The Villiers Diamond (1938) User Reviews

About average for the genre.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 10 October 2018]

"The Villiers Diamond" is a modestly enjoyable British mystery...and very typical for the genre. While it doesn't involve murder (and there were just too many of those films back in the day), it is still pretty ordinary as far as the writing and acting are concerned.

The story begins with Barker being released from prison after serving two years. He is suspected of having stolen the Villier Diamond....but police have been unable to prove it. But Barker DID steal it and his greed as well as his partner's greed might just be their undoing. There are not surprises here, though the film is entertaining and watchable. If you are interested in watching it, it's available for free download from archive.org.

Classic British Mystery

[nova-63 · 7/10 · 28 December 2008]

An ex-con arrives at the home of wealthy businessman Silas Wade to collect a debt. Years before the thief stole the priceless Villiers Diamond for Wade. When the crook arrives at Wade's home, the businessman claims the diamond has not been sold and therefore the crook can't be paid off. Instead of leaving Wade's home, the thief decides to stick around by going undercover as a servant.

He's not the only one who is undercover, a variety of eccentrics arrive at Silas Wade's home, all hoping to get their hands on the famous jewel. Pretty Evelyn Ankers is on hand as a relative of Wade's. While top billed Edward Ashley is not who he is pretending to be.

The Villiers Diamond

[CinemaSerf · 5/10 · 20 April 2023]

"Barker" (Leslie Harcourt) arrives, uninvited, at the home of the wealthy "Wade" (Frank Birch). Unexpectedly, he is allowed in and soon we learn that both were in cahoots to fence the eponymous jewel. It's not proving the easiest to sell on, and the former man wants his cash so decides he is going to remain as the butler until a solution is found. That might just come in the form of "Joan" (Evelyn Ankers). She is the niece of "Wade" and is about to wed. Snag? Well he is her guardian and the conservator of her £10,000 fortune. She gets that when she marries - except, well, that cash has long gone the way of the dodo. How to save the day? The two crooks concoct a plan to stage a burglary and claim the insurance - but they are not the only crooks under his roof! The thing about this film is that, saving for the last five minutes of hectic activity, very little actually happens. It's very wordy, there are far too many characters to clutter things up and though there is a tiny twist at the denouement, the whole thing is just a bit so what? It's watchable enough, but I very much doubt you will ever remember it.