Arsène Lupin détective (1937) - film review

The house of a famous actress, Olga Vauban, is broken into but nothing is stolen – even though she has a collection of priceless jewels.  Olga reports the break-in to her former husband, Inspecteur Béchoux, who engages the celebrated private detective, Jim Barnett, to investigate.  Little do they realise that Monsieur Barnett is none other than France’s most infamous thief, Arsène Lupin...

Despite some very dodgy acting and a rambling plot that is as transparent as glass, this is an entertaining and a rare example of 1930s French detective cinema.  Jules Berry is the celebrated master criminal, a role that he clearly relishes in, although it is clearly some distance from the character in the famous Maurice Leblanc stories.

The most disappointing aspect of this film is its total lack of suspense and mystery.  You’d have to be quite dim not to realise who the real villain is in this film, and the identity of Arsène Lupin is pretty obvious from the outset.   This is all the more galling when you recall the opening credits, a sequence that is laced with menace and intrigue, excellently done but in no way reflective of the film that follows.

The best thing about this film is its tireless sense of fun.  It is not really a comedy, but the characters are played with great comic panache (particularly Berry’s Lupin), and there is a lot of probably unintentional wit in the script.  But what contributes most to the film’s atmosphere is probably its jaunty 1930s music and the chic costumes.

© James Travers 2000

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