I Am a Thief

I never heard of this movie until I caught it today by accident on TCM. It was a total surprise - once I began watching, I couldn't leave til the finish. A short film (an hour), very fast paced and exciting. Extremely well-done. The plot was exceptionally clever - it really kept you guessing for moment to moment who the true criminals were. The second unit location photography in Paris, Laussane, and the Balkans was superb and so generously dispersed throughout the film that you really felt you were there. Robert Florey is a master of this type of movie, and his direction added a very elegant and sinister tone. Watch it - you'll love it. I hope it gets remake someday.

Directed by Robert Florey. Starring Mary Astor, Ricardo Cortez, Irving Pichel, Dudley Digges, Robert Barrat, Hobart Cavanaugh, Ferdinand Gottschalk, John Wray.

Valuable diamonds, an infamous jewel thief, and assorted suspicious figures involved in murder and larceny during a ride on the Orient Express; where's Hercule Poirot when you need him? Mild mystery/thriller is modestly satisfying, though immemorable; Astor and Cortez, as competing bidders for the targeted jewels, don't exactly ignite the screen with the passion of their romance. The late twists/revelations are pretty tame (for a movie that's only a shade over an hour long, there are quite a few complications and red herrings), and the resolution in the denouement is rather laughable, but those with a fondness for these sorts of mannered, Agatha Christie-like mystery programmers might enjoy it. Digges does a blustery caricature that would make Yosemite Sam proud.

59/100

Mary Astor never gave a bad performance. From ingénues to the understanding romantic friend in the great "Dodsworth" to her supreme triumph in "The Great Lie" ... To -- Well, "The Matese Falcon" is not far from this movie's story. Then she became Judy Garland's mother in "Meet Me In St. Louis" and went on to play older-woman roles through the 1950s.

She is elegant and a little shady here. Ricardo Cortez was never a major star but he was always good to watch, as well. Together, they make this movie.

Now, if you want a truly sublime movie about jewel thieves, I direct you to "Desire." Marlene is her usual bawdy self and Cary Cooper shows a surprising and delightful gift for comedy.

This one will do, though. The supporting cast is a little lackluster. The stars have to keep it going on their own. But it's a romantic mystery. And the mystery keeps us wondering till the end.

"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.

Ricardo Cortez is a suave jeweler. He buys at auction some famous and expensive diamonds, then takes the Orient Express to Istanbul, so he can romance Mary Astor -- who eventually steals the jewels -- and keep things humming along, with a bunch of people who obviously want the gems and are willing to murder to get them. Apparently.

Robert Florey directs this at the high-speed Warner Brothers pace, even though the plot complexities, which seem to involve everyone actually being someone other than they seem to be, sometimes overwhelm the movie. Like a detective in a pulp novel, I began to suspect everyone, from Parisian chauffeurs -- a shady lot at the best of times -- to children selling gimcrack souvenirs by the side of the train. Why were they traveling on the Orient Express anyway? Don't they know it's a hotbed of espionage, murder, and Kenneth Branagh in a face-eating mustache?

Florey was always fond of Dutch angles, but he can't do much on board the railroad, even with Sidney Hickock as his cinematographer. It was fun while it lasted, but occasionally confusing, as players switched who they were playing.