautiful Karen Morley, but John is up to just about anything Lionel can muster.

Arsene Lupin is old fashioned, but the brothers are incredible to watch even after over 80 years. It's worth a look.

JOHN BARRYMORE actually underplays the role of ARSENE LUPIN in this early talkie that features his brother LIONEL BARRYMORE as a crusty detective seeking to solve a series of jewel robberies. John Barrymore is the elegant man suspected of being the famed jewel thief and he plays it with a surprising amount of charm and skill, rather than the overacting he often displayed in later films.

KAREN MORLEY is the attractive blonde who is supposed to be helping Lionel get the goods on the thief--but, unfortunately, she's no help at all when she falls hopelessly in love with the charming scoundrel.

So much about the film, where much of the action takes place on a country estate with wealthy people in attendance, reminds me of the David Niven/Olivia de Havilland film about the Scotland Yard thief RAFFLES. Barrymore plays the role with the same effortless charm that Niven adapted for his Raffles, the man who kept authorities baffled with a string of jewel robberies.

TCM is showing a good print of the film and while some of the dialog leaves a lot to be desired, it's a good example of an early sound film that still holds up today. Interior sets of the country estate are expensively mounted and it's obvious this was designed as a major film, not a programmer, despite the slight story.

Lionel hams it up considerably throughout, but John is more effective in his underplayed role.