Dieterle uses noirish shadows and unusual camera angles to tell the story of a charming thief, Powell, who operates his gang with a high degree of camaraderie and they seem loyal, as much as thieves can be, anyway. He keeps watch on a jewelry store keeping a late appointment so the other customers vacate, he urbanely robs the high class customers, the shop, and gets away with it. Francis looks forward to being the toast of her "set" when she tells of her experience, but isn't prepared to succumb to Powell's appeal. He's not prepared for her beauty and insouciance, either.
The plot surprised me with a fair amount of physical action near the climax, Powell climbing roofs and ladders and eluding the police neatly. The jewels themselves could be considered characters, because seeing them in vault after vault made this viewer drool over the undoubtedly paste diamonds, rubies and emeralds, too! No wonder Francis collects them and mourns when it seems she might lose them to Powell's greedy fingers.
Francis' scene in her bath is delightful as she entertains her friend all the while enjoying the services of her masseuse and maid's toweling her off and later arranging her hair. Francis' face lights up at times when she's blithe and it falls when she delivers her honest unflattering appraisal of her own character in that inimitable voice. So all in all, a 9/10 stars for a "heist" film, Powell's loping walk and raised brow and Francis' cheery acceptance of her character flaws. It's likely Kolker turned a blind eye to her flings, as long as she decorates his arm at social occasions. She is truly eye candy in a fur trimmed neckline gown that almost does a nip slip several times during the last 1/3 of the film. That's pre-code for you, titillating to the max.
The plot surprised me with a fair amount of physical action near the climax, Powell climbing roofs and ladders and eluding the police neatly. The jewels themselves could be considered characters, because seeing them in vault after vault made this viewer drool over the undoubtedly paste diamonds, rubies and emeralds, too! No wonder Francis collects them and mourns when it seems she might lose them to Powell's greedy fingers.
Francis' scene in her bath is delightful as she entertains her friend all the while enjoying the services of her masseuse and maid's toweling her off and later arranging her hair. Francis' face lights up at times when she's blithe and it falls when she delivers her honest unflattering appraisal of her own character in that inimitable voice. So all in all, a 9/10 stars for a "heist" film, Powell's loping walk and raised brow and Francis' cheery acceptance of her character flaws. It's likely Kolker turned a blind eye to her flings, as long as she decorates his arm at social occasions. She is truly eye candy in a fur trimmed neckline gown that almost does a nip slip several times during the last 1/3 of the film. That's pre-code for you, titillating to the max.