A Touch of Larceny

This movie should be on DVD. James Mason, Vera Miles, & George Sanders all give excellent & believable performances. Mason plays the underdog who cannot seem to attain success. Vera Miles is the love interest; but the connections between the three actors is not the usual screenwriter's depiction. Sanders is at his witty best as a snobbish, wealthy, & quite nasty villain. Mason seems incapable of contending with the oppressive & untruthful Sanders. The viewer will quickly attach allegiance to Mason's efforts to thwart Sanders' efforts. As the story advances, you get more & more involved with Mason's plight. What happens is delightful. Hollywood at its best.

**** out of 5...No violence and no special effects, just droll and urbane humor and WIT. More in the spirit of "How To Steal A Million" or "The Thomas Crown Affair" rather than "The Sting," this British comedy has lots to like. Begin with a thoroughly winning, playboy-rogue characterization by James Mason. Mix in a perfect snob played by the inimitable George Sanders (as only he can). Simmer with the last half, which builds into one of those reversal-on-reversal, can-you-top-this endings. I caught it at 3AM on a local station and, fortunately, taped it.

I thoroughly enjoyed "A Touch of Larceny" starring James Mason, Vera Miles, and George Sanders.

Mason plays Cmdr. Max Easton, who works for the government in a boring job. He meets the fiance Virginia (Miles) of Sir Charles Holland (Sanders) and decides he must have her for himself. One problem: he's broke.

He insists that Virginia meet him for lunch and a sail. While sailing, he tells her he could make a lot of money if he disappeared, was taken for a traitor, and, as soon as the newspapers had libeled him enough, come back and sue them for everything they had.

Then he does it, after making sure his coworkers see him talking with a Russian at a party, and he makes a big scene on a dock about finding the ship the Karl Marx.

Once he figures he's been skewered enough, it's time for him to come back. That's when his problems begin.

Very good film with a marvelous performance by Mason, who plays a man whose latent conmanship appears. And just when you think he can't con any more -- you'll love the end of the film.

It is, I believe, the only time that those two silkiest voiced movie villains George Sanders and James Mason appeared together. Both occasionally played good guys (Sanders was Simon Templar, "the Saint", Mason was "Norman Main" in the Judy Garland A STAR IS BORN). Sanders would eventually win a deserved Oscar, but Mason (though repeatedly nominated) tied with fellow Briton Richard Burton for the most nominated actor who never got the Oscar. So they were well balanced, and managed to appear in this satire.

A bit of historical background. In 1955 a mystery occurred at Portsmouth naval base in England. A war hero, naval frogman - Commander Charles "Buster" Crabbe - disappeared while doing a routine dive in the bay. It turned out that a Russian naval craft was visiting Portsmouth (two Russian leaders were meeting the Prime Minister), and it was suspected that Crabbe might have been spying on it. But was he caught? Or did he defect? A body that was decomposed was found later that year, but was it Crabbe's? His fate was never actually settled.

It is this odd mystery that seems to be the germ for this comedy. Wartime hero Mason is in need of cash, as he is trying to beat out wealthy, snobby Sanders in a competition for Vera Miles. He starts noticing the worst aspect of the British press - it's outspokenness in making allegations "in pursuit of truth". He gets an idea. Suppose he acted mildly oddly for a few weeks. He has a highly sensitive military post, and he could (if he wished) give valuable information to the enemy (read the Russians). He might even defect. So he builds up a plausible appearance of approaching the Russians. Then he decides he will disappear while he is supposed to be on vacation. He arranges to disappear to an island, and hide there listening on a radio as the public is fed a diet of his apparent defection and treason. And he slowly realizes his plan is falling into place - he will bring a huge lawsuit against the various media for slander or libel on his reputation. Or will he get away with it, for while he is doing this one person noting his disappearance is suspicious. Sanders knows Mason, and he does not think him a traitor, nor does he trust him.

I won't spoil the end. It is a good comedy and things work out in crazy ways in this mad world. See the film and find out.

...yet I still remember liking it enough to want to get it IF it ever comes out on DVD. ( I think this is the movie that made me a life-long "fan" of James Mason.)

It is basically his ( Mason's ) character portrayal that makes the whole thing work. His "touch of larceny" actually succeeds but to say more would be a spoiler. There is one scene toward the end of the pix whereby he is confronted with a direct question which appears to have him "caught." By then your kinda rooting for the rouge -and- Mason carries it off with a 'touch of class' ...as a mid-teen I remember feeling something of a bit of admiration for the character portrayed.

For all I know all the prints and master may regrettably have already disintegrated, yet, if an opportunity ever arises I'd recommend it to anyone whom can enjoy a movie for the story it tells.