IMDb > Raffles (1939)
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Overview

User Rating:
6.3/10   200 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 20% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Sam Wood
Writers:
E.W. Hornung (novel)
John Van Druten (screenplay) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for Raffles on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
29 December 1939 (USA) more
Genre:
Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Drama | History | Romance | Thriller more
Plot:
Man about town and First Class cricketer A.J. Raffles keeps himself solvent with daring robberies. Meeting... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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User Comments:
short, light entertainment more (7 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

David Niven ... A.J. Raffles

Olivia de Havilland ... Gwen Manders
Dame May Whitty ... Lady Kitty Melrose
Dudley Digges ... Inspector MacKenzie
Douglas Walton ... Bunny Manders
E.E. Clive ... Barraclough - Raffles' Butler
Lionel Pape ... Lord George Melrose
Peter Godfrey ... Harry Crawshay
Margaret Seddon ... Maud Holden
Hilda Plowright ... Wilson - Lady Melrose's Maid
Gilbert Emery ... Bingham
Keith Hitchcock ... Detective Merton
Vesey O'Davoren ... Lord Melrose's Butler
George Cathrey ... Melrose's Footman
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
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Runtime:
72 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Black and White
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)
Certification:
USA:Approved (PCA #5723) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Sweden:Btl
Company:
Howard Productions more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
David Niven was due to join the British Army but was given a 21-day grace period to finish his scenes for the movie. The production crew worked double time and filmed Niven's scenes first to comply with his obligation to start his military service. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Pulp Fiction Art: Cheap Thrills & Painted Nightmares (2005) more
Soundtrack:
Fantaisie-Impromptu in C Sharp Minor, Op.66 more

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
7 out of 8 people found the following comment useful.
short, light entertainment, 26 July 2006
7/10
Author: blanche-2 from United States

"Raffles" seems like it was a quickie - it doesn't last very long and it has an abrupt ending. Nevertheless, "Raffles" features two dazzling stars - David Niven, well-cast as an upper class thief, and Olivia de Havilland as the beautiful object of his affections.

One interesting thing about this film - which made me realize that I had seen it years before - is the early television in the inspector's office at the beginning of the movie.

I regret not seeing the Ronald Colman version. In this one, Niven is charming, handsome, and debonair as a man who seems to steal as a lark and then somehow returns the merchandise, to the frustration of the police. At the film's start, he steals a valuable painting, sends it to his favorite retired actress, and has her return it for the reward money. But when he tries to steal a necklace to help a friend replace money he gambled away before an audit takes place, he runs into another crook attempting to do the same thing, and complications arise.

There are some suspenseful moments toward the end of the movie, but all in all, it goes by too quickly, and the character of Raffles isn't sufficiently developed. It's almost as if the movie starts in the middle and ends before it's really over. De Havilland is absolutely beautiful, even if a couple of her hats are outrageous. She's really just doing an average ingénue role here. "Raffles" debuted in the U.S. just before "Gone With the Wind," and she probably made it right afterward.

Entertaining but disappointing.

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