SPOILERS! Jim la houlette roi des voleurs (Jim the Cracksman, the King of Thieves) was produced by Albatros Company that was founded in the beginning of the 1920s by "White" Russian émigré community in France. Their main star at the time was talented comic actor of Russian origin Nicholas Rimsky who began acting still in 1917 while in Russia. Later in France he tried his hand in co-directing several films beginning with 1925 Le Negre Blanc. Jim the Cracksman, the King of Thieves was his third feature he co-directed this time with Roger Lion also starring in the main role.
Jim the Cracksman is a sort of Film-Noir romantic comedy where Nicholas Rimsky hilariously plays the part of Moluchet, a timid secretary of a well-known French thrillers writer Bretonneau. He is hopelessly in love with the writer's daughter Pauline and is ready to make any sacrifice to conquer her love. Opportunity knocks when an ingenious idea of how to improve the sale of Bretonneau's books visits the mind of the writer's publisher. The idea is to use poor Moluchet to impersonate the most famous Paris thieve Jim the Cracksman who has terrified the city's population for already 10 years, to break into writer's home during the big party which will provide a number of witnesses, and steal the only copy of a just finished novel. All that Bretonneau has to do next is supposedly to write down the novel again and publish it with a guaranteed success due to all the publicity because of Jim the Cracksman involvement.
But everything goes different from what was planed when the real notorious thieve decides to pay a visit to writer's home exactly at the time when Moluchet is supposed to make his move. As a result Moluchet is arrested at the scene of the crime he didn't commit and is brought to trial which is a culmination of the film where our hero learns that he has finally won the heart of Paulina, but only because she thinks that he's indeed the courageous thieve Jim the Cracksman, so Moluchet in order to keep her love promptly confesses of committing all of the crimes attributed to the famous thieve and is found guilty. But at this decisive moment the real Jim the Cracksman enters the scene again and proves himself to be quite a noble and courageous fellow.
A pleasant to watch French romantic comedy. 7/10
Jim the Cracksman is a sort of Film-Noir romantic comedy where Nicholas Rimsky hilariously plays the part of Moluchet, a timid secretary of a well-known French thrillers writer Bretonneau. He is hopelessly in love with the writer's daughter Pauline and is ready to make any sacrifice to conquer her love. Opportunity knocks when an ingenious idea of how to improve the sale of Bretonneau's books visits the mind of the writer's publisher. The idea is to use poor Moluchet to impersonate the most famous Paris thieve Jim the Cracksman who has terrified the city's population for already 10 years, to break into writer's home during the big party which will provide a number of witnesses, and steal the only copy of a just finished novel. All that Bretonneau has to do next is supposedly to write down the novel again and publish it with a guaranteed success due to all the publicity because of Jim the Cracksman involvement.
But everything goes different from what was planed when the real notorious thieve decides to pay a visit to writer's home exactly at the time when Moluchet is supposed to make his move. As a result Moluchet is arrested at the scene of the crime he didn't commit and is brought to trial which is a culmination of the film where our hero learns that he has finally won the heart of Paulina, but only because she thinks that he's indeed the courageous thieve Jim the Cracksman, so Moluchet in order to keep her love promptly confesses of committing all of the crimes attributed to the famous thieve and is found guilty. But at this decisive moment the real Jim the Cracksman enters the scene again and proves himself to be quite a noble and courageous fellow.
A pleasant to watch French romantic comedy. 7/10
