Juwelenraub um Mitternacht

If I had to describe jewellery thief Gerard Graham Dennis in one word that word would have to be "Shyster". Actor David Brian plays a very convincing thief named Gerard Graham Dennis, a womanizer and shyster who will go to great lengths to get his next fix, his next big score. It is a well done film and actor David Brian is so convincing when he enlists one woman after the next to support his career choice, as a jewel thief, and yet he has no scruples whatsoever leaving each woman behind once he has pulled his last caper. I felt truly sorry for each woman who fell for this shyster as I really thought he was being sincere that he loved each of these woman and he was going to turn his life around, but he deceived me as I am sure he deceived most of his film's audience.

There are some suspensful moments and the cops got close to arresting him and then he would slip through their fingers and handcuffs time and time again. I won't give up the ending and spoil it for you, you will have to see it for yourself.

It is worth an 8 out of 10 rating.

When Gerry Dennis (David Brian) escapes from prison, everyone is hot on his trail. He gets money from his current girl, calls up an old girlfriend to pull more jobs, and even hooks up with a nurse when he gets injured. He must be a smooth operator. but he doesn't seem to learn his lesson, when a couple of con jobs go bad. Co-stars Marjorie Reynolds and John Archer. Story by Borden Chase, who had actually been a driver for the mob, probably giving him many fine story ideas. Directed by Peter Godfrey, a former bigshot in stage production before working in hollywood. Godfrey worked in some pretty big films, both as actor and later as director. the closing credits state that the mayor of New Rochelle actually played himself! This one is pretty plain and simple, no real surprises. as films and television always tells us, There is NO perfect crime !

Yep, that is the motto of jewel thief David Brian (Gerry) for any situations that may involve incarceration.

This is the story of real-life gentleman thief Gerald Dennis who burgled the wealthy and the famous and carried out a blitz in Hollywood that included stars such as Joan Crawford and Errol Flynn. When he was caught, police found a list of his next targets that included Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Ginger Rogers and Louis Mayer! He was prolific. I guess he just liked jewels and furs!

The film cracks on at a good pace and Brian is good in the lead role and convincing as a smooth conman who plays on his charms so that women let him into their confidence. We have episodes with five different women in this film, six if you count Cleo Moore as the blonde at the end when he gets caught.

Some people like windows and become window-makers. This guy liked jewels and furs, so he immersed himself in that particular industry. Let's face it, they are expensive!

He gets around, I'll give him that.

David Brian is The Great Jewel Robber, a 1950 film that begins with an intro from the real guy. Gerard Dennis was known as The Hollywood Raffles because he stole from big Hollywood stars.

Dennis (Brian) is in love, we think, with a young woman. At this point, he is in a Canadian prison farm. They plan to marry, but he complains she's not receiving his letters. The warden has a few choice words for him.

Gerard escapes and makes his way back to his one true love who gives him money and some jewelry. He leaves and says he'll return when he has what he needs for both of them to leave town.

Then he connects with his other true love, Peggy (Perdita Chandler) - more money for forged papers. This time Peggy, as big a worm as he is, and a bartender they plan on cheating, go to rob a house.

Dennis almost doesn't make it out of the place, and when he does, Peggy and the bartender are gone. Later, during a confrontation with him, he's badly beaten.

Later, confronting them, he is badly beaten and is taken to a hospital where he meets nurse Martha Rollins (Marjorie Reynolds). After three weeks under her care, it's love. She mistakenly tells him a story about a wealthy family. He immediately goes to rob the house and is shot.

Martha now knows the truth. She removes the bullet. He promises to go straight.

Right. And the pattern continues. He breaks hearts and breaks into safes.

I guess I should be more enthusiastic about this film. It's okay. Brian often played tough guys opposite women such as Joan Crawford. He had the physical presence and a tough voice.

The character is totally committed to a life of crime, and that's really all he cares about. The seduction is a means to an end. He's a clever escape artist, constantly bamboozling the police. In this film, it seemed easy to do!

It's 90 minutes, and it does hold interest.

Peter Godfrey directs a Borden Chase script of one of the Warner Brothers' "ripped from the headlines" B movies. Although several sequences recall other, better remembered movies -- the prison escape is a fast-track version of a similar bit from I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG -- the best description I can offer is that this is a criminal procedural -- the hows and wherefores of how a crook goes about his profession, instead of the more familiar police procedurals, of how they are caught.

Peter Godfrey, who never got out of the Bs despite some great work, is very sure-handed in his direction, with bit of dark humor shot through the work. Bill Lava's obtrusive score is heavy-handed, but the rambling, worried lead character played by David Brian is very real, and the treacherous world he lives in is well captured by Chase, who started out as a gangster's chauffeur -- until Al Capone had his boss killed and Chase decided to go into a safer line of work.