A Volta de Arsène Lupin

The Barrymore brothers scored well as Arsene Lupin and the dogged detective trailing him back in the early days of sound, so MGM decided the old thief could use a second go around.

It turns out he didn't die as per the original film, but is now living in quiet retirement, at least until some enterprising thief decided to do a job and pin it on him. Now it's up to Lupin to clear himself.

The plot of Arsene Lupin Returns is remarkably similar to Alfred Hitchcock's classic To Catch A Thief, right down to the French locale for most of the story. Of course this B film was shot on the MGM back lot.

For a B film, Arsene Lupin Returns boasts a remarkable cast of classic players. Melvyn Douglas, Warren William, John Halliday, Monty Woolley, George Zucco and Tully Marshall all had years of stage training before going into film. In fact when about five of these guys were in the same scene, I have to say I haven't so much perfect diction this side of a Ronald Colman film.

Given however it is a B film with a limited cast too much talk will give away the culprit. Looking over the list I can say any one of these guys by past roles could have been the thief. I'll say this though, leading lady Virginia Bruce didn't do it.

No color cinematography, no good French Riviera locations, but Arsene Lupin Returns has a nice story done by a group of the classiest players ever to be assembled on one movie.

And for a B film besides.

Famed number 1 G-Man Steve Emerson (Warren William) quits to start a private eye firm. He is hired by an insurance company to protect a precious emerald necklace. Before he gets there, someone makes an unsuccessful attempt to steal it. Count de Brissac is the owner and Lorraine is his niece. After the attempt, the insurance company is ending the policy in 8 days. The family takes it back to Paris. They are joined by family friend Rene Farrand (Melvyn Douglas) who becomes Steve's main suspect as the master thief Arsène Lupin.

This is an interesting return. After the Barrymores in the 1932 version, they make a comeback. It has a good back and forth. It's great to have smart people on both sides. This does have drawbacks from the traditional crime mystery. It doesn't have much mystery. This is carried by a few good actors.

The Arsene Lupin films have been around since well before the advent of talking pictures and a wide variety of actors have played the role of this gentleman thief (sort of like the Lone Wolf or Boston Blackie before they went straight). Because of the massive turnover of actors and generally lackluster films, despite the series continuing on and off for decades, it never caught on with the public.

In this installment, it picks up three years after the last film. While the actors were different, the plot was a logical follow-up to the earlier film and once again, while the film was set in France, no one spoke with even the vaguest of French accents. This time, a fat-headed but brilliant detective (Warren William) is out to catch the thief but must contend with some decent plot twists to untangle the mystery.

This is a pretty good film of about the same quality as the earlier ARSENE LUPIN starring John and Lionel Barrymore. While this film did not have quite the same star power as this other film, Melvin Douglas and Warren William are both entertaining to watch. Sadly, however, despite a decent supporting performance by Virginia Bruce, there were also some disappointing performances as well. George Zucco (a perennial heavy from B-films) and Monty Wooley (a likable sort of rogue in most films) are pretty much wasted, as they are given very little to do. It's a shame, because with better writing, these two could have been major assets in the movie. Instead, Douglas and William are pretty much the whole show.

'Arsene Lupin Returns' has been inevitably compared to its 1932 predeccessor 'Arsene Lupin', which very memorably starred John and Lionel Barrymore. Being somebody that immensely enjoyed that film for many reasons (especially the performances of the Barrymore brothers), expectations were high for 'Arsene Lupin Returns'. Especially with such a talented cast that sounded a dream on paper, a great idea for a story that is my kind of film and with the legendary Franz Waxman as composer.

On the most part, 'Arsene Lupin Returns' delivers and is a worthy follow up. Maybe not quite as good, the atmosphere is not as authentic (not as much of the French flavour here) and it is hard to shake off those great feelings had watching the Barrymore brothers previously. 'Arsene Lupin Returns' is every bit as well made, performed and witty though, with much charm too, and others will like that it goes at a faster pace and is more refined than 'Arsene Lupin'. Both are enjoyable films and go well together.

There really is not much to dislike. Did think that John Halliday was on the dull side as a rather thanklessly written character that doesn't really add very much.

Maybe the romantic rivalry could have been developed a little more than it was.

However the cast do really well and the actors are fine in their own way, clearly looking as if they were having fun while not being too broad and having the intensity when needed. The always never less than reliable and often great Melvyn Douglas is charming and debonair in the lead role, while Virginia Bruce is alluring glamour personified. Warren William provides a lot of entertaining moments and is suave and witty. The verbal sparring sparkles. EE Clive, returning Tully Marshall and especially Nat Pendleton also looked as though they were enjoying themselves and George Zucco is suitably formidable. 'Arsene Lupin Returns' is slickly directed and goes at a lively pace, not being bogged down by un-neccessities like the 1932 film sometimes was.

Production values are handsome and Franz Waxman's music score also makes an impact, interesting for it being an early work of his and being not as distinctively swelling in emotion as one usually hears with Waxman. Yet the lush orchestration and mix of playfulness and suspense in the scoring makes for a very enjoyable listen. The script sparkles like bubbles on top of a glass of champagne, especially in the verbal sparring, and the story is diverting and clever with some neat clues (even if full attention is needed all the time as some of the plot does get complicated). The ending is surprising and satisfies if not as thrilling as in 'Arsene Lupin'.

In conclusion, worthy and very enjoyable. 8/10

Warren William is an FBI agent who is tasked with protecting a precious gem when the elusive Arsene Lupin returns, this time played by Melvyn Douglas.

Nominally a sequel to the 1932 movie starring the Barrymore brothers, this movie would probably work better as a standalone entry. There is a jarring change in tone and style between the two that watching them back-to-back like I did probably hurt my enjoyment of the second movie, if only slightly. Gone is the pre-Code raciness, replaced with a more standard late 30s chasteness, and the distinctly European setting of the first is now very Americanized, even when set in Europe.

However, once I was able to get past the differences I started to appreciate the sequel on its own merit. The movie managed to preserve a sense of mystery despite knowing the identity of the master thief the entire time. The only real complaint I had was that Douglas and William should have swapped roles. There is nothing about Melvyn Douglas that will make you believe he is ever a master French thief, whereas Warren William at least has an air of international sophistication.