Les Aventures d’Arsène Lupin (1957) - film review

The great gentleman thief, Arsène Lupin, engages in a series of daring schemes to deprive his wealthy countrymen of rare jewels and priceless paintings.  His activities arouse the interest of Kaiser William II of Germany who arranges for Lupin to be kidnapped and brought to his castle.  The Kaiser offers Lupin a challenge: to steal a jewel of great value from a secret hiding place.  Should Lupin accept the wager?

A colourful and whimsical film, Les Aventures d’Arsène Lupin is Jacques Becker’s attempt to shed some light on the mystery of the great hero of French detective fiction from the pen of Maurice Leblanc.  The result is a fairly satisfying film in some ways, but the character of Lupin is, if anything, undermined by Becker’s attempt to rationalise his thinking and methods. The character in Leblanc’s books is a far more shady, mysterious figure.  By contrast, Robert Lamoureux’s portray is that of the traditional romantic hero, capable of winning the heart of any woman at the drop of a top hat, dispatching his enemies with non-violent ease, and escaping from impossibly tight corners with great panache and flair.  This is a horribly clichéd, overly simplistic representation of the Lupin character which, to anyone acquainted with Leblanc’s stories, can only come as a disappointment.

That said, the film has some admirable production values.  Robert Lamoureux and Liselotte Pulver are equally enchanting, the sets and costumes are beautiful, albeit a little chocolate-boxy.  There is a fine script, with some quite funny situations.  It may fall just outside the official Arsène Lupin canon, but, in its own right, the film is entertaining and amusing.

© James Travers 1999

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