I Am a Thief (1934)

A variety of suspicious characters try to get their hands on a priceless diamond necklace aboard the Orient Express.

Director:

Robert Florey

Writers:

Ralph Block (story), Doris Malloy (story)

Stars:

Mary Astor, Ricardo Cortez, Dudley Digges

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Mary Astor	...	Odette Mauclair
Ricardo Cortez	...	Pierre Londais
Dudley Digges	...	Colonel Jackson
Robert Barrat	...	Otto 'Baron' Von Kampf
Irving Pichel	...	Count Trentini
Hobart Cavanaugh	...	Daudet
Arthur Aylesworth	...	Francois
Ferdinand Gottschalk	...	M. Cassiet
Florence Fair	...	Mme. Cassiet
Frank Reicher	...	Max Bolen
John Wray	...	Antonio Porricci
Oscar Apfel	...	Auctioneer

Storyline

An insurance company hurt by a string of jewel thefts decides to smoke out the international community of thieves by putting the priceless Karenina diamond necklace up for auction. There are many interested parties, but jewel dealer Pierre Londais ultimately wins the bidding. Among the suspicious characters interested in the diamonds are a young woman named Odette Mauclair, a wealthy American named Colonel Jackson, and the mysterious Baron Von Kampf. There are robbery attempts at Londais's Paris hotel and later aboard the train to Istanbul. When the diamonds go missing, everyone aboard the train is a suspect.

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Plot Keywords:

diamond | necklace | train | robbery | orient express | 

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Taglines:

A Female Philo Vance Gets Her Man In "I am a thief" (Print Ad- San Jose News, ((San Jose, Calif.)) 5 December 1934)

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mary Astor, Ricardo Cortez, and Florence Fair had all been silent film stars.

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Goofs

On the train, Col. Jackson does not lock his compartment thus allowing Mauclair to enter and steal the jewels. This would not make any sense since Col.Jackson is a professional thief and would not make such an obvious security breach.

User Reviews

Very talky and contrived.

"I Am a Thief" is a film with some nice actors and lovely settings, but it ultimately turns out to be very talky and the plot amazingly contrived and unsatisfying.

The film begins in Paris and the police have been frustrated by a series of high-end jewel robberies. So, they plan on pulling out all the stops to catch the members of this gang.

In the next scene, Pierre (Ricardo Cortez) is buying some hugely expensive diamonds at an auction. Two others, Odette (Mary Astor) and Colonel Jackson (Dudley Diggs) are also very interested in the stones. Eventually, the three end up, not accidentally, on a train bound for Istanbul--during the course of which, the stones are stolen and the police question everyone....a procedure that takes up a huge chunk of the film. In the end, the members of the gang reveal themselves and someone does something a bit heroic.

This film is way too mannered and talky. Everyone acts so calm, sophisticated and civilized through much of the film--so much so that it's a bit irritating. It's also irritating that there really doesn't seem to be any way for the audience to have clues as to who the crooks really are--and the ending seems very random. All in all, the film lacked energy and just became a tad tedious after a while--a shame as the actors seemed better than the material. And, speaking of the actors, there is a bit of a coincidence in the casting. All three played "The Maltese Falcon"--Cortez and Diggs in the 1931 version and Astor in the more famous 1941 version.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Russian

Release Date:

24 November 1934 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ladrões Internacionais

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

64 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1