Il misterioso Jack

Well no it is not a movie about lawn bowls and featuring Mick Molloy and other Australian actors, this is the British comedy of years gone by with Tom Walls and his typical farce and comedic stylisings. I have began watching Tom Walls comedies, in a race of filmographies with my brother and this is the third Walls comedy I have seen. This seems to be by far the best of them, and he appears to have honed his style. The beginning is especially memorable with the theft of diamonds and the switching of these around. The movie is very amusing and is well worth the watch, it is not an outstanding movie, and I am not as dedicated to Tom Walls as my brother is, but his movies are usually diverting and not terrible. This film is well worth a watch and is Tom Walls, watch this film to get a real understanding of the Walls filmography.

The film begins with a scene in which a plane is hijacked by a gang of criminals and some precious diamonds are stolen. However it is not the gang that gets away with the loot but rather the master thief and modern day Robin Hood, Jack Drake, who has beaten the gang to it. Meanwhile, the latest craze in London is the memoirs of a thief, who goes by the pseudonym of "Crackerjack." When a string of precious pearls is stolen at a society party, Crackerjack is suspected, owning to a number of idiosyncrasies of the culprit, which are also mentioned in Crackerjack's book. But who is Crackerjack - is he Jack Drake? And will Jack get away with his philanthropic thieving?

This film is good entertainment but nothing special. The sort of story that the film uses involving gangs of criminals, stolen jewels and princesses (or a Baroness in this case) has been used so many times before - even by Tom Walls himself - that it needs something special to make it work. There are a few fairly uninventive twists in the plot - the people you least expect turn out to be criminals and so on. All of it leads to a rather formulaic showdown towards the end of the film. Nevertheless, there are a few good surprises which add interest to what would otherwise be a fairly average film. For me, the most disappointing thing is that we know who Crackerjack is for almost all of the film. I think it would've added a whole extra dimension to the film if the answer had've been denied us until the end - and it would've justified the existence of the "Crackerjack" book, which, as the film stood, was totally peripheral to the plot.

Tom Walls makes a wonderful gentleman criminal; almost as great as James Mason, but in a different, more old-world chivalrous way. His name on the bill was what made me decide to watch this film, and he is definitely its strongest link. The rest of the cast are nothing special and I found Lilli Palmer a tad annoying but an acceptable leading lady. Overall the story is sufficiently engrossing and consistent enough to make this reasonable viewing - but only slightly above average.

If you combine Robin Hood with a communist, you'd get Jack Drake (Tom Walls)...a high-class crook who delights in stealing from the rich and giving to various deserving charities in Britain. Despite being a crook, however, you cannot help but like Drake and his exploits. The same can be said of Drake in the story...he cannot help but like his exploits as well...so much so that he wrote his memoires and had them published anonymously. Now, millions of Brits can read about 'Crackerjack' (his alter ego) and his brushes with the law.

While you might think that the police would be Crackerjack's worst enemies, there is a vicious gang who want to capture him even more. Why? Because twice during the course of the film he outsmarts them and steals jewels the gang intended to steal. To stop him, the gang recruits an innocent lady...the Baroness (Lilli Palmer). But once she realizes her mistake, can she alert Crackerjack before their wicked plan is enacted?

Tom Walls is a middle-aged man in the film and not especially handsome. However, despite this, he is mega-charming and easy to like....and it's a shame that very few these days have even heard of this excellent actor. My advice is watch the film....he's amazingly good in it and manages to make a somewhat ridiculous plot work...and work well.

This is boring. Tom Walls (Jack) is known as Crackerjack. He steals jewellery and hands out the proceeds of his thieving to good causes like hospitals. He's a bit creepy looking especially when he visits the children in a hospital. The whole thing just reminded me of Jimmy Saville. Anyway, on one particular job, a party gets held up by a gang who have been beaten to the prize once again by Walls. On this occasion, a rather fat rugby-player who is meant to be England's captain gets shot dead. Eventually the film finishes but you may be in a coma by that point.

We also get an unlikely romance due to the age gap - again, a bit creepy. The cast aren't that good and speak in that upper class English accent. It's a shame because I was looking forward to this Gainsborough film. The lady at the beginning is the standout during the logo.

A typically 30s-style charismatic gentleman thief and master of disguise tackles a dangerous criminal gang while posing as a butler at a stately home. Vintage in age rather than in quality, and not as good as the identically-titled British kids' TV programme of three or four decades later.