Il bandito galante

THE GREAT JEWEL ROBBER was released by Warner Bros as the bottom half of a double feature, an added attraction to the bicentennial documentary "50 Years Before Your Eyes." I saw it with my Dad at the Warner Theatre in Washington, DC and still remember it and the lasting impression it made.

The summary on this site is honest but simply inadequate to the film's merits; the intensely convincing performance by David Brian as well as the unusual inclusion of a strong point-of view. What sticks in the mind is the jewel thief's absolute and irreversible commitment to his trade and lifestyle. The film wants you to understand that he sees no alternative at all to being a jewel thief any more than a leopard sees any alternative to being a hunter. Actually, changing the leopard's ways would be easier. The film wants you to revel somewhat in each clever success, and in association and deceit of high society people; but much more than that it wants you to appreciate the pain, misery and depression involved. Another time caught, another long prison sentence, another delay in returning to crime --- his joy in life.

Seeing this at age 12, did I then follow David Brian's lead and enter a life of crime? Not at all; the film was more of a dissuader than any other crime film. I also had strong religious training, the more important of the two.

I saw a Randolph Scott movie tonight with David Brian as the bad guy and The Great Jewel Robber was quickly remembered after 57 years. I can't recommend the movie, I suppose. Dismissed by Warners in 1950 as a B movie, I have no clue how you could see this movie, never seen it rerun, not one time.

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.

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.

Pretty good thick-ear, based on the true life exploits of master jewel thief Gerard Dennis. Seems Dennis has an eye for beautiful things, both women and big-time gemstones, and doesn't much care how he goes about getting them. Actor Brian looks the womanizing part with enough smiling charm to access society's higher reaches where fancy baubles suddenly disappear, while he just keeps smiling. And why not, since some of Hollywood's classiest looking dames—deWit, Talton, Chandler—fall for him in short order. But, as we were all taught by old movies like this one, crime doesn't pay, at least for some people.

I like the way director Godfrey keeps things moving, especially that nail-biting 'human fly' sequence. Also, the screenplay manages a few minor surprises, thanks to ace scripter Borden Chase, whose real life exploits give him inside exposure to crime and criminals (check out his rather surprising bio). Heck, the script even has Dennis trying to pick up cheap blonde Cleo Moore while his wife looks on, in a nifty little sequence. However, I think the material would have worked better as noir instead of less expressive docu-drama. In fact, the film has an overall drab look, unbefitting the sometimes sumptuous surroundings and the strong narrative drama.

Nonetheless, for an obscure programmer, the movie is fast moving and better than average.