Larceny (1948)

A con man sets out to swindle a widow out of the money she's received to build a memorial to her war-hero husband, but winds up falling in love with her instead.

Director:

George Sherman

Writers:

William Bowers, Lois Eby (novel),

Stars:

John Payne, Joan Caulfield, Dan Duryea

Cast

Cast overview:
John Payne	...	Rick Mason
Joan Caulfield	...	Deborah Owens Clark
Dan Duryea	...	Silky Randall
Shelley Winters	...	Tory
Dorothy Hart	...	Madeline
Richard Rober	...	Max
Dan O'Herlihy	...	Duke
Nicholas Joy	...	Walter Vanderline
Percy Helton	...	Charlie Jordan
Walter Greaza	...	Mr. Owens
Patricia Alphin	...	Waitress
Harry Antrim	...	Mr. McNulty
Russ Conway	...	Detective
Paul Brinegar	...	Mechanic
Don Wilson	...	Master of Ceremonies

Storyline

A con man sets out to swindle a widow out of the money she's received to build a memorial to her war-hero husband, but winds up falling in love with her instead.

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Plot Keywords:

widow | con man | based on novel

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 December 1948 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Aves de Rapina

Filming Locations:

Pasadena, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on October 11, 1948 with John Payne and Joan Caulfield reprising their film roles.

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Goofs

When John Payne is being shown up to his hotel room, one can clearly see the tape on the floor as his marker for the previous shot at the front desk.

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Quotes

Tory: Stop twisting my arm! People will think we're married!

User Reviews

Funm, campy noir

When I went to see this lesser known noir, the person introducing it described it as "almost a parody" of this kind of film and said not to take it too seriously. Nevertheless, it is a film about con artists and their techniques, and I love those. Especially well showcased is the technique of letting a mark think something is his or her own idea, and people are always more determined to do things that they think are their own ideas. The story features a group of globetrotting, high-rolling grifters led by John Payne and noir regular Dan Duryea, who decide to target a wealthy but naive young war widow(Joan Caulfield) with a scheme to build a youth center memorializing her husband. This necessitates Payne pretending to be a buddy of her late husband, who in reality, he had never met. At first the plan is to raise money from wealthy friends, but she then decides to bankroll the whole project herself. Things are further complicated when a sometime girlfriend of both of the men, played by a tough-as-nails young Shelly Winters, refuses to stay under wraps. This film seems to have been largely forgotten, which is a shame.